C-Section – Potential Risks
Today the number of cesarean sections births around the world is on the rise, in part because a c-section is a very safe procedure. It’s a fact that the instances of serious complications is very low. This doesn’t mean there aren’t risks, in fact certain risks are higher after C-section than after vaginal delivery. If you are considering an elective c-section it is important to know about these risks and not pretend to yourself about what is involved. Your doctor won’t necessarily tell you about all of these risks, or indeed any of them but they need to be part of how you make your final decision
If like me you don’t plan a cesarean delivery, but it ends up being necessary, it is important to know about the risks because some of them are things that can happen after the delivery. In the event of having an emergency c-section if you know about these potential risks involved you are more likely to notice any signs of them and take the necessary steps for your recovery.
So the main potential risks of cesarean birth are
- Infection of the bladder, uterus or kidneys
- Injury to the urinary tract
- Injury to the baby caused by use of forceps or vacuum and in very rare instances, the surgeon may accidentally nick the baby with the scalpel.
- Increased blood loss. Blood loss on the average is about twice as much with cesarean birth as with vaginal birth. However, blood transfusions are rarely needed during a cesarean.
- Breathing problems – Babies who are delivered through cesarean birth are more likely to develop breathing problems like transient tachypnea meaning abnormal fast breathing during the first few days of birth.
- Lower Apgar scores – Babies delivered through cesarean birth have lower Apgar scores. The low score may be an effect of the anesthesia. It can also be that the baby may have been in distress to begin with or maybe the baby was not stimulated as he would have been in normal vaginal delivery. (The Apgar score is a number arrived at by scoring the heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, skin color, and response to a catheter in the nostril. Each of these objective signs can receive 0, 1, or 2 points, with 10 being a perfect score.)
- Premature birth – If your due date was not correctly calculated, your baby may be delivered too early.
A c-section can also be the cause of problems in later pregnancies. This includes a higher risk for:
- Placenta previa (Placenta attaches in abnormal location).
- Placenta grows into the muscle of the uterus and has trouble separating after the baby is born (placenta accreta)
- Uterine rupture
Any kind of surgery has risks. Those due to anesthesia can include:
- Reactions to medications. The mother’s health could be endangered by unexpected responses (such as blood pressure that drops quickly) to anesthesia or other medications during the surgery.
- Problems breathing. General anesthesia can sometimes lead to pneumonia.
The likelihood of you actually experiencing one or even any of these potential cesarean delivery risks is pretty small, but I think it’s much better to have the information, I hope it’s helpful. If you did experience any of the above do leave the value of your experience as a comment below.
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