How to Recover from a C-Section With An OT
What Is Occupational Therapy (OT)?
What is occupational therapy? It centers around the word “occupations”. Occupations are anything that occupies your time - think about your daily routine and all the roles you fill, responsibilities you have, and tasks you need to accomplish. We work with people to understand any barriers to accomplishing basic activities of daily living (ADLs) - things like dressing, bathing, going to the bathroom, eating, and doing your hair & make-up. Then we move onto other activities during your day which occupy your leisure time, social participation, and work. We use these activities that you want to do and need to do within your day to guide our sessions together, to be more beneficial for you in your everyday life.
What Does OT Have to do with C-Section Recovery?
After any kind of birth- vaginal or c section- your occupations look different as your body heals, as your mind adjusts to this change, and as you care for an infant. And while you have just had this major abdominal surgery, you may feel that your life continues to go on possibly before you’re feeling ready for it. So, let’s take a look at some of your occupations and how they can be done in a way that supports your healing and empowers you to trust your body.
Tips to Help with C-Section Recovery
Getting Dressed
Getting dressed postpartum can feel like challenge… your clothes fit differently, its a lot of effort to get dressed, and it may seem pointless when your baby is just going to pee/poop/spit up in a matter of minutes. You may feel uncomfortable in your clothes. You may not want to put effort into getting dressed. Listen to your body about what you need. No matter what you decide, wearing loose-fitting, comfy clothes and avoiding tight clothing directly over your incision is recommended in those first few weeks after a c-section! You may find a night-shirt feels best to keep the pressure off that incision, avoid needing to pull up and down pants every time you use the bathroom when it may feel tender to bend over, and maternity nightshirts are a dream if you are on a breastfeeding journey with your baby! Or you may prefer sweats and t-shirt, comfy pajamas or robes. Find what feels best to you! Finding clothes that fit and feel comfortable can be hard to find, and often times, aren’t cheap. Online shops such as Mommy’s Trading Post have second-hand maternity, nursing, and postpartum apparel at cheaper prices than buying new. You can also search on Facebook for clothing exchanges in your area, for maternity clothes or otherwise.
Going To The Bathroom
Even if you did not have a vaginal birth, using the toilet after a c-section is no walk in the park. If you pushed for a while before a c-section was necessary or a c-section was planned from the beginning, pregnancy alone has put a lot of pressure on your pelvic floor. Additionally, the pressure from pregnancy and any pushing that may have happened likely impacted the positioning of your pelvic organs - which in turn effect the ease with which you can pee and poop. To make using the bathroom a better experience, try these:
Drink LOADS of water, and for those breastfeeding, drink even more. Good bathroom habits start outside of the bathroom by staying hydrated to help you pee and poop easier. You may find yourself thinking “I don’t want to drink lots of water because then I will have to use the bathroom more”, and although it is counterintuitive, the opposite is true. Concentrated urine when you are dehydrated actually irritates your bladder and makes you feel like you have to pee MORE. So, drink water throughout the day, have a large water bottle near you all day, set reminders on your phone, make hydration goals, whatever helps you stay motivated.
Ask your doctor or pelvic floor therapist on their recommendation for stool softeners. It is not ideal for your pelvic floor or your healing incision if you are straining to poop. When you go to poop, try to practice some deep breathing to help instead of bearing down or holding your breath which is going to put a lot of pressure on that incision. If you feel like you have to push, try this: form your hand into a tight straw and as you poop, blow all your breath through that straw. This will help with pushing but avoid all that pressure building up in your abdomen.
Invest in a peri bottle, most commonly used after vaginal birth to avoid wiping and damage to the healing perineum. However, a peri bottle can be useful after a belly birth, too, to avoid excessive bending to wipe that may be uncomfortable on your incision.
Bathing
Bathing can look very different postpartum, and can be very dependent on the time and energy you have! After your c-section, primary consideration is healing of that incision. So, make sure you are inspecting your incision and keeping the dressing (if you were sent home with it dressed) clean and dry. While you bathe may be a good time to inspect the site and look for any signs of infection. Your healthcare provider should give you guidelines about getting your incision wet and that will guide your return to bathing. However, soaking your incision before fully healed is not recommended. So, if you do need to take a bath, keep the level of water below the incision site.
Getting Dressed
As with dressing, if you need to take a couple minutes to groom because that will make you feel better, there is no guilt. There is also no guilt if you just don’t have it in you. To make it easier to take care of yourself, try setting up the space you spend a majority of the day with products to help you clean up (because not everything needs to be just for baby 😊). Have some wipes for your own skin on hand to wash, mouthwash and a cup nearby to do your oral hygiene, and hair ties, clips, or hair wraps within reach to avoid having to walk back and forth to and from the bathroom when you are not feeling your best.
Eating
You may not feel like eating, and you may not remember to eat in the flurry of activity in your home. But, did you know that for tissue healing, nutrition is highly important? Studies have found that malnourished people experience lower rates of wound healing and higher rates of infection (Stechmillar, 2010). So, set reminders on your phone to eat throughout the day, have snacks close by so you can keep that blood sugar up, and talk to your support system about bringing meals if you find that would be helpful (even better if you have a meal train or plan set up before baby comes!)
Okay, let’s talk briefly about some of our other activities outside of basic ADLs.
Driving
After a c-section, there is a restriction on driving for at least 2 weeks and possibly longer if you are on pain medication. This can cause stress for finding transportation to those early doctors appointments, running errands, and generally not feeling trapped in your home. If you have a planned c-section, talk to your support system before baby comes and see if people can be available to provide rides. Ask your healthcare providers about online appointments for yourself or possibility of home visits. You can also talk to a representative from your county’s state department about Health First Colorado, which provides support and services to infants, children, and pregnant women. They have transportation options, and you can work with representatives on applying for Health First Colorado and discussing what benefits would be most helpful.
Other Activities
Getting back to other activities you love: It may be hard to think about returning to your hobbies and favorite activities right now in the thick of postpartum. As you feel yourself getting into a routine and feel less overwhelmed by this new role, make a list of important activities you want to return to. Are you medically cleared and ready to get back to exercise? Feel like you and your partner are looking into returning to sex? Talk to a pelvic floor therapist about safe steps to ease your way back in and strategies for safe and enjoyable return. Looking at returning to work? You can reach out to mental health providers, occupational therapists, and/or pelvic floor therapists to discuss the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of return to work as you navigate that journey. Let yourself explore return to hobbies at a self-led pace, which may include making a routine for yourself and scheduling in time for things that make your heart full. There are so many areas of your life to explore and re-explore during this time of transition. Don’t be afraid to ask for support and help. You got this mama!
How To Recover From A C-Section With Occupational Therapy
A c section is a major abdominal surgery and deserves the time, rest, and therapy that is expected after any other major surgery. Not only is it a major surgery, but your body spent 9 months growing and changing to accommodate that baby! Your core and pelvic floor need a little TLC, and we’re here to help! If you’ve had a c section - even if it was YEARS ago - we recommend a check-in with a pelvic floor therapist. Learn more about how we can help HERE.
References:
Stechmiller J. K. (2010). Understanding the role of nutrition and wound healing. Nutrition in clinical practice: official publication of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 25(1), 61–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/0884533609358997
Written By: Jenny Naylor, OT Doctorate Student 2024