Honest opinions on plus size c section?

I had a good experience, size 20 ish, driving after two weeks, scar barely visible at all, no infection. There are risks, and they’ll say all day long that it’s higher risk with higher bmi but it’s not always THAT much higher than a standard bmi. Blood clot risk most people will have the injections after being sent home, so that’s normal. I think I had them for ten days. I think the scar can be affected with lots of belly fat, but if you know that, you can manage that risk and make sure you dry it etc. I did it because my baby was frank breech, I would do another c if I had another. You’ll get positive and negatives from high and low bmis, I hope you get to your decision x

There is the extra risk of infection as it’s harder to keep the wound dry and they will likely give you blood thinning injections. I had an elective c section in July 2023 and it was perfect, my little girl was born just before midday and I went home the following afternoon. They put a special dressing on to help drain the fluid and I had 10 days of blood thinning injections. My wound did get infected but it was my own fault (up and hoovering on day 2 and I was actually a bridesmaid 2 weeks postpartum) but it cleared up with antibiotics x

Much higher right being plus size !

I feel like C-section recovery is pretty hard for everyone. I can only speak from personal experience, but for me pregnancy itself was much harder in terms of pain and mobility. Ask the surgeon to give you a PICO dressing. It will speed up your recovery, especially if you have some extra padding around the belly. And keep an eye out for any signs of infection - if you catch it early, it should clear up with a quick course of antibiotics. As for blood clot risks, you may need to take injections for around six weeks afterwards (but you get used to them).

I’ve two electives c-sections and both been wonderful experiences with very stress free recoveries. Up the same night both times, minimal bleeding for a day or two and was mobile from the get go. Recovery being hard is not a given. As someone else said the risks are probably greater if you have a stomach with overhang in terms of keeping the wound dry. My BMI was a factor in my getting blood thinning injections which combined with my age meant I was on them for 6 weeks both times. My least favourite thing about the whole experience. Having c-sections was a really empowering choice for me that left little to chance best decisions I’ve ever made.

I had my emergency 5.5 months ago now and honestly it was such a good experience! I’m size 20/22 for reference! I had a pico wound dressing which stayed on for a week and applied negative pressure wound therapy to minimise the risk of infection. I did however tear my section scar around week 7 pp and caused a little hole. While I had no infection markers they prescribed me a course of antibiotics just in case! That healed well within a few weeks (didn’t cause me any pain!) The worst part was the 6 weeks of blood thinners (I hated those!) but did them everyday to stay healthy and made sure to get up and move slowly starting on day 2. I loved my section and have already decided I’ll have another with my second baby!

I had my 3rd c-section with a BMI of around 40 (17.5 stone, I’m tall btw). I was never made to feel “too large or heavy”. I initially had a PICO dressing on, but it kept alarming so I asked the midwife to remove it after 24hrs and put on a standard dressing. I was walking around the very next day and had a shower. I live over 3 floors, so going up and down was difficult, but I did it. I never got a wound infection or blood clots, but of course I followed advice to minimise the risks (blood thinners, airing my scar, keeping it clean and dry , walking around regularly). I was out food shopping around 1 week PP, and back to an almost normal mobility around 2-3 weeks pp. My experience was positive, to the extent that I would do it all again 🥰

I had an emergency c section on in March this year, my section went as should minimum blood loss scar healed great only had one side slightly take longer then the other but that was cuse that was my dominant side for getting out of bed and getting baby out of the crib and healed really well no infection or anything and easy to keep dry had no issues at all and I'm a size 30 - 32 and have a belly hang and I was so worried about it, if your not being put on blood thinners from 28 weeks then you will just be put in them for about 10 days after c section just to make sure no blood clots xx

Was it hard yes did it hurt yes, would I think it would have been any easier without weight not particularly? The pain was the scar itself, coughing sneezing etc which didn’t have anything to do with my weight? I was classed as high risk all the way along because of my weight and I didn’t have so much as morning sickness 🤷🏻‍♀️ he was a good weight at 7lb 13 the only reason I ended up as a emergency c section was because of the induction! I would say they are more risky than the weight😅 The blood thinner injections do hurt after a while I had them for 10 days and wore my compression socks so didn’t have an issue with clots. Would definitely recommend the pico dressing! My scar after the week it was on was super neat and healed so much more then I was expecting ☺️

I just had an elective csection and my doctors did not make any mention of my surgery being higher risk. My surgery was great, no issues. Recovery was a total breeze. I think I spent maybe 4 days in bed and then after that I took pain meds on a schedule and was totally back to normal. Yes they will give you blood thinners to prevent clots, but they’re quick and easy.