8 weeks ago, I walked in to the maternity unit of our county hospital to be induced. My baby was 12 days past its due date. This was my second pregnancy and I had been induced for my first, four years prior, so this procedure was not new to me.

The induction began and some hours later, I started feeling the contractions. This went on for many hours and by the following day, I was fully dilated and ready to push. The midwives were on hand and when prompted, I started pushing but baby did not come out. Further checks revealed that the baby’s head had not engaged (dropped down low enough) therefore no amount of pushing would see to her birth. It was therefore decided that an emergency C-Section was the next thing to do.

I was prepped for the surgery, got given an epidural and was wheeled into the theatre. I was awake during the procedure with my husband by my side and shortly afterwards, our daughter was born. She was pulled out and we heard her cry. What a relief! Over 24hrs after I arrived at the hospital, my precious child was here. I was just happy the whole delivery process was over. It was time to go home and enjoy being a mother to a newborn right? Wrong!

The first thing the midwives noticed was that my blood pressure had shot up during the delivery session and so I was given medication via drips to manage it. I was kept in the hospital so they could monitor the BP. The next day, the BP was still high so I was switched to tablets to help manage it. The doctors refused to discharge me until they had the right dose of the right medication to send me home with. And so my stay in the hospital continued. There are quite a lot of things that arise from having a C-Section and I was about to find out first hand.

First of all, and as expected, I was in a lot of pain from the site of the stitches and it was hard to walk straight. I found it easier to walk slightly bent over forwards. My appetite was good and I was eating well, baby was also breastfeeding well but my tummy started really aching me by day 2 (post-operation).

The nurses asked if I had had a bowel movement since the operation and I realised that indeed I had not. Unkown to me, gas had built up in my digestive system and this contributed to my tummy ache. So I started drinking prune juice and eating lots of oranges. By the following night, my bowels opened with a vengeance. What a relief! Apparently, having a surgery like that can make the intestines go ‘lazy’ and so having a bowel movement may take some time post-surgery.

After a total of 10 days in hospital, I was finally discharged. It felt like being freed from some type of prison.
I was discharged with a lot of medication for various things. The day I was being discharged, the site of the stitches started leaking a pink fluid. I panicked and wondered if the stitches had ruptured. A nurse came to check and, thank God, that was not the case.

A doctor also came to have a look and he said it was not unusual for this to happen after a C-Section. I was asked to place a dressing on it and changing it as often as required, in order to absorb the liquid till it was all gone as my body was getting rid of some sort of infection. I was placed on antibiotics immediately and it was one of the medications I was discharged with.

Another medication I was discharged with was an injection which I was told to use once daily for 6 weeks. The injection was to be administered on the tummy (around the belly button area). This was to prevent blood clots as blood clotting was a risk following any major surgery. I hate needles with a passion and wondered how I would get through 6 weeks of injecting myself? Somehow I found the courage and started doing so. After about 4 weeks of using this injection medication, blisters formed on most of my tummy skin.

My tummy became hard and painful to touch. Oh my Lord, what was happening to me? I went to see the doctor who prescribed an emollient cream. By nightfall, I broke out in hives (rashes all over my body as if I was allergic to something). I suspected that the anti-coagulant injection medication was the culprit as I had used it for more than 4 weeks by then. It is a blood thinner and one of the side effects may be rashes and bruising, which would explain the blisters on my tummy. I used the emollient for a few days and my tummy skin started getting softer and less painful. Then after some more days, the hard skin layer started peeling off.

The 6 weeks following my daughter’s birth was a trying period for me, health-wise. I found out that there are quite a few issues that can arise from having a C-section, which no one warns you about. Indeed, it is a topic rarely discussed. I just want to salute every woman out there who has ever undergone the procedure. At the end of the day, I thank God because it could have been worse. Baby and I are alive and I am feeling much better.