It’s About Time…

that I shared about my road to recovery after my 2nd C-section surgery.

I didn’t dare to share this any earlier for fear of causing a mini commotion among friends who care for me. Whenever someone asked me whether my C-section wound has recovered, I would say ‘Yes’ and that there’s no more pain.

That answer was theoretically correct for the 1st two-three weeks post-partum. My wound healed really well right after the operation and it was true that I did not experience much pain at all for the beginning stage.

Starting from the 3rd week after my operation, I started to feel some pain directly above the C-section incision (where they cut me up). The whole area was reddish, and when I touched it, it felt lumpy. The pain was mildly throbbing constantly, but when I touched it, it was quite bad.

I had always thought that the only bad thing about going for C-sections instead of natural birth was that the recovery takes longer. Understandably so, since they cut you up so deep and then sew you back. Other than that, there are no other risks associated with the procedure, whatsoever.

Let’s just say I was very misinformed.

I googled about complications arising from C-sections, infections related to C-sections, etc etc, and to my horror of horrors, I found many websites & forums on such topics. The thousands of women who shared their experiences in them had gone through horrible stuffs after their C-sections and I shivered reading through some of them.

1 woman shared that her C-section incision was excruciatingly painful right after her operation and she had to readmit into hospital a week after she was discharged because of infection of the incision area. The doctor opened up the incision again (ekks!), dig into the wound with her gloved hands (double ekks!) and cleared the greenish pus that had accumulated inside of her wound (triple ekks!!!). Needless to say, the pain was worse than any other pains she has experienced. Oh my gosh. Something must have gone terribly wrong during the operation.

This other woman was even ‘crippled’ and could not walk anymore due to some complications that arose from the operation. She has been on a wheelchair since the day her baby was born.

Many other women shared similar experiences of having to go back to the hospital to have their wounds opened up again to be washed so as to get rid of the infection bacteria. Majority still experience pains even 9 months to a year after their operations! Unimaginable!

There were of course many others who experienced their wounds splitting open as well. I was numb with fear when I read about those, because I had discovered that one small little portion of my wound had opened up slightly. Not opened up, as in blood oozing out, but I could see red flesh in between the stitches. Yes, it was really gross. I freaked out! The symptoms & pain the women described sounded very much like what I was experiencing! My first C-section was nothing like this! I did not experience any pains near the incision area weeks after the operation!

Nope, I did not immediately consult a doctor. I was a scaredy cat. I could not imagine myself having to go through another ‘cutting’ up incase it was really an infection. I admit, running away does not solve any problem. BUT, everything was just my own guesses based on what I read from the internet! I may not be having an infection, and it could well be just a normal process of recovery. I decided to wait and see for another week. In the meantime, keep praying for the best.

Thankfully, the pain did subside after a few days and while I could still feel the lump above the incision, it was getting smaller and less painful to touch. Eventually, the pain completely went away along with the swell, and now, I am just happy that the wound is completely healed. Doctors did say that a C-section wound takes 2 months to heal, so I am on track.

Seriously, this whole experience freaked me out quite bad, and IF I decide to have a 3rd child, I might want to try for a natural birth. A 3rd C-section seemed just too scary for me.