C-SECTION RECOVERY MANUAL
Your practical guide to recovering after a Caesarean section
Know what to expect. Know how to support your healing. Feel more confident during your recovery.
Written by experienced midwives and based on evidence-informed guidance, the C-Section Recovery Manual helps women and their support networks navigate the physical
and emotional recovery after Caesarean birth.
Your practical guide to recovering after a Caesarean section.
Available in Paperback + Digital PDF
288
Pages
12
Chapters
6 Week
Recovery Planner
FREE
Scar Tracker
∞
Journal &
Reflection Pages
Written by Experienced Midwives
The C-Section Recovery Manual is written by Leonie Rastas and Janine McKnight Cowan
drawing on their clinical experience supporting women through Caesarean birth and recovery,
and is grounded in evidence-informed guidance rather than opinion or anecdote.
The manual was created to bring that experience into one practical resource, the kind of
guidance women and their support people consistently ask for during recovery.
Experienced Midwives
Maternal Health Focus
Evidence-informed Guidance
Leonie Rastas
C-section recovery expert
Hello I am Leonie Rastas, your companion in caesarean recovery.
I am an experienced C-section mumma of 6 children, registered nurse, midwife, author, educator and holistic trauma therapist known as the C-section Recovery Whisperer®.
With over 40 years in clinical practice, I specialise in C-section recovery, postnatal healing and birth trauma support—helping mothers move from fear and anxiety to calm, confident emotional regulation.
My work focuses on the unique physical and emotional needs that arise after Cesarean birth, including delayed birth trauma symptoms.
A Fellow of the Australian College of Nursing, I have dedicated my career to improving care for C-section mothers.
I designed the TGA-approved C-section wound support splint and presented my research and strategies at international conferences, contributed to midwifery journals, and appeared on multiple podcasts discussing holistic recovery after surgical birth.
I live on the Sunshine Coast near my family and first grandchild, and enjoy live comedy, singing with Australia’s iconic Pub Choir and camping along the region’s rivers and coastline.
C-section Scar Healing
Leonie Rastas reminds us that every birth story is unique
and powerful.
After six C-section births, she continues to show what real resilience, informed choices and modern maternal healthcare can achieve.
Every C-section mother deserves birth trauma and wound recovery support that honours both her body and her emotions. With the right tools, education and trauma-informed care, women can move from fear and overwhelm
to calm and empowered confidence.
C-section recovery isn’t just about healing a wound —
it’s about restoring trust, rebuilding strength and understanding the unique needs that follow surgical birth.
When mothers feel truly supported, their healing becomes clearer, faster and more empowered.
As Featured In
Sarah, AUS
Leonie Rastas from Caesarcare has been amazing in so many ways. The bag of goodies gave me a lot of information and products I didn’t even know I needed.
The splint provided great support for my wound following my emergency caesarean surgery and I still use it one week later.
Leonie has also been very supportive answering any questions I have had.
I would recommend Leonie Rastas to anyone who is thinking about or is having a caesarean.
Dr K R. MBBS.DRANZCOG
We would all like to help our daughter, daughter-in-law, sister or best friend in the difficult and painful days after a caesarean section.
As anyone who has lived through the experience is aware, wound pain is part of the process.
That is when the SAC splint helps.
At every abdominal movement the muscles try to pull apart the wound.
The wound needs splinting and, true to its name, the SAC splint splints the wound.
I wholeheartedly recommend the SACsplint to everyone who has undergone abdominal surgery."
Physiotherapist BAppSc (HM)
Doctor of Physiotherapy
Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPC) such as pneumonia following surgery can increase a patient’s length of stay in hospital and reduce quality of life. Deep breathing and coughing exercises are commonly prescribed by physiotherapists as a way to reduce the risk of developing PPC. The SAC splint is an easy to use, fit for purpose product that supports the physiotherapist in providing this treatment.