5 Things I Didn't Know About C-sections Before Having One

Whether you are the mother-to-be or a nervous family member, there are many components to a C-section that you may not be aware of. It's nice to have a heads up about some of these before you go into the operating room.

No pain, but a lot of tugging. I knew I wouldn't feel pain as long as the spinal anesthetic did its job. However, I didn't know what to expect as they cut me open and pulled out my daughter. While I didn't feel any pain, I did feel a lot of tugging, which is normal. I am fascinated by this (and I've been told that I'm strange) because it amazes me that you can feel your body being yanked all over the place without it hurting. For the one person that can be in the room with you during the C-section, this is more disturbing than fascinating.

My arms go where? After being given anesthesia, you are quickly placed on your back on the operating table. I assumed this was it, but not quite. They stretch your arms out to the side and strap them down. My first thought was, "Am I being crucified?" It's a very odd feeling. I imagine it's done so you can resist the urge to reach forward as the cutting and tugging is going on. It's like when you have an itch and you have the urge to scratch it, but you shouldn't be messing with it. They have to keep your arms subdued somehow.

What about breech babies? If you have a C-section because your baby is in a breech position, be prepared for the hospital pediatricians to pay very close attention to the baby's hips. The doctors will bend and yank your baby's legs around to test the balls and sockets. It looks like they're trying to cause hip damage rather than prevent it, but they know what they're doing. The breech position can cause mild to severe hip displasia, and it's important to treat this problem early on.

I'd rather be lonely than this. The hospital is way more stressful than the first two sleep-deprived weeks at home, even when you're on your own having to sort everything out. What I hadn't thought about before going to the hospital was that we'd have several different nurses during our stay and that they all would have their own opinions about the way we should care for our child. Some were really kind and helpful, but others made sarcastic comments masked as jokes that were actually insults. There were several other rude moments surrounding breastfeeding difficulties and how long it took my husband to bring the car around the hospital to take us home. Even if you could avoid all frustrating staff members, it is impossible to sleep in the hospital when people are constantly coming in to your check vitals after the C-section, give pain medications, check on the baby, ask if you want to order food, clean your hospital room, and visit with you.

Delivery guilt. A lot of women feel guilty when they have to have C-sections because they feel like they couldn't get it right. Some people will even make you feel guilty like you somehow took the easy way out. In these cases, remind yourself and others that C-section recovery is harder and that your goal was to get your child out in the safest way possible (as recommended by the experts in medicine). Personally, I didn't feel any guilt over the actual C-section but I did about the breech position my daughter was in as it caused some hip displasia. I wasn't sure when this guilt would go away, but it subsided after a couple of months.

Along with the potential guilt for some women is the feeling that they missed out on something since they didn't get to experience a natural birth. I don't have any advice for dealing with this stuff, but I can tell you I was just happy to have a healthy baby no matter how she came into the world.

Overall, a C-section is not such a scary thing when everything goes to plan. Having a C-section is a strange experience. The sheer number of hospital staff members and visitors in your face is overwhelming. Recovery is painful because you can't do anything without using your stomach muscles. But a few days later, it all starts to fade as a distant memory.