The Essential C-Section Guide: Pain Control, Healing at Home, Getting Your Body Back, and Everything Else You Need to Know About a Cesarean Birth

By Dana Sullivan and Maureen Connolly

Book Overview

The Essential C-Section Guide is written not only for women to read in preparation for a scheduled c-section and for those considered "high risk" who know that a c-section may become necessary but also for women recovering from an unexpected surgical delivery. This book provides answers to important questions about what the surgery entails, what a woman can expect as she recovers, and what considerations should be made for future pregnancies and deliveries.

Childbirth is a life-altering experience for any woman, but a Cesarean delivery can be overwhelming, whether it's unexpected or planned. Despite the fact that roughly one in four babies in the United States is delivered by c-section, very little information about the experience is included in typical pregnancy books and physicians and childbirth educators often gloss over the details.

With frank discussions about the physical and emotional aspects surrounding a c-section, Maureen Connolly and Dana Sullivan share comforting wisdom about early bonding, pain control, breastfeeding, infant care, healing from surgery, postpartum exercise, partner involvement, and much more, in detail not available anywhere else.

Written by authors who have firsthand knowledge of birth by c-section, The Essential C-Section Guide is well-researched and addresses its unique concerns with intelligence and compassion.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767916077
• ISBN13: 9780767916073
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Harmony
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

great starter workout

I bought the book solely for the workout chapter. I had had one c-section already and never was able to find a workout routine that didn't end up causing me pain at the incision site. This workout is gentle enough to start with, but effective in getting back your abdominal muscles. I've been doing it for 5 weeks now and my stomach is significantly flatter. I've also lost 8 pounds. I can't say much about the rest of the book because, since it was my second c-section, I didn't need to read it.

Essential is right!

Three years ago, I underwent an emergency c-section and have had emotional issues surrounding it since. Now that I've learned with this second pregnancy that I am not a candidate for an attempted vaginal birth, I decided it was high time to educate myself as much as possible. After reading this book, not only am I feeling more prepared for the upcoming c-section but I'm also more understanding of the one I had years ago. I heartily recommend this for every woman, whether she's pregnant and planning on a vaginal birth or a mom that has had a c-section in the past.

Great book for physical and mental recovery from c-section

I had a planned c-section and found this book to be very helpful, especially the exercize plan for recovery. The book provides a nice description of the proceedure, but it is the chapters on emotional impacts of c-section and information for your partner really set it apart. It is nice that the book covers both planned and unplanned c-sections. It is nice that the authors provide warnings before content that may be upsetting so that you can decide whether or not to read that section. I have recommended the book to several friends and they all said that the book helped them with their recoveries as well.

I wish I had this book after my first c-section!

My first baby was born after an emergency c-section -- I had "planned" on a natural childbirth! I was so unprepared for the experience that it took me months to get over it. With my second one, the c-section was planned so I wanted to know what to expect. I couldn't find a book out there and my pregnancy books barely covered the topic. Now I'm pregnant with my third and know I'll be having another c-section so I am thrilled that there is finally a book to help me. The Essential C-Section Guide is amazing -- it's so easy to read and the authors really explain everything you need to know about c-sections. I especially appreciated the information on breastfeeding and the exercise chapters are awesome. Reading a full description of the surgery also helped me make some sense of what had happened to me -- and now I know exactly what to expect.