C section or natural?

I’m hoping to get a bit of advice from those with experience! I know the midwife’s advice and pros vs. Cons for baby but I just wondered what the experience of each one really is? Is the recovery of C Section really as tough as it sounds and can you really get back up and moving (relatively) quickly after natural? I’m a keen gym goer so being able to maintain some activity is key to my MH! TIA x
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I had a c-section but got a wound vac for my incision. It sped up the healing process and kept the incision clean for me, so I didn’t have to worry about that and my daughter in NICU. Even with that though, it felt like I had to relearn how to use my core. I couldn’t get up, roll over, or sit down without pain for the first few days, but you just have to work through it. I’d rather not have a c-section again, but more so for the mental aspects of it than the recovery. In my experience, there has been an almost dissociative feeling towards the birth, but it was an emergency c-section after a difficult pregnancy.

It wasn’t as bad as I was imagining! For about 2-3 weeks I had some difficulty getting off the floor if I sat down, and getting off my bed since it was really low to the ground. I stopped hurting really bad around week 2, and it was just a dull pain, especially if I moved a certain way. But walking at first was the hardest part. But after I got moving it started getting better. I wanted to lift stuff so badly but I wasn’t allowed to, but I felt completely fine by 3 weeks pp

I’m a big advocate for unmedicated vaginal births with no interventions. I feel as though medical professionals have gotten lazy & it’s easier for them to just dole out drugs & c-sections. OF COURSE if you or your baby’s health are in jeopardy or you’re in distress, then interventions need to happen & I completely understand that. I had a water birth with no pain relief or interventions & it was a wonderful experience looking back on it. I was very fortunate. I imagine the recovery from a c-section is more challenging, as it’s major surgery. They’re cutting through a lot of layers of skin, fat, muscle, etc. After my birth, apart from feeling a bit tender down there & my pelvic floor feeling a bit weak, I was fine. Best of luck to you x

Had 3 c sections and you will not be able to exercise for a minimum of 6 weeks. Even if you feel better as many people do before then especially the first time around you would risk opening your wound and delaying your healing. Also consider that if you have one c section, higher chance of having more if you want kids in the future. I wouldnt recommend a c section unless medically necessary imo. It's hard. It's a major surgery and recovery is long.

Not including the actual recovery of a Csec I’m glad that after 3 babies I don’t have a scar and I don’t have an overhang or pouch. Sometimes years later the incision area is still sensitive/numb/tingly. For some womenaa they need to do a vertical cut which means those women will have a vertical scaar for life and choosing bathers or wearing cropped shirts is harder. I’ll only ever do a C if it was a dangerous situation where baby needs to come out asap and there was no other option

I had a water birth and it was absolutely amazing, couldn't have been better. But it took me 2 months before I could stand for longer than a minute, I don't know what I did to myself but after 30 seconds I would just HAVE to sit down no matter where I was because I would get this pain that just got worse and worse the longer I was up. It wasn't so bad when I was moving, just when I was standing still, but it was pretty embarassing when I went shopping and had to constantly sit down

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