Cesarean Birth Recovery: 9 Essential Self-Care Tips for Faster Healing
Cesarean births, commonly known as C-sections, account for nearly one-third of all births in the United States. While they are sometimes planned, many happen unexpectedly, making it essential for birthing parents to understand the recovery process. Cesarean Awareness Month, recognized each April, highlights the importance of informed decision-making, supportive postpartum care, and the emotional and physical healing journey after surgery.
Whether your C-section was scheduled or unplanned, prioritizing your recovery is key. Healing from a surgical birth requires more than just rest—it involves mindful self-care practices that support both your body and mind.
Recovering from a cesarean birth takes time, patience, and lots of self-care. Your body has been through major surgery while also welcoming a new life into the world, so be gentle with yourself! Here are nine home self-care practices to support your physical and emotional healing.
9 Essential Self-Care Tips for Faster Healing
1. Prioritize Rest
Your body heals best when it’s well-rested. Sleep when you can, accept help from loved ones, and avoid overexerting yourself. Also- rest is different from sleep. Prioritize resting as often as you can, especially in those first 2 weeks as your incision site is healing. Delegate chores, spend time lying down, resting and recuperating.
2. Nourish Your Body
Eat healing, nutrient-dense foods like bone broth, leafy greens, and protein-rich meals to aid recovery. Eating collagen dense foods like bone broth can help your skin and other tissues heal. Warm foods like oatmeal with warming spices and hot milk or ghee will help your digestion, which usually is affected after surgery. Consider making smoothies with pumpkin puree, applesauce, and other high fiber foods that keep your gut health well balanced and gut motility flowing smoothly. Stay hydrated, especially if breastfeeding. Replenish iron after surgical blood loss with grassfed red meats, goji berries, dark red berries, and eggs.
3. Move Gently
Short, slow walks can help prevent blood clots, improve circulation, and ease stiffness. You can practice breathing exercises from DAY 1 after surgery. You can even do some gentle stretches in bed to help your body recover and move with ease. Download our One Love Postpartum Movement Guide! Listen to your body and avoid heavy lifting in the first 4-6 weeks.
4. Support Your Incision
Keep your incision clean and dry, and wear loose, breathable clothing to bed and over your binder, if you’re binding. When pooping, hold a pillow against your belly for support (like you’re hugging it). When getting out of bed, try squeezing a pillow in between your legs to reduce pressure on your incision site.
5. Belly Binding
Gentle belly wrapping (with a postpartum band or traditional belly bind) can provide support, reduce swelling, and encourage core healing. Read more about the benefits of belly binding, here.
6. Manage Pain Naturally
Use warm compresses, herbal teas (Red Raspberry Leaf and Nettle), or essential oils (like lavender) to ease discomfort. When diffusing oils, make sure you do so in a well ventilated, spacious room. Don’t be afraid to take your pain medications! They are there to help you and we recommend taking them as it says on the bottle (per doctor’s orders), even if you’re feeling better. This helps you stay ahead of the pain in the early days of recovery. Follow your doctor’s recommendations for pain relief.
7. Take Care of Your Pelvic Floor
Even after a C-section, your pelvic floor needs healing! Try deep breathing, gentle stretches, and consider seeing a pelvic floor therapist. A pelvic therapist can help so much with cesarean recovery and many of them can come to your home or do telehealth appointments. Here are a couple Tampa Bay Area Pelvic Health Specialists: Bloom Pelvic Health and Intuitive Therapies and Pelvic Floor
8. Process Your Birth Experience
Birth, especially surgical birth, can bring up big emotions. Practicing mindfulness exercises like journaling and talking with a trusted friend(s) is helpful but we also suggest seeking professional guidance. Some wonderful resources are support from a postpartum doula and a licensed mental health therapist who specializes in pregnancy and postpartum issues.
9. Be Patient & Kind to Yourself
Healing takes time. Trust your body’s process, set boundaries, and allow yourself to recover at your own pace. The biggest thing I see new moms who are recovering from a cesarean birth do is blame themselves. This is not the path you want to go down. You made incredibly difficult decisions to bring your baby earthside, so showing yourself some compassion is a necessity.
Your cesarean birth tells a story of strength. Honour your healing journey with love and care. If you need extra postpartum support, contact the One Love Doula Services team, today. You can scroll to the bottom of the page to read more about our postpartum doula services.
Are you searching for doula services in the Tampa Bay area?
Wondering where to find a doula near you? Look no further! One Love provides comprehensive support for expectant and new parents in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Land O’ Lakes, Lakeland, Plant City, Downtown Tampa, and beyond.
Our services include Tampa doula support, childbirth education, placenta encapsulation, in-home postpartum doula care, specialized lactation support by our CLC’s and IBCLC’s, and birth photography!
Plus, we offer virtual services to accommodate your needs. Let's embark on your amazing birth and postpartum journey together!
All with,