XENA's elective c-section preparation 101. By Octavia Hamilton, Founder and Physio.

Preparing for a c-section can feel counter intuitive if a vaginal home birth is what you are aiming for. However, we don't know what is instore for us and the best way to be prepared is to be in the know and understand your options and the pros and cons if the unexpected comes up.

I had an elective c-section for my second daughter. It was the perfect birth for me. But it was a slow recovery and needs a slightly different approach to a vaginal birth.

Here on XENA we have so many resources and they are all in one plan making job of starting to prepare easier :)

How to prepare for your c-section

What might happen in your c-section

Hypnobirthing decision making and brains

Though you might not be giving birth vaginally it can still be a time of anxiety and staying grounded and calm will be beneficial. This is a lovely grounding yoga program by Hayley for if you are feeling anxious :)https://www.xena.life/media/ground-yourself

Podcasts:

Listen to the Tinto Talks podcast with Emma when she discovers she has placenta previa and is advised to have ac-section. She is very nervous about this and we cover how she got over the anxiety, prepared and how the birth went. Its a love story of the full journey from

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tinto-talks/id1526561668?i=1000497836031

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tinto-talks/id1526561668?i=1000501613394

https://www.xena.life/resource/self-care-for-your-scar

If you want further info or a more in-depth dive check out our bolt on by Hannah Poulton and Clare Bourne, both top physios. They have created an hour long webinar to guide you through what happens in a c-section and how to prepare.

Regarding recovery it is well known that early scar work has wonderful benefits to healing, appearance and how you feel about the area.

Leading scar work therapist Emma Holly has provided this fab scar work handout and founder Octavia has recorded this short video on how to massage your scar. Naydaya, an evidence based beautiful product shown to improve healing has offered us a 10% discount on their scar care range. Pre order you after care products now from our shop