Secondary Fertility After C-section
If you’ve had a C-section, or are planning one the most important thing you can do is to be fully informed so that you can plan and consider your recovery as much as the birth itself.
A C-section can be a wonderful experience, or may be the best medical decision for you and your baby. There are risk factors associated with any type of birth and you should not be deterred from making a decision about your birth due to fear. However, most mothers don’t get enough information to be able to make a fully informed decision and this can contribute to postpartum feelings of disappointment, anxiety, fear or sadness.
Often, simple advice and education to support a mother’s healing after a ceasarean birth can make a big impact in her long term health and wellbeing, including her future fertility.
“Clinical studies revealed that cesarean section scar defect may lead to abnormal uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhea, pre-/post-menstrual spotting, heavy or prolonged menses, pelvic pain and secondary infertility.”
“A typical transvaginal ultrasound image of a cesarean section scar defect… suggests an impaired healing, although the mechanism is unclear. Impaired healing of the cesarean scar predisposes to the development of a C-section scar impacting pregnancy (Xiao et al., 2014). Factors predisposing to poor wound healing include inadequate closure of the uterine incision, postoperative infections, and impaired health conditions such as diabetes or collagen disorders (OuYang et al., 2014). In addition, decreased blood flow to the affected tissue predisposes the patient to incomplete or delayed healing (OuYang et al., 2014; Ash et al., 2007). Roeder et al. (2012)”
If we are able educate women better of these risk factors ahead of, or immediately after a caesarean birth, we can also support her to plan her recovery to reduce her risk of poor wound healing or infections. Simple changes to how she cares for her scar, including adequate rest, wound products that support better healing, nutrition, the introduction of scar massage and gentle exercise can all have an impact on reducing the risk factors that may lead to c-section scar defects.
For most women, this information is difficult to access and post-operative care after a c-section is really limited compared to most other surgical interventions. So many resources exist to support parents in birth planning, but very little is available to help a family consider their plans for a mother’s recovery after the birth.
Use our blog hub to find more information from a variety of postpartum experts to help you make a plan for your postpartum recovery.
For access to the full research articles click the links below:
Link between cesarean section scar defect and secondary infertility: Case reports and review
