Is a caesarean or vaginal birth the safest option?
- If there are no complications with your pregnancy or labor, a vaginal birth is always safer than a caesarean birth.
- A vaginal birth is also better for your future fertility.
- All operations carry some risk.
- However, serious complications are rare.
- Sometimes, a caesarean birth is needed to save the life of a mum or baby, in which case it is without question the safest option.
What are the risks of having a caesarean?
Pain
More after the operation and it will take longer to recover than if you’d had a straightforward vaginal birth. A caesarean may affect your day-to-day activities for some time. About one in ten women have abdominal discomfort that lasts for a few months after the surgery.
Bleeding
You will lose more blood overall with a caesarean than with a vaginal birth. . Very heavy bleeding is uncommon.
Infection
More chance in caesarean section than vaginal delivery.
Blood clot
Any surgery raises your chance of developing a blood clot, If the clot lodges in your lungs (pulmonary embolism), it can even be life-threatening. Signs include a cough or shortness of breath, or pain and swelling in your calf. Call your doctor if you notice any of these signs after your caesarean.
Adhesions
A caesarean carries a risk of adhesions as you heal. Adhesions are bands of scar tissue that can make organs in your tummy stick to each other, or to the inside wall of your tummy. This may affect future fertility.
Effects of anesthetic
Having any anesthetic involves a small risk.
Should I be worried about serious complications after a caesarean?
Thankfully, most serious complications are rare, although they do become more common if you’ve had two or more caesareans. These include:
- Injury to your bowel or bladder. This happens to about one woman in 1,000.
- Injury to the tubes connecting the kidneys to the bladder (ureters). This is very rare, and happens to about three in 10,000 women.
What are the risks to my baby after a caesarean?
Your baby is likely to be perfectly well, both during and after the caesarean.
Babies born by caesarean are more likely to need a stay in the neonatal care unit than babies born vaginally.
Will having a caesarean affect future pregnancies?
A vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) is possible. Having had a caesarean increases your risk of having a low-lying placenta (placenta praevia).
There is a small risk of the scar on your womb opening up again in future pregnancies or births (uterine rupture), though this is uncommon.
Breastfeeding after a caesarean?
Try not to let these worry you.
If you want to breastfeed your baby, ask for help from a doctor or breastfeeding counsellor from the start.
Caesarean benefits
- Pain from bruising or stitches to your vagina and perineum.
- Heavy bleeding in the first few days after the birth
- Leaking when you cough or laugh (stress incontinence).
Pregnancy can weaken your pelvic floor.
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