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Pain After Cesarean Delivery


1) Pain after cesarean delivery

As with every surgery, a certain amount of pain is felt after a Caesarean section (cesarean section, caesarean section). However, with the painkillers and anesthesia-painkiller methods developed today, this pain is reduced to the lowest level possible.


One of the most important reasons for pain after a cesarean delivery is related to the cutting of the skin and the tissues under the skin, such as muscle, fascia, etc., as occurs in every abdominal surgery. As occurs after a normal birth, the uterus contracts after a cesarean delivery to stop bleeding. This contraction also causes pain.


2) How to reduce pain after cesarean delivery?

After a cesarean section, the period when the pain is felt the most is approximately the first 2 to 4 hours. Spinal or epidural anesthesia (numbing by giving a needle to the waist) has a great advantage during this period. Because its effect continues for a few hours after the surgery, the patient does not feel any pain during this period when the pain will be felt intensely. There is no such thing as waking up after the application of general anesthesia after spinal-epidural anesthesia.


In order for patients who will undergo surgery under general anesthesia to not feel any pain after the surgery, painkillers called narcotic analgesics or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used.


The serum and painkillers given to the mother on the first day after birth are also beneficial in minimizing the pain felt.


3) Patient controlled analgesia (PCA)

This method, as its name suggests, is a method that administers painkillers under the patient's own control. When the patient feels pain, they press the button on the device and the medication is released. This method is usually applied by leaving the epidural anesthesia catheter in place after the surgery. When the patient presses the button, a small amount of painkiller is sent to the epidural space in the catheter at the waist. The same method can also be applied by administering medication intravenously. At the same time, this method is widely preferred in many operations other than cesarean section.


The advantage of the PCA method is that it prevents unnecessary high doses of medication, as the medication is administered only when the patient feels pain. Moreover, when the patient feels pain, he/she immediately meets his/her need without having to wait for the painkiller to be administered.


4) When will the pain go away?

After approximately 6 hours after the surgery, the pain decreases considerably and the patient feels comfortable. At the same time, the mother-to-be can stand up and walk, but she may feel a slight pain in her groin area and abdomen while walking. The pain decreases significantly one day after the surgery and severe pain no longer occurs. The mother is prescribed some painkillers (in tablet form) to use at home after being discharged from the hospital. Until she comes for a check-up, it is normal for her to have very little pain in her groin and abdomen during sudden movements such as lying down and getting up, bending over and standing up, etc. during this week at home. It is unlikely that the mother will feel any severe pain other than these pains.

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