A C-section includes an abdominal incision and a uterine incision. After the abdominal incision, the health care provider will make an incision in the uterus. Low transverse incisions are the most common (top left). A C-section can be done in various ways.
What Do C-Section Scars Look Like? Regardless of the type, most abdominal incisions are about six inches in length, creating a scar of the same size. The uterine incision is typically smaller.
If you're having a second C-section, normally your surgeon will attempt to cut through the same scar. This might not be possible if there's lots of scar tissue in the area, or if the scar tissue is too thick to cut through.
Every subsequent C-section increases the risk of placenta accreta. In fact, the chances of a placenta accreta occurring with one, two or three prior C-sections increases, but remains at about 0.5 percent or lower.
There's usually no limit to the number of caesarean sections you can have. But the more caesareans you have, the longer each operation will take and the higher your risk of serious complications becomes. You will have scar tissue where your wounds have healed after each operation.
Slow recovery ability: Due to having had 2 previous births by cesarean section, in this 3rd time, the mother's body is much weaker, the ability to recover is slow, and her ability to endure a lot of pain is also worse.
A low-transverse incision (or a “bikini cut”) is used in 95 percent of C-sections today. That's because it's done across the lowest part of the uterus, which is thinner — meaning less bleeding. It's also less likely to split if you try to have a vaginal birth after a C-section (VBAC) when delivering a future baby.
Once the baby is delivered the uterus is closed with a double layer of stitching. Four of the five remaining layers are stitched with a single layer of stitching, but one layer is not restitched as it heals better – with no buckling and reduced chance of scar tissue developing, without restitiching.
The Gentle Cesarean
The goal of the family-centered cesarean, or “gentle cesarean,” is to make the delivery as natural as possible. For example, by using both solid and clear drapes, obstetricians could switch the solid drape for the clear one just before delivery and allow a mother to see her baby being born.
Bands of scar-like tissue (adhesions) develop during each C-section. Dense adhesions can make a C-section more difficult and increase the risk of a bladder or bowel injury and excessive bleeding.
A c-section is major surgery, so it may have more complications for you than a vaginal birth, including: Your incision (cut), uterus and other parts of your body, like your belly and bladder, may get infected.
Pain level: Pain is subjective because not everyone experiences pain the same way. However, in a c-section, you should feel little to no pain as you will have been under general anesthesia or numbed. But your recovery may be more painful than compared to someone who had a vaginal birth experience.
During a cesarean section, you will most likely not feel much pain. However, after your C-section, you may experience quite a lot of pain. Recovery times following C-sections are also typically longer than those following natural birth. Ultimately, a natural birth may be more painful than a cesarean section.
The muscles in your stomach will not be cut. They will be pulled apart so that the health care provider can gain access to the uterus.
Diagnosis/definition: Classical cesarean is a midline uterine incision in the contractile portion of the uterus.
Based on the findings, the authors recommend an optimal range for cesarean incision length to be between 12 and 17 centimeters (about 4.5 - 6.5 inches), and advise that neither shorter nor longer incisions be performed when possible.
You may have even heard that your organs could be removed during a c-section. But that's almost never the case. It's true that during a c-section, your ob-gyn will adjust the position of your organs, including your uterus, bladder, and sometimes small bowel, to see your uterus more clearly.
It's going to hurt like heck when you get out of bed and walk for the first time, which they make you do relatively soon after surgery. You will feel like you are 100 years old and you can't stand up straight. You will likely shuffle around as you remain hunched over. This is NORMAL.
C-section pain typically spikes 18 hours after delivery. "That's when the pain medication you were given with your spinal anesthesia wears off," says San Diego perinatologist Sean Daneshmand, MD.
C-section vs vaginal delivery: which is more painful? Without the use of some type of anesthesia or pain relief, we'll agree c-section births are a lot more painful than vaginal delivery. It's believed the very first c-sections were done on women who died during childbirth.
In the first 24 hours, it is common to feel pain at the site of the incision. Many women also feel post-birth cramps as the uterus shrinks. These sensations feel similar to menstrual cramps, but may be more intense. A nurse or doctor will carefully monitor the cesarean incision for signs of infection.
Painful urination after a C-section
That has to do with the fact that C-sections almost always include having a catheter placed, which can cause soreness and pee pain for a day or two. If you spent time pushing before having your C-section, that can cause the same temporary symptoms too.