10 Home Remedies for C-Section Recovery; Post-C-Section Tips

Home Remedies for C-Section Recovery: Recovering from a caesarian delivery can be long and uncomfortable. It takes time, patience and taking good care of yourself. The good news is that there are a few excellent home remedies for c-section recovery. They are fairly simple and require ingredients and items that you likely already have at home. If you have just gone through a c-section, try out these helpful home remedies to aid in your recovery.

Top 10 Home Remedies for C-Section Recovery

Here is a look at 10 great home remedies for c-section recovery.

1. Broth

There is nothing like the benefits of broth to help before or after an illness or a surgery, including c-section. Bone broth is rich in proline, glycine and other amino acids that are needed for the production of collagen and skin healing. Broth also contains gelatin, which works wonders to heal the wound.

Make your favorite broth with fresh ingredients.
You can also buy high-quality ready-made broth. Make sure to avoid those that contain MSG.
Make this a part of your daily diet until you have recovered completely.

2. Move

While you should avoid exercise, it is important to start moving around as soon as possible. It will be painful, but it does help immensely with the healing process. You should not push yourself too hard, but remember to take walks, especially for the first 6 to 8 weeks.

After surgery, make sure to take short walks in your hospital room.
Once you are back home, walk around your yard and slowly progress to taking walks around the neighborhood.
Try to do gentle stretching and movement a few times daily.
Continue until you have healed completely.

3. Honey

If you are worried about scarring from the c-section incision, don’t be. You can accelerate scar healing with the help of natural ingredients like honey. Honey is known to have many benefits for the skin and touted as “nature’s best moisturizer.” It will be sticky, but if you want to speed up scar healing, research suggests that there is nothing quite like honey, easily making it one of the easiest home remedies for c-section recovery.

Apply an appropriate amount of raw organic honey over your incision.
Repeat daily until your scar heals completely.

4. Fiber and Fluids

One of the most common issues that women complain about after a caesarian is constipation. The cause of this uncomfortable problem is the combination of abdominal surgery, antibiotics, painkillers, and lack of movement. By ensuring that you get plenty of fiber and fluids, you can help in making it easier to move things along.

Include fiber-rich foods in your daily diet, including fruits and veggies, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.
Drink plenty of water (at least 8 cups) throughout the day.
Take in other fluids whenever you can as well. Homemade fruit and veggie smoothies made with a liquid base of water are beneficial.

5. Massage

For centuries, midwives have used massages to treat women after childbirth. They are not only helpful in preventing and reducing the appearance of scars from a c-section but also increasing circulation. This, in turn, brings fresh blood and nutrients to the site of the suture. Massages may also break up scar tissue and boost skin regeneration.

Gently massage the incision area for 5 to 10 minutes daily. You can use oil or choose not to – the choice is yours.
If you choose to use oil, a few great choices are rosehip seed and tamanu oil. You can also add skin-regenerating and anti-inflammatory essential oils such as frankincense, lavender, or chamomile to your massage oil. Experts recommend 10 to 12 drops of essential oil for every 2 tablespoons of massage oil.

Note: Before massaging the suture site, make sure to wait 4 to 6 weeks. Consult your doctor and if they give you the green light, you can do it sooner.

6. Heat Therapy

C-section comes with pain and there is no getting around it. However, you can ease the pain with heat. Heat is one of the best home remedies for c-section recovery. Because your nerves are relaying the warm feeling to your brain, it will dampen the pain signal. Heat will also increase blood flow to the incision area and relax your muscles.

Apply heat on the area with a heating pad or hot water bottle.
You can also soak in a warm herbal bath.
For additional relaxing benefits, add 1 cup of strongly brewed lavender or chamomile tea to your bath water.

Note: Consult your doctor before taking a warm bath for c-section recovery as there is conflicting information about how soon you can take a bath after a c-section.

7. Essential Oils

Did you think that you were finally done with nausea? You may be mistaken because it is incredibly common to suffer from one after a c-section. It could be due to abdominal bloating, constipation, hormonal changes, or the surgery itself. A great way to relieve nausea is to inhale the aroma of certain anti-nausea essential oils such as peppermint, ginger or fennel.

Pick your preferred essential oil and put 1 or 2 drops on a cotton ball and waft it under your nose.
You can also diffuse them or add 1 drop to 1 bowl of steaming hot water and breathe in the vapors.
Keep in mind that you should use these oils only in a well-ventilated room. Make sure to keep your baby away.

8. Nutrient-Packed Foods

As you have just had major surgery and your body is in recovery mode, you will need all the nutrients you can get to heal. There is no one food or one nutrient that will do the job. What your body needs is a variety of foods that are packed with different nutrients. They will do wonders in replenishing and rebuilding your body after a c-section. In combination with the other home remedies for c-section recovery, make sure to take a balanced, nutrient-packed diet always.

Eat nutrient-rich, well-balanced meals each day.
Opt for foods rich in protein and plant-based options that are packed with vitamins, minerals as well as phytonutrients. Do not forget those with healthy fats, such as fatty fish, avocado, nuts and seeds. These are anti-inflammatory and can help in reducing swelling.

9. Probiotics

As with any surgical procedure, you will be given antibiotics after a c-section to prevent infection. However, the use of antibiotics can be detrimental because they can eliminate beneficial bacteria needed by your body. Taking a probiotic is important too, as it can help fight the antibiotics’ negative effects and restore a healthy balance of bacteria in your body.

Ask your doctor to give you a probiotic when they prescribe the antibiotics.
Also, load up on probiotic foods, such as Greek or live cultured yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, soft cheeses, sourdough bread, etc.

10. Rest

After a c-section, you need to get plenty of rest – just as you do after any other surgery. Proper rest and sleep is necessary, in fact the most important in our list of home remedies for c-section recovery, in order for your body to heal properly. While life will be difficult and hectic with a new baby, you need to make sure that you get enough rest to recover from your c-section.

Get some sleep every time your baby sleeps.
Get the help and support of a family member or friend or hire a babysitter for a few hours so that you can relax for a few hours and get much-needed rest.

A c-section is a major surgical procedure so your body will take quite a bit of time to recover completely. Fortunately, with the remedies listed above, you can get the natural help you need for your recovery and feel as right as rain again in no time. If there are any other home remedies for c-section recovery that you would like to share with us, we welcome you!