Adhesions formed from previous Cesarean section (C-section) are a significant risk factor for bladder injury.
Women who have a caesarean can also develop bladder problems. Having a caesarean can reduce the risk of severe incontinence from 10% to 5% for the first baby, but after the third caesarean women are just as likely to develop bladder problems as women who give birth vaginally.
At first, you may experience soreness at your incision site. Soon after, you will feel cramp-like "after pains" when your uterus starts to contract and shrink in size. Your bladder, which is attached to your uterus, will probably be bruised, and you will need to urinate often so your bladder does not get too full.
An isthmocele is a pouch, or niche, of tissue that forms on the wall of your uterus. It's the result of a c-section incision that didn't heal completely. Isthmoceles can lead to abnormal vaginal bleeding, pelvic pain and menstruation problems. It can also cause infertility or problems with future pregnancies.
Injury during a caesarean section
The bladder is especially vulnerable because it lies in front of the uterus and must be clamped downwards for the duration of the procedure. Even if all the necessary precautions are taken, it is possible that an internal organ such as the bladder or bowel suffers harm.
“It's very common for cesarean scars to itch or hurt years later, but that doesn't mean that it's normal,” says Dr. Ashley Rawlins, PT, DPT. Normal implies healthy and functioning well. If you're bothered by your scar, all is not well — and you can definitely do something about it.
The bladder continues to lose muscle tone in the early postpartum period. There can be some temporary nerve issues after delivery, which decrease your sensation (the feeling that you need to urinate). Temporary swelling after delivery can also affect your urination.
A Cesarean section operation involves an incision in the lower part of the uterus through which the baby is delivered. As the bladder sits in front of the uterus, it must be pushed down to expose the part of the uterus the surgeon must cut.
Kegel Exercises
When you are physically able, engaging in kegel exercises daily can help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. You can perform pelvic floor exercises by squeezing your pelvic muscles and holding them for about 10 seconds. You can even get a personal trainer for your pelvic floor muscles.
INTRODUCTION: The incidence of bladder injury has been reported to be 0.27% for primary cesarean delivery, and 0.43%–0.81% for repeat cesarean delivery.
Following a surgical procedure, postoperative urinary retention may present as suprapubic pain or discomfort, bladder spasm, and/or urine leaking combined with the inability to urinate. However, some or all of these symptoms may be disguised by anesthesia or sedation from the operation.
Some of the main risks to you of having a caesarean include: infection of the wound (common) – causing redness, swelling, increasing pain and discharge from the wound. infection of the womb lining (common) – symptoms include a fever, tummy pain, abnormal vaginal discharge and heavy vaginal bleeding.
(Yang and Sun, 2017). UTI and surgical site infections are the two infections that most commonly occur after cesarean delivery (Vincent et al., 2008). The prevalence of postpartum UTI in women who underwent cesarean section was 2.8%, and it was 1.50% in women who underwent vaginal delivery (Leth et al., 2009).
The bladder is a master at self-repair. When damaged by infection or injury, the organ can mend itself quickly, calling upon specialized cells in its lining to repair tissue and restore a barrier against harmful materials concentrated in urine.
In most c-sections, the bladder and intestines are moved aside so the ob-gyn can keep them safely out of the way while delivering the baby and repairing the uterine incision. Those organs won't be moved outside the body, though.
At around 6 weeks postpartum, or by the 2-month mark, your uterus should be completely back to its pre-pregnancy size. But that doesn't mean everything is back to normal, of course.
During cesarean section, due to the impact on the body, it can cause bladder contusion. This results in bladder paralysis and urinary retention after delivery. In addition, postpartum urinary obstruction can occur due to pelvic nerve damage during delivery.
How long will this last? For most women, postpartum urinary incontinence is fairly short-lived. The majority of cases resolve within a year, but a small percentage of women, between 10% and 20%, still have some issues five years after giving birth.
The long-term risk includes asthma and obesity [12]. Moreover, higher likelihoods of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and stillbirths in the subsequent pregnancies are found among the mothers having CS [15,16,17,18,19,20].
Some women do experience symptoms related to their C-section scar long after the operation. Some women feel pain, restriction, or a pulling sensation on or around their scar months or even years after surgery. This is normally due to the build-up of scar tissue which can stick to muscles or even organs and cause pain.
There's usually no limit to the number of caesarean sections that you can have. But the more you have, the longer each operation will take, and the higher your risk of complications becomes (Biler et al 2017, RCOG 2016).