How many cesarian sections are too many?
ByMy husband and I want a big family (4-5kids). I had to have an emergendy c-section with my first baby. My doctor wants me to have another c-section with my second. I am worried about not being able to have more kids if I keep having c-sections. My doctor says natural childbirth is too risky after having had a c-section.
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8 Comments
March 13th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
You should really listen to your doctor on this one as he/she knows you and your situation better than anyone here. That being said, I have had 3 c-sections and will have at least one more when I have my fourth child. My doctor has already given me the go-ahead on a fourth c-section. Your doctor will let you know when he thinks you should stop. He’ll look at things like amounts of scar tissue, etc. to determine whether you should keep going. Good luck!
March 13th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
I think it really depends on the person. I am having #3 by c-section in just a couple of days and my doctor has no reservations about me going on to have 4.
March 13th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
i would not know how to answer i had all 5 vaginally
March 13th, 2010 at 11:30 pm
this is the great debate surrounding c-sections… my sister in law had 3 and was told another would be do able but risky so she had a tubal ligation and ended it there… i had an emergency c-section with my first and one of the midwives at the hospital said that next time around they would probly tell me just to go with an elective c-section but that i should do some research on VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) and see what i thought about trying for a vaginal birth 2nd time around. i think the usual number for c-secions is 3 but i have heard of more. i want more kids than 3 so that worries me and also my scar is still painful sometimes (7 months later) so i don’t want to go through all that again if i don’t have to. talk to your doc about the pros & cons and maybe seek another opinion and make a decision from there.
March 13th, 2010 at 11:51 pm
You should ask your doctor how many is too many.
I had c-sections with both of my babies. There was never a choice, with my internal shape the babies wouldn’t come out the normal way. (not that I knew until it was time to have the first one) I never dialated or had any contractions.
I don’t think I would have tried for a VBAC even if my body would have cooperated. The second c-section is a lot easier to heal up from than the first, at least it was that way for me. It was nice too not having to spend days trying to be induced, to just have the time and date scheduled.
Anyhow, not all hospitals will let you have a VBAC. Your doctor’s insurance may prevent him from delivering any babies that way either. So, if you decide not to have a c-section, you will probably have to switch doctors.
I do know that after two c-sections, there is no way they will let you try for a VBAC, not just a particular doctor or hospital, but anywhere…so this is definitely the time to ask your doctor how many c-sections it is possible for you to have.
March 14th, 2010 at 12:39 am
You would do well to get a copy of your surgical record and your current record and see another doctor. Ask at the hospital if they do VBACs. If they do, ask them to tell you which doctors regularly do VBACs. Get your second opinion from that doctor. A doctor that regularly does VBACs is more likely to give you the honest truth than a doctor who tells all of his patients that a VBAC is dangerous. Statistics PROVED VBAC was safe. It was the induction drugs and drugs that enhanced labor that was unsafe! If your hospital does not do VBACs, call around to find one that does.
After 2 c-sections, risks start rising. The 4th pregnancy has a much higher risk of complications including a marked increase in emergency hysterectomies.
March 14th, 2010 at 12:52 am
My first child was an emergency c-section. I asked the doctor at my six week checkup if that meant that any other babies would be c-section. He asked how many I wanted to have, I told him 2 or 3. He then said it was safer to have them via c-section, but if I wanted to have 4 or more to go for VBAC. Then he said “Let’s put it this way-if you try to deliver naturally and you rupture, I have four minutes to get the baby out before you both are dead.” I think that may have been a scare tactic, but my second child was a scheduled c-section.
March 14th, 2010 at 1:29 am
Hi, My first baby was c-section for breech presentation, but my second and third were vaginal. My fourth was emergency c-section because of complications during labor and the fifth was planned cesarean because of the trauma during #4 delivery. The docs did not give me any warning about having more children, but did offer tubal ligation (yuck). They only advised waiting 2 years before getting pregnant again.
The doctors don’t like to risk probs in delivery so will most likely be conservative in their advice. If you don’t like what your doc is telling you, get a second opinion (with a copy of your medical records and surgical notes in hand). My docs always could check the scar with ultrasound between and during pregnancies.
Listen to yourself, sometimes we women forget to do that