BEN’S ZONE: Stuff you can do to help after a C-Section

ben's zone badge

Welcome to a weekly feature on my blog – Ben’s Zone. Written by husband… Ben. A foodie, coffee obsessed, ex-smoking, ex-drinking and Ridgeback loving Dad. Who is also seriously into his fitness.  You can find him on the blog (most) Sundays. Enjoy 🙂


Stuff you can do to help after a C-Section

Stuff you can do to help after a C-Section

C-Sections are a weird thing. They’re a very routine operation and they happen all the time but they’re also a major operation and recovery from them can be a tough task. All of my children have been born via c-section, it’s not how we’d have chosen to have them but I’m grateful we could because were it not for c-sections my son and, possibly my wife, would not be here today. In a post a few weeks back I talked about Dads in the delivery room and one of the big things is how ‘useless’ some Dads feel during the birth. If your partner has had a c-section then here is a chance for partners to be of some real use in the following weeks.

  • First, remember the scale of things, a c-section is a big operation and while lots of them happen every day, the process and recovery are no small thing. Try and be mindful of that in terms of expectations of what the weeks after will be like. It can take a long time for things to get back to normal, try and be as patient as you can.
  • Make sure you have tons of pillows so that your partner can get comfortable on the sofa or in bed. They’re not going to be moving about a huge amount so try and get them into a position where they can stay comfortable. If there are other children about, try and look after them as much as you can. Of course, do what you can for the new one, but be prepared that really tiny babies can be somewhat Mum fixated, help out by making this all your partner needs to worry about.
  • In the time before you partner comes home, try and spend as much time as you can in the hospital. The nurses on the maternity ward are super busy, so if you can be there to help your partner and take some load off the nurses, that’s useful. If you can bring in some nice food, that’s also a bonus, hospital food is not great and a nice meal can go a long way to lifting your partner’s spirits.
  • Before the birth, if you know it is going to be a c-section, stock up on ibuprofen and paracetamol. You’ll need to do this over several visits as you can only buy 2 packs at once, don’t expect the hospital to provide these, do expect to need lots of painkillers. Talking about medication, your partner will require daily injections to prevent DVT, if you can help with those, it makes life a lot easier.
  • My final tip is to get a baby carrier. Mostly, the new baby will want to be with their Mum, but there will be times when they are happy to come to Dad. It’s super useful if you can strap them to your body and get on with stuff. It helps you bond to the baby and it also leaves two arms free to do stuff round the house. I’ve tried a variety of baby wearing devices, from carriers to slings and I don’t have any real preference. I would just advise you to find one that you find easy to use and comfortable. Don’t be afraid to try one of the sling type carriers but at the same time, if the thought of tying your baby to you gives you connnuptions, go for a more traditional type carrier.

This all sounds like a massive list, and if you’re reading this after a first, maybe emergency c-section, wondering what just happened, don’t worry, it’s all manageable, but it does require extra thinking and effort. You’ll be fine though.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.