Scar Jealousy!!

I'm having a gripe. I caught up with a mate today that I hadn't seen in years, her daughter is 2 months older than mine, and we both had c-sections, funnily enough we ended up comparing how our scars had healed. Now it's the first c-section scar I've seen other than my own or my mum's, and I got quite upset - her's was this nice neat straight 2 or so inch long line, nice and level, just on bikini line. Mine looks shocking in comparison!! To start with, it runs from hip to hip. Then we've got the fact that it's on a diagonal curve. And it starts at the top of my bikini line on the left but it's an inch above my bikini line on the right! I'm left feeling a bit ripped off, and now I understand all those people that go "oh, once they heal, the scar's hardly noticeable" because after looking at somebody else's I'm pretty sure that the statement would be true for most people. I know that because of complications and impacting that they needed elbow room, but it kind of sucks that I'm left with this disfigurement. I know I should wear it with pride, but I don't. It makes me soo self-concious when I have to get undressed, I feel like some bugger slapped me with the ugly stick. Sorry if I upset anyone, just had to get this off my chest.

hmmm, seems I'm in the middle then, mine's about 5 inches across the top of my pubis, and it's not straight either, but it's a kind of gentle curve (I guess it was hard to cut a straight line on my gigantic belly). Mine would probably have been alright except that when I got a wound infection they picked at one end of it to try to drain it, so one end is all raised and bumpy

It is getting better with time, and TBH I find my mummy flap uglier than the scar itself

Mines about 8 inches and curves slightly, and mine was infected and I ended up back in hospital. When I was in with Joel the midwives at the hospital all commented on how nicely it had healed and how you can't really notice it.(well I notice it) The overhang that came with it bugs me more......but then I have noticed at swimming other people having an overhang and they didn't have cs so that makes me feel better. Took a while for me to be ok with it though. I remember seeing the lady that I worked for in the states who had twins, her scar was about 2 inches if that so I thought that was the norm, but then her whole waist was probably 10 inchess total.

Mine you can barely see. You have to look really closely to see it. And this after the gynae saw me at 8 weeks telling me that I had messed up her work a bit (we moved houses and I lifted some heavy stuff until Grant forced me to sit still and not do anything). She was a bit upset as you really wouldnt see it then.

Just hope they do another good job for me here in NZ.

I'm sorry that you feel that way Flutterby. Do you know why they had to cut so wide?

My scar is very faint now & only about 10cms across (at a guess). I wonder too how they got a baby out of there

I don't have any overhang but it could be something to do with the way it was stitched up...

I look at mine and try to figure out how they got 2 ,albeit small, babies out of there. It's about 3 inches wide and has really faded away I had to 'search' to find it as I hadn't looked at it in a long time.

And yes I have 'jelly belly' even though I'm down to my pre-pregnancy weight again.

My overhang had pretty much gone, then I got pg again and it came straight back. I think it is cos when they stitch you up you are lying down and the baby is out, so when your belly starts to shrink it doesn't have the baby holding the skin tight IYKWIM

I used biooil on mine during my second pg, seemed to help a lot. I still have overhang and i'm 16kg less than the day before I had him (was weighed at mw), but my belly is no more jelly like than before either pg.

Thanks for all the responses guys, it's nice to know that no two scars are alike, makes me feel a bit better.

Sally belly, mine is so wide because I had a very long labour, my pelvis was to small for elizabeth to descend through so her scull became badly impacted and they needed elbow room (not a figure of speech, DP turned around at one point during op and somebody had their arm in me up to the elbow) so they could hold her firmly enough to pull her out. They put a hat on her in the delivery room because they didn't want me to see her head, and then it was strapped and covered in the incubator.

Weegee, even with being a c-section I'm kinda lucky, don't have an over-hang or flap, just the comfy cottage cheese tummy that sticks out a bit.

Noodle, I've been using bio-oil since about 8 weeks post-op, I don't know if it makes a difference to the way it looks but it sure does make it more comfortable - stops it feeing sore and tight. I always know when I forget to put some on for a few days.

Mine is ok, but its only been 8 months. Its still quite a dark pink but its straight and about...5 inches at a guess.
Mine healed well, i had no infection or anything.

I dont like my scar, i feel ugly down there now, but oh well, our beauiful(9lb 8oz at birth) boy came from that scar