Looking for C section experiences

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praskovia

New member
I’m 35 weeks pregnant and have been lifting pretty heavy consistently throughout my pregnancy. At an ultrasound I found out my baby is still breech. While I’ve been told I have time, I’m not very optimistic. I went through years of infertility then IVF and finally pregnant. My optimism is non existent at this point so I’m trying to prepare for all scenarios. What was your C section experience and how it impacted your training and body postpartum?

I don’t have any examples of lifting moms who had a C section in my life. Everyone in my life who has had one has attributed C sections to ruining their body and stomachs and has very negative feelings about them. I’m having serious anxiety about the recovery and never feeling back to myself again (including getting to my pre pregnancy fitness level). That feeling has been the hardest part of pregnancy for me and I can’t imagine feeling continuing indefinitely. I haven’t gotten “used” to it as people suggested I would. Thanks in advance for any helpful feedback!
 
@praskovia I had a c section for my breech baby and I did IvF too. I loved having a c section. The healing process was no joke, but once I got my six week checkup I started right back where I left off. I would see a pelvic floor PT to get evaluated for diastasis prior to return to exercise. I lifted and ran throughout my pregnancy.
 
@praskovia My sister is a 2x C section mom who lifts! She continued strength training all throughout pregnancies, her recoveries were both night and day easier than people I know who don’t stay active, she does a core restore program for the first couple weeks and then gently reintroduces strength training once cleared by her doc. At 4mo PP she is back on her progressive overload program and back in the muscle building stage, feeling strong and stable. She is my inspiration haha
 
@brightmn87 That’s great to hear! It’s all so intimidating and there’s so much negative attitudes about your life being over with a kid. And a lot of people don’t understand enjoying being physical so if you care you’re vain or selfish or people just tell you it’ll all end because you won’t have time so prepare for that. Talking to people in person has typically made me feel worse 😂 plus my job is very physical and I’m in a male dominated field (I’ve been on modified duty for pregnancy) that I’m so worried I won’t keep up again.
 
@praskovia I had a c-section at 36 weeks, almost 37. First two days at the hospital i had to take the strong pain killers they gave me, after I got home i was just taking ibuprofen for about a week. I was able to get in and out of the car with difficulty but no strong pain. I started working out after 8 weeks, that’s what was recommended, i lift and run. I obviously didn’t lift as heavy as I did pre-pregnancy, but was able to work my way up after a couple months.I didn’t have any issues when I started working out again, and my body went back to normal fairly quickly (around 4 months) my abs didn’t really separate, neither did I get the so called “c-section shelf” I gained the recommended amount of weight during my pregnancy. My scar is barely noticeable, and it’s very low. My body in my opinion looks just like it did before, maybe better because I started working out more consistently after pregnancy. Im pregnant again and excited to have a scheduled c-section, which ive heard it’s a better experience than emergency ones. Dont let others experience bring you down or make you anxious about how your body will look after. I always thought my belly will be saggy and would have taken forever to go back to normal after hearing other women’s experiences, and it didn’t. Everyone is different, and genetics and lifestyle play a big role in how soon your body will recover.
 
@praskovia I'm not a lifter, but a runner. I've had 2 c-sections. The first was emergency, the second was scheduled. Similar to you, my babies just do not like to flip and were breech/footling breech.

I found the recovery from my second procedure a lot easier, but you need to realize that they are slicing through 7 layers of tissue. It is a MAJOR surgery.

Assuming no complications, if you want to guarantee that you don't hurt yourself, I would say to wait until you are 3 months PP.

I know some start back at 6 weeks, but those are typically vaginal deliveries. With c-sections, you are not to lift anything more than your baby for the first 6 weeks. That doesn't necessarily mean you are good to resume your gym lifting.

After 6 weeks, it seems to vary greatly with regard to how physicians advise and clear people. As a repeat c-section patient, I really wouldn't start back that soon.
 
@praskovia I had a C-section first pregnancy and got full sensation back near incision, no complications and have always maintained fitness levels. I will have a second c section with this pregnancy. It will feel weird at first because you literally have no core strength but you’ll gain it back with proper rehab.
 
@praskovia I had a c section with my first since he was breech. I definitely took it easy on doing anything. It was winter and I had ppd and ppa which just took its toll. Once I started back working out slowly and then to the gym it was wonderful. I am pregnant now and will say I was in better shape with my first but I’m still going to the gym and was in good shape.

But…as for the change. I remember looking in the mirror after birth and being like oof. Until I remembered my body worked a miracle for 9 months and to give myself grace to get back to feeling good and healthy (before I felt looking good). It might take a little time, or it might take a long time but having that mindset of took 9 months to build a baby from scratch really helped me take each little victory in my workouts no matter how small. Congrats to you!
 
@praskovia I swear she’s not paying me, I recommend her here all the time 🤦🏻‍♀️ but check out Brianna Battles! She has good info on getting back to lifting in general and some good convo about her c-sections.

My personal anecdote - I had an urgent C-section after baby stopped tolerating labor. I have ~feelings~ about it but my recovery was honestly really straightforward and fantastic. I never needed narcotics, and was walking outside starting a couple days after we got home from the hospital. I took it slooow to rehab to my core and finally got back to an empty barebell several months postpartum, but was able to get back to PR a little after a year postpartum (which admittedly weren’t numbers I’d pushed super high, I was new to lifting when I got pregnant, but this still representing returning to my baseline). My stomach looks a little different with some looser skin if I bend certain ways, but that’s 100% down to how I carried. My scar is hidden in my pubic hair and doesn’t have a shelf or anything above it. My pelvic floor is also in great shape- I occasionally get a weird sensation around the scar but it’s honestly less of an issue than some friends with vaginal births who had more pelvic floor issues when returning to exercise.

Overall, my body is mostly the same though definitely affected by the 2ish year age difference and my skin stretching. It functions as well or better than before. I’m grateful for a procedure that gave me a healthy baby, even if it wasn’t how I imagined giving birth
 
@praskovia There’s plenty of other testimonies here stating that a C-section and lifting doesn’t exclude one another.

I just wanted to say, that even if your baby is breech now, 5 weeks (!!!) before you’re due, doesn’t mean they’ll be breech when you give birth. It also doesn’t mean you have to have a C-section, it’s possible to have a natural birth while the baby is breech.

Mentality is so, so important and I would really recommend to read The Hypnobirthing Book by K. Graves, it includes both meditations, visualizations and generally a really sane view on pregnancy.
 
@praskovia Had a c section and not gonna lie, the first like 48 hours was rough. This was also due to the fact that I have some condition where I metabolize anesthetics exponentially fast so my spinal tap was gone within 30 min and I felt everything. That said, once I got over that 48 hour mark I still had some discomfort of course but it was a steady incline in recovery. I ran the NYC marathon just over 3 months postpartum and have been back to my normal very active- cardio and heavy lifting routine ever since I got the 6 week clearance. I plan to still do another c section for baby 2 because I also am a planner and so I really really liked being able to have a date where I knew I was going to have my baby, unless she came early which would have been very appreciated at the time lol but I knew that was the longest I had to wait. I loved that part. I never developed any sort of that like “shelf” they say you can where the scar tissue builds up around the incision and I am not a self care/pamper type so did nothing for that to not happen- massaging, applying creams etc. i also have not had any issues (I’d say from 4 weeks PP onward) with any pain either like no pelvic pain and hip pain etc and again, I wish it wasn’t the case but I’m terrible at recovery like foam rolling, stretching etc so it’s not cause I was committed to that. I know everyone’s experience is different but I highly recommend having one. Especially if you aren’t like me and don’t metabolize anesthetics and pain meds exponentially fast.
 
I think I was able to get right back into things after my 6 week check up because I have worked out for the better part of my entire life and throughout pregnancy (def scaled back preg but stayed active) and so that muscle memory came in clutch and I’d say if anything I think I’m even stronger than I was pre preg. I really would not worry about not being able to get back to where you are fitness wise just cause of a c section. I prob lost a little core strength but that was due to major an separation because my daughter was over 10 lbs but that would have happened if I gave birth vaginally too so is nothing specific to c section. And again, I likely could have healed that if I actually went to a pelvic floor dct and did the PT. The best thing I did PP was invest in equipment for my home gym- squat rack, weights, TRX, dumbbells etc. Having it right there makes working out so much easier since the process of going to the gym can take so long and time is hard to come by the older they get.
 
@praskovia My cousin is a 3x mom and pregnant with her fourth, has lifted through all her pregnancies and has only ever had c sections! It definitely can be done!
 
@praskovia I had a section but i wasn't training during the pregnancy. I am a pole dancer and had been able (between pregnancies) to regain my skill level and progress. I had a great recovery physically, but did take abdominal pt. Mentally there was some toughness, i have never been able to get rid of the abdominal fat above the scar.

If you haven't already, check out content from Spinning Babies and the Miles Circuit to try and turn baby. Also have they offered you a version procedure to try and turn? There are a lot of more...homeopathic things you can try as well.

Can i ask why you think you won't have time for baby to turn?
 
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