It Matters for Moms

The days immediately following the C-section are the most critical in determining Mom’s continued health. To help put her on the best road to recovery, clinicians should first make the right choice selecting her incision dressing.

Experts agree on the best practices for mothers to follow⁴ to prevent infection and promote healing of their C-section incision. Such guidance includes not touching the incision site and avoiding activities that may strain the incision.

Yet caring for a newborn makes following such guidance difficult, if not nearly impossible.

To meet the standard guidance while also promoting better outcomes, medical teams should consider advanced dressings for C-section incisions. Such advanced dressings not only protect the incision site, but also provide flexibility, absorption, gentle removal and technology designed to prevent SSIs.

These features allow Mom to recover from major surgery while caring for what matters most: her new baby.

1. Flexibility: Keep Mom mobile
   
   

   The demands on new mothers are hefty. Yet because regular care of a newborn — including lifting, carrying and feeding — can cause strain to the incision site, moms are put in a precarious situation that leaves their incisions vulnerable to dehiscence.

   Choosing a dressing that promotes early post-operative mobility is crucial for post–C section mothers. Because the risk of blood clots is nearly doubled for women who deliver by C-section,⁵ mothers are instructed to walk and perform gentle exercises as soon as physically possible after surgery.

   To promote Mom’s mobility while ensuring her incision is safely closed, look for advanced dressings with innovative Flex technology. The soft dressing should adhere to her skin securely and conform to her movement, so she can lift and rock her baby, walk, and gently stretch without fear.
   
   

2. Protect sensitive skin and minimize interference
   
   

   Research emphasizes the importance of not touching the incision site within the first 48–72 hours.⁶ Yet skin-to-skin contact with baby is vital during this time, as is Mom’s peace of mind. Tiny feet or even clothes rubbing against the incision can be cause for worry and discomfort.

   While traditional tape and gauze are commonly used to cover incisions, they must also be frequently changed. Such dressing changes cause multiple risks to post–C section incisions:

   • Disturbs the healing process
   • Increases clinician time and labor
   • Increases risk of contamination and SSIs
   • Potential for pain and blistering⁷

   
   An advanced dressing should mitigate these risks — providing a protective barrier between Mom’s sensitive incision and her clothes and baby. Further, choosing a dressing designed for extended wear time allows for undisturbed wound healing.

   For instance, Mepilex^® Border Post-Op Ag is an advanced dressing with a clear border surrounding the dressing core. This border provides a window to the incision that allows for monitoring without needing to lift the dressing and disturb the incision. Its Safetac^® technology gently adheres to the skin, meaning less pain and damage during removal.⁸
   
   

3. Strengthen infection prevention with ionic silver
   
   

   Traditional tape and gauze provide little more than a cover over wound beds and incisions. Considering that C-section incisions are more prone to SSIs than other post-op incisions, it’s critical that mothers are provided more protection.

   
   
   
   

    

   That’s why advanced dressings are incredibly beneficial to mothers recovering from C-sections. Beyond covering the incision, some advanced dressings are designed to inactivate microbial threats. Such is the case with Mepilex Border Post-Op Ag, which is proven to reduce the number of bacteria by 10,000-fold thanks to its rapid, sustained release of ionic silver, with antimicrobial effects for up to 7 days.⁹

   Ultimately, a mother outfitted with an advanced dressing, such as Mepilex Border Post-Op Ag, has a reduced likelihood of developing cesarean SSIs.^10,11

   The benefits of using an advanced dressing capable of minimizing infection risk extends to the hospital, as well.

   Implementing higher-quality advanced dressings that help prevent SSIs may result in significant cost savings for hospitals. By reducing SSI rates, facilities may avoid costly SSI-associated treatment expenses, including valuable time and resources.¹¹

   For instance, after switching to an antimicrobial bordered foam post-op dressing and reducing their rate of SSIs, one hospital concluded that had they implemented use of the advanced dressing earlier, $1.3 million in treatment costs could have been avoided.¹¹

    

4. Shower proof to improve Mom’s well-being

   Even a simple shower can add stress to a new mother with an abdominal incision.

   Mom may want to freshen up while caring for her baby and recovering from a life-altering surgery. But she needs a dressing that will protect her incision from water and other liquids.

   An advanced dressing, such as Mepilex Border Post-Op Ag, allows for showering, improving Mom’s ability to feel her best. Mepilex Border Post-Op Ag features a showerproof seal that maintains a reliable, conformable adherence to the skin even in water, while also providing a barrier against harmful microbes larger than 25 nm.¹²

    

5. Absorption — for an optimal healing environment

   Exudate is a natural part of the healing process. However, if not absorbed properly, it can create an environment for bacteria to thrive and increase the risk of infection.

   Tape and gauze can become saturated with exudate quickly, causing them to stick to the incision and damage the healing tissue when removed.

   Instead, advanced dressings using highly absorbent foam are designed to absorb exudate effectively while maintaining a moist environment that promotes efficient healing.

   Mepilex Border Post-Op Ag’s ultra-absorbent layers absorb and retain more exudate than other leading dressings.^13,14 This potentially results in fewer dressing changes and less maceration risk^{15, 16} for mothers already recovering from the trauma of delivery.

A mother healing from a C-section birth needs more support than tape and gauze offer. She needs an advanced dressing that can keep up with the demands of caring for a baby while actively promoting the healing of her body — without the pain and disturbance of frequent dressing changes.

Put simply, Moms deserve more than traditional incision care. Instead of sending mothers home with an incision covered with gauze, medical teams can give moms much-needed assurance with advanced dressings that do more to prevent complications.

Mepilex Border Post-Op Ag is one such advanced dressing that is clinically proven to reduce the risk of cesarean SSIs.^10,11

Want to learn more about the dressing that provides all 5 benefits described in this article? Contact us to demo Mepilex Border Post-Op Ag and make the investment in Mom.

1. Osterman MJK. Changes in primary and repeat cesarean delivery: United States, 2016–2021. Vital Statistics Rapid Release; no 21. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. July 2022. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/ cdc:117432.
2. Seligman, Katherine & Katz, Daniel & Farber, Michaela. (2018). Preventing Surgical Site Infection After Cesarean Delivery—The Anesthesia Professional’s Role. 33.
3. Declercq, E. Zephyrin, L. The Commonwealth Fund, Maternal Mortality in the United States: A Primer. December 16, 2020.
4. Cleveland Clinic. C-Section (Cesarean Section): Procedure, Risks & Recovery. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/7246-cesarean-birth-c-section.
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Expecting or Recently had a Baby? Learn about Blood Clots. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dvt/infographics/blood-clot-pregnancy-info.html.
6. Toon CD, Lusuku C, Ramamoorthy R, Davidson BR, Gurusamy KS. Early versus delayed dressing removal after primary closure of clean and clean-contaminated surgical wounds. Cochrane Database Sys Rev. 2015 Sep 3;2015(9):CD010259. doi: 10.1002/14651858. CD010259.pub3. PMID: 26331392; PMCID: PMC7087443.
7. Mölnlycke Health Care. Surgical care does not end when the surgery ends. https://www.molnlycke.com/our-knowledge/surgical-care-does-not-end-when-the-surgery-ends.
8. Bredow J. et al. Evaluation of Absorbent Versus Conventional Wound Dressing. A Randomized Controlled Study in Orthopedic Surgery. Deutsche Arzteblatt International, 2018.
9. Mölnlycke Health Care, data on file. Laboratory tests 20151026-005, 20151109-002, 20151110-007.
10. Erickson M. Embracing action to achieve a significant reduction in C-Section surgical site infection rates and reducing facility costs by implementing antimicrobial soft silicone foam dressing and closing surgical trays. Poster presentation at the AORN conference, US, 2018.
11. Underhill J. et al. Decreasing cesarean surgical infection rates by changing post op care: An interdisciplinary approach. Poster presentation at the AORN conference, US, 2018.
12. Mölnlycke Health Care, data on file: Viral penetration test.
13. Feili, F. et al. Blood absorption capacity of post-operative wound dressings. Poster presentation at 5^th Congress of the WUWHS, Florence, Italy, 2016.
14. Feili, F. et al. A Laboratory Evaluation of the Fluid Retention Properties of Post-Operative Absorbent Dressings. Poster presentation at 5^th Congress of the WUWHS, Florence, Italy, 2016.
15. Zarghooni, K. et al. Is the use of modern versus conventional wound dressings warranted after primary knee and hip arthroplasty? Acta Orthopaedica Belgica, 2015.
16. V Overschelde P. et al. A randomized controlled trial comparing two wound dressings used after elective hip and knee arthroplasty. Poster presentation at the 5^th WUWHS conference, Florence, Italy, 2016.