Using Compression to Heal after a Cesarean Delivery

You've just delivered your precious new baby—congratulations! This time in life is filled with so much fun and excitement, but recovering from a cesarean delivery is also a lot of hard work. You have an adorable newborn to care for, feed, and admire, while also healing from major abdominal surgery.

I hope your family and friends will help you with caring for your house and your family in the first few weeks, but let’s take a look at how compression garments can help your body recover during this time. Isn't it nice to know there are aids available to help you heal from your cesarean?

The first item I want to talk about are compression socks. Immediately after surgery, they will put compression devices on your legs to encourage blood flow while your anesthesia wears off. However, once you're able to get up and move around, you're likely going to be pretty sore and not wanting to do very much. This is a great time to wear compression socks!

This is often made worse by the limited amount of time spent walking and moving, which is why compression socks can be so beneficial to wear at this time. Even once you get home, you will still not be as active as you had been before your baby's birth, so wearing compression socks can continue to help reduce swelling and promote good blood flow, even after you’re home.

The other thing I recommend using after your baby is born is a postpartum recovery garment. These garments are designed to support your core muscles as they come back together and regain their strength after your pregnancy and delivery. Some postpartum garments are created specifically for recovery after a cesarean delivery, such as Motif Medical's Postpartum Support Garment. A side-zipper feature makes it easier to put on and off without ever having to pull anything up and down across your incision.

These support bands are made of lightweight and breathable fabric so that you can wear it comfortably for as long as you need to. My clients have said the Motif product is SO MUCH more comfortable than the band they were given in the hospital, which had a tendency to sit either too high or too low on their incision. The material of Motif’s garment didn’t bunch up in awkward places like their hospital band did, and the material was softer, which made it easier to wear.

Wearing a postpartum compression garment is the perfect way to support the work your body is doing to recover after your pregnancy and delivery. It will help reduce bleeding, prevent swelling, and will support your abdomen, pelvic floor, and back while all of your organs settle back into their normal places.

As you continue to heal and feel better, you'll start resuming some of your everyday activities and a compression device will give you extra support to be more comfortable as you begin to move around.

Your incision might still be sore and may hurt from time to time, especially when you cough or laugh or feed your baby. Wearing compression will protect the incision site during these times and make you feel more at ease as you get back to your daily activities.

Motif Medical's postpartum compression garment is such an important device for healing after your birth that they are an FDA-listed medical device and are covered by many insurance plans. I hope you will incorporate this resource into your postpartum plan to help you recover and get back to your usual activities during these precious days as a new parent!