Shivering 3 days after a C-section: what should you know?

Brief shaking can follow hormonal changes, exhaustion, pain, anxiety, a cool room or the after-effects of medicines used around birth. It should settle rather than steadily worsen. Shivering with a raised temperature, feeling faint or increasingly unwell is more concerning.

After a caesarean birth, infection can involve the wound, uterus, urine or breasts. Other postpartum problems can cause headache, visual symptoms, breathlessness or chest pain. Oxytocin and the details of your Caesarean Section may be relevant to your clinician’s assessment, but they do not explain every episode of shaking.

Check your temperature if you can, note when the shaking began, and look at the wound for spreading redness, swelling, discharge or opening. Drink fluids, keep warm and take only medicines prescribed or approved for you. Contact your maternity team the same day if shivering returns, lasts, or comes with pain, fever, foul-smelling discharge or wound changes.

Do not drive yourself if you feel faint or confused. Keep your discharge instructions available and mention any blood-pressure concerns, urinary symptoms, breast symptoms or recent procedures such as induction of labour or an external cephalic version.

Seek urgent medical help for severe breathlessness, chest pain, fainting, confusion, a severe headache with vision changes, heavy bleeding, severe abdominal pain, or rapidly worsening illness. Fever with shaking chills, a painful red wound or feeling suddenly very weak also needs prompt assessment, including for conditions such as Pre-eclampsia.

Ask whether your temperature, wound and blood pressure need checking, which symptoms suggest infection, which pain medicines are suitable while feeding your baby, and who to call overnight.