Homeopathy for C-Section Recovery
C-section recovery is different from other recoveries; you are healing from major surgery, while also learning about your new bundle. And if you did not want a C-section to begin with, the recovery can be emotionally fraught as well as physically difficult.
A few lifestyle tid bits on healing from any abdominal surgery:
Be kind to yourself, but move (e.g. walk) as much as possible. In the past, we used to have people stay in bed for as long as possible after traumas (surgeries, accidents, injuries, etc). This is how we know that it’s not helpful (and in fact, can be harmful) to stay stationary.
Breathe! During pregnancy, the diaphragm can’t move as far once the baby starts taking up a lot of space. This is why we feel breathless in the third trimester. Your abdominal muscles and skin also have to stretch as the baby grows. All of this changes how easy breathing is. But once you give birth, suddenly your stretched muscles get loose and the constricted diaphragm get tons of space again – all in the space of a few hours (or longer – depending on how long your labor/surgery was!). This just means you need to re-learn how to breathe properly. There are a lot of tutorials out there (here is one I like), but just choose one that resonates with you. Breathing deeply with a slow exhale (2x - or more - the length of the inhale) will help trigger the parasympathetic system and help manage your stress (something I think all women need during this inherently stressful time). But breathing has an additional advantage after a surgery, like a C-section. Breathing plays an immunological role as the diaphragm pumps lymph and the lungs filter out pathogens. After any abdominal surgery, there is understandably a tendency to guard the stomach and not want to breathe deeply. However, studies show that doing breathing exercises helps restore our immune function, resulting in fewer infections post-surgery and a decreased hospital stay (the Oxford University Hospital has a good handout on this).
Remedies for incision healing and pain management:
Bellis Perennis is the Latin name for the common daisy!
Arnica: Still my number one. Arnica is routinely given after surgeries of all kinds when there is swelling, pain, and lots of bruising. If you are generally feeling beat up by the whole procedure, consider Arnica. It may help with after pains as well, so if that’s something you are struggling with you can give it a try.
Staphysagria: If you are feeling grief, disappointment, or righteous anger about the way the labor and delivery went, then consider Staphysagria. It’s commonly given for incisions with piercing, gnawing or sore pain. But mentally, someone who needs Staphysagria is generally indignant (“why me”, or “how dare they ----"), weepy and/or grieving what’s happened. In general, someone who needs Staphysagria may struggle to share their grief and disappointment with others, and rather keeps it inside as much as they can.
Bellis Perennis: I was taught that Bellis is the “Arnica of the abdomen”, meaning it works beautifully to help you heal from abdominal trauma, like a C-section. However, I have not tried it (I have still always found Arnica helpful) so I can’t really speak to how useful it may be.
Side effects from the medications:
Nux-Vomica: This would be a remedy to consider if you are struggling not just from the physical issues from surgery, but also from the medications given for surgery. Irritability (especially if you are tending to criticize the people around you severely), brain fog (especially like a hangover) and constipation are all common in people who need this remedy. Homeopaths often notice this remedy helps people who are dealing with side effects from medications.