Recovering after a Caesarean section

The first days after a Caesarean section

Recovery after a Caesarean section involves healing from abdominal surgery while also adjusting to caring for a baby. Your hospital team will guide pain relief, movement, wound care and discharge. Follow the instructions given for your own operation and ask for anything unclear to be explained before you leave.

Gentle movement is usually encouraged as you recover. Ask the team what is appropriate for you and what support you need getting up or caring for your baby. Discharge timing depends on your recovery and your baby’s needs.

Plan support at home

Arrange transport home and practical help with meals, household tasks and lifting. Keep medicines, discharge information and contact details together. Check which medicines to take and ask about their use when breastfeeding; do not make changes based only on an online guide.

Return to driving, exercise, heavier lifting and sex at a pace agreed with your clinical team. There is no single date that suits every recovery. Ask for specific advice if your work or responsibilities involve physical effort.

Some vaginal bleeding can happen after birth, including after a Caesarean. Ask the team what changes to expect and when to seek help.

Know which changes need medical advice

Follow your wound-care instructions and seek prompt medical advice for increasing redness, swelling, worsening pain or discharge from the wound. Heavy bleeding, severe pain, difficulty breathing or a painful swollen leg also require urgent assessment.

Keep track of when a symptom began and whether it is getting worse. Do not wait for a routine appointment if you are concerned about a new change.

Use follow-up to discuss the whole recovery

A postnatal conversation can include pain, bleeding, the wound, bladder and bowel concerns, feeding, emotional wellbeing and future contraception. Write down questions as they arise so that the discussion covers your experience as well as the operation.

Ask when your follow-up should happen, what records to bring and whom to contact before that date. If the birth felt difficult or unexpected, ask for an opportunity to talk through what happened.

See our Caesarean section guide, postnatal care information and wellbeing after birth for related questions. Personal discharge instructions take priority over general information.