Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Dec
2
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“…The Recovery Time For A Cesarean Section Is Just The Same As For A Vaginal Delivery.”
“Oh, the recovery time for a cesarean section is just the same as for a vaginal delivery.” – OB to mother while discussing her cesarean for a breech baby, when the mother stated she wanted to avoid surgery.
There are 39 comments to this post.
Jessica had this to say,
Dec 2, 2011 @ 10:42 am (Quote)
Is that why maternity leave is 2 weeks longer for a Cesarean than a vaginal birth in the US? I would think it takes longer to heal when multiple layers of tissue have been cut and sutured instead of baby coming out of its intended opening.
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This one is pretty simple to disprove. Just call your insurance compnay and ask them what the standard stay is. They will give you two different number of days based on vaginal or c-section. When a doctor lies to you that badly you have to wonder what else he is lieing about!
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Jane Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:17 am (Quote)
I’m totally with you on that. If a doctor will state a barefaced lie like that and thinks s/he will get away with it, what other lies will that doctor tell? I’d be running for the door!
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PetraStrider Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 4:33 pm (Quote)
The doctor would probably want to weed out patients like you who would question his judgement instead of just being good patient who follows orders blindly.
That is why I appreiate MOBSW — it empowers women to ask questions and be informed.
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So me getting up and walking almost immediately after my vaginal births and my sister not being able to walk upright until a week after her cesarean = no difference???
(Admittedly, epidurals prevent immediate mobility after a vaginal birth, but we’re still talking a matter of hours vs. days here!)
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Jane Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 11:16 am (Quote)
And the painkillers they prescribe after a vaginal delivery are also exactly the same as the painkillers after a cesarean. Right? Just a couple of Tylenol for major abdominal surgery…?
How about driving? I thought after a c-section the mom couldn’t drive for at least two weeks.
If recovery is “just the same” then why does the hospital have two separate sheets of information, depending on what type of delivery you had?
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Dawn R Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 12:21 pm (Quote)
I had a vaginal delivery and was told not to drive for I can’t remember if it was 4 or 6 weeks. Of course, I also had a “high 3″ tear.
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Heather Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:51 pm (Quote)
Yes, actually. Ibuprofen + Tylenol for both my cesarean and vaginal births. Same dosage–I just didn’t have to be as diligent after the vaginal births.
However, healing time=HUGE difference. I couldn’t move my legs for 24 hours after my cesarean, much less walk. I couldn’t use the bathroom without help for over 3 days. Etc.
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Okay, bullcrap, AND IRRELEVANT.
First, unless you’re comparing to a vaginal delivery like my first (epidural, flat on back, 11.5 pound baby, episiotomy, 3rd degree tearing that only barely avoided being 4th degree), the recovery times are not comparable – and neither are the restrictions of the recovery period. (I did need 6 weeks to recover, and for a decent part of that could barely walk, not pick up my own baby easily, was on painkillers that made driving unwise, etc. But this is NOT a normal vaginal delivery scenario.)
But second, *recovery time is not the only reason to avoid a c-section*. What about the difficulty of pursuing a VBAC, the increased risk of future c-section, for planned/scheduled c-sections the risk of mis-selecting the time and ending up with a baby that’s not really ready to be born, the….
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This was mine. At the time my baby was transverse/breech. He did turn, and I went into labor a week past my “estimated due date”. I endured back labor for 41 hours before I was too exhausted to do it anymore and got the epidural. I pushed for 4 and a half hours (in different positions, I could still feel my legs a bit), but my baby was completely stuck and after pushing for so long, my blood pressure was getting very low, and the baby’s heart rate was dropping more and more with each push. I had an emergency cesarean. so I had to recover from laboring for that long, pushing for that long, and then major surgery. Yeah. It was a blast. I am glad however, that the doctor that told me this was NOT the one to deliver my baby. The doctor who did was very supportive and never once pushed a cesarean. It was my choice to do it for the safety of my son. All turned out well, but I would never ever wish w what I went through on anybody.
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Mama Wrench Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:21 pm (Quote)
I’m so sorry you went through that 
Was the staff at least supportive of your recovery? I remember my vagina being INCREDIBLY swollen after pushing for so long and no one offered relief since I’d had a c/s.
Good for you and your doc that you were able to make your own, informed, decisions for your birth!
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details Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:24 pm (Quote)
Oh KatC, I’m so sorry. You did the very best for your baby both with trying to deliver vaginally and with knowing when it was time to stop. I’m glad you were treated with respect during labor and the one to make the final decision. I hope your recovery wasn’t too terrible. 41 hours is a long time!
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Heather Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:53 pm (Quote)
I’m so sorry it went like that for you! Just after 22 1/2 hours of labor (1 1/2 hours pushing), I was too exhausted to do more, I can’t imagine that much!!
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Wendy Reply:
December 8th, 2011 at 8:17 pm (Quote)
That sounds like my first birth! We hated making the decision for the c-section, but we felt it was necessary at that point. Like Mama Wrench, the nurses didn’t offer me anything to relieve the vaginal pain caused by 4.5 hours of pushing because I’d had a c-section. That stunk. I’m sorry you had to go through that, too. I remind myself that I now have a happy, healthy child, even though I still wish for a vaginal birth.
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I would agree with this if we’re talking about a vaginal birth like I had with my first. 4th degree tear and enough blood loss to require a blood transfusion. However, when I had my 2nd vaginal delivery (my wonderful beautiful homebirth) I was up and walking around the house within a few hours. Definitely not like my c-section 3 months ago when it was painful to stand up straight for 3 days….
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Lisa in Texas had this to say,
Dec 2, 2011 @ 7:05 pm (Quote)
I showed this to my husband and he said, “Yeah, maybe for the *doctor* it’s the same recovery.” He saw first hand the difference in the recovery time for me. I had 4 vaginal homebirths and then an emergency c-section with a preemie baby. Definitely NOT the same recovery.
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Ooh, ooh, I’ve worked out how this could be true!
TECHnically, you don’t ‘recover’ from pregnancy for months and months (if ever) – your body needs lots of time to regain fertility (especially if you breastfeed), and return to an approximation of its pre-pregancy state. So if it’s going to take you months to ‘recover’ from the pregnancy, so what if you have MORE recovery to do from the type of birth you have, as we are only talking here about the time it takes, not how much pain and restrictions you’ll suffer.
See, the doctor is always right. (If you twist his words hard enough!)
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KellyK had this to say,
Dec 3, 2011 @ 3:43 pm (Quote)
Complete and total BS. I’ve had both. Dd#1 was posterior and forcips with level 4 episiotomy. Recovery sucked
Dd#2 was an induction but mostly med free and I recovered very quickly. Ds#1, pregnancy 3, was a sun roof birth and I still had disolving staples coming out and icky at 6-8 weeks. It took from April to July to hold my 30lb dd and until Feb of this year before I could lift my 60 lb dd without pain.
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Six vaginal births, one with epidural, two with episiotomy, two were waterbirths, one was a traumatic loss.
Physically, every one of those was easier than my c-section.
Unable to get out of bed for 24 hours due to the meds. Pain meds prescribed: morphine for the initial post-op, percocet/ibuprofen for after that. It took weeks, plural, before I could go up or down stairs w/o pain. The scar is still numb/feels weird 3 months later!
I was home from the hospital and feeling awesome by 4 hours after my 6th birth.
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Mama Wrench Reply:
December 4th, 2011 at 2:51 pm (Quote)
My scar still has numb/tingling spots 2 years later. I’ve complained about it, and the uneven healing several times and have been rebuffed with, “Oh, that’s normal. It might go away, it might not.”
I’m pretty sure that if my vagina was numb, tingling, itchy and painful 2 years after vaginal birth, it wouldn’t be considered “normal” and something I should just “get over.”
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Layla19 Reply:
December 7th, 2011 at 9:52 am (Quote)
With any surgery, there might be a severing of nerves- so technically, it’s “normal” for a surgery to cause persistent numbness or weird sensations (breast reduction over a decade ago, still have numb spots along scar lines). But then, it’s a little weird we live in a world where cutting people open and sewing them back up is considered “normal” at all- much less in cases where the surgery might not be medically indicated.
I really hope everyone’s itching and tingling go away soon. Those are irritating. The numbness is irritating, too, but much easier to deal with… eventually. Good luck, ladies.
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lets see…vaginal: able to walk to pp room. section:able to barely climb onto the bed to make it to pp room.vaginal:hurt to pee 1st time. section:had a bag hanging out my peehole for far too long and it hurt to pee for A WEEK.vaginal:able to drive myself anywhere.section:couldnt even attempt to climb into the drivers seat for 3 weeks…….need i go on?
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Add Your Comment.
Maybe a vaginal birth with a massive episiotomy
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Heather Reply:
December 2nd, 2011 at 1:47 pm Heather(Quote)
And a couple postpartum infections.
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