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

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.

MAUREEN CONNOLLY has served on the staffs of Parenting, Family Circle, Self, and Woman’s Day and was a contributing writer/editor for venues such as The New York Times Women's Magazines, babycenter.com, and YourBabyToday.com. Her articles have appeared in Redbook, Parenting, Parents, Health, and Family Circle. DANA SULLIVAN is a contributing editor at Shape’s Fit Pregnancy. She served on the staff of Parenting and has written for numerous national magazines, including Parents, Glamour, and Redbook. Both authors delivered each of their two children via cesarean.