c sections; how many is too many for one woman?

[Anonymous]

It's hard to find scientific evidence. Just a lot of "more than 3 will kill you" and "no, i've had 8 and I"m fine."

searching "multiple c-sections" gets you lots of debates on vbac and our 30% c-section rate in the US.

any ideas?

[Anonymous]

Who knows. Everyone is different; I've heard stories of 5, but have also heard that the scar tissue in there makes it a very risky proposition for some. Everyone also heals differently. I know someone who has had 4, and each delivery was fairly uneventful, and she recovered just fine.

[Anonymous]

Actually, it's easy to find scientific evidence - NIH does a symposium every few years on the topic of elective c's and such, and the numbers are in there. Basically, anything more than two starts upping the risks.

[Anonymous]

My aunt just had her seventh csection in 9 years, and she's AMA now. No problems with mom or baby any time.

[Anonymous]

It must depend on the type of section. Some emergency sections are done differently.

[Anonymous]

After a certain number there would be no option for vbac, right?

[Anonymous]

Ethel Kennedy had the last five of her eleven children by csection, back in the day of vertical incisions.

Several mothers of large families in my area have their last three, four, five children by csection because their OBs insist they are too old to give birth vaginally.

My mother's friend had her first csection for her 11th child last spring. The OB perforated her uterus, her bowel, and her bladder and sewed her back up. After several days of agony and strange symptoms too graphic to say here, someone finally listened to her and investigated, but by then she was suffering from sepsis and was extremely ill. She had to have a hysterectomy and reconstructive surgery, and she will never be completely well.

Her OB brushed off her complaints as someone who "didn't know what csection recovery was like" and whose body was "just worn out by having too many kids." She was only in her mid-40s and was the picture of health.

Bottom line: it depends on the woman, the skill of the surgeon, and the manner of surgery. But most OBs are petrified of multiple csections.

[Anonymous]

Well, each c-section is major surgery, and each of them has risks related to a major surgery - bleeding, infection, blood clots afterwards, organ perforation, etc. However, scar tissue builds up, and further complicates things.

My OB told me that more than 2 is undesirable.

[Anonymous]

My mother had 4.

[Anonymous]

I've had four. My Aunt has had five.

On my 4th my uterus adhered to my bladder and they had to be cut apart. That wasn't pleasant. My OB perforated my bladder, but it healed after she sewed it up. My tummy will never be the same, but that's okay, I had four beautiful babies.

[Anonymous]

friend had very thin uterus on her 3rd. OB cleared the operating room of family while he finished the operation and she almost died. She had her tubes tied a couple of weeks later.

[Anonymous]

There is alot of research out there. With each c-section your risk of uterine rupture goes up. Of course there are many women who have multiple sections and go on to be fine (Michelle Duggar, anyone?).

I had a section with #1 and knew I wanted more kids, so I was fortunate to have a vbac for baby 2 and 3. I was scared of the risks to multiple sections and I found recovering from major ab surgery a very miserable process.

[Anonymous]

I had three in four years. It is very much dependent on the individual's healing...but after the last one (twins) my doctor recommended we not have any more children.

[Anonymous]

I had 4 in about 6 years.

#1 was after 20-something hours of labor (pre-eclampsia so I was on magnesium sulphate, plus he was "sunny side up"...it was hell!)

#2 was 21 months later, planned C section

#3 was 2.5 years after #2, I tried for a VBA2C, labored at home about 24 hours but went in a few times when I thought the contractions were "close enough", only to be told I wasn't dialated enough...After I started actually getting LESS dialated I asked for a C section. I talked with the doctor performing the C section about the possibility of more kids after 3 C sections, and he told me that he had a patient that had 8 C sections!!!!

#4 was 22 months after #3, planned C section as they wouldn't let me try to VBA3C (which I agree with!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:friend had very thin uterus on her 3rd. OB cleared the operating room of family while he finished the operation and she almost died. She had her tubes tied a couple of weeks later.

I had a very thin uterus on my last one, I posted above that I have had 4. A thin uterus doesn't mean you are going to die, are you sure there wasn't another issue going on?