Hi! I have had two previous c-sections. The first one was in September 2004. The second one was about six months ago in May of 2009. My husband and I are planning on trying to get pregnant again next year. This will be our third (and probably last) child. I wanted to start trying to conceive in February. That would be me 9 months since my last c-section. Has anyone gotten pregnant again within a year after a previous c-section? Were there any complications? I was a little worried about Scar tissue so i flat out asked my dr when i would be able to start trying to get pregnant again. She said she would prefer that I wait a year. Other dr's have said 6 onth to a year. I think she would have def told me NOT to get pregnant again if there were any potential problems she saw, right? Any opinions? Thanks!
Thanks everyone. My gut tells me to wait too. I talked with my husband about it and we are going to wait the year. I stopped the pill this month, just because I didn't like the effects it had on me, but we are going to use condoms until next may. Thanks again! You ladies just confirmed what I pretty much knew!
well my doctor wants me to wait 2 years. I guess he is much more conservative. But in some ways that woks for me. After the stress and worry of this pregnancy i want a low drama one next time if i do it again. I had 14 years bet baby 1 and 2. both were c-section, this baby was my next time, so i know going in that it will be a s-section.
Go for it! There are many voices here but listen to your own... your doctor didn't say NO to any future pregnancies. I had my 2nd c-section 16 months after my first (apparently conceived while my son was 7 months). No complications. Everybody's different.
I just delivered our second child via a repeat c-section. Our first child is 17 months, so we got pregnant 8 months after our first c-section. My doctor said she would like us to wait a year, but at minimum we should wait 6 months. She said that the wait was for the body stores to recover and that she made the same recommendations to people who delivered vaginally.
We had no problems or complications with our second pregnancy.
I got pregnant 6 months after my c-section twice. (That's three pregnancies, all c-sections.) There were no complications whatsoever as I had healed very well. Your doc should be able to tell how well you've healed. Also, someone else mentioned waiting until the scar tissue is gone. Scar tissue does not just go away and it's not what can cause the complications, it's simply a result of how your body heals. I tend to heal with little to no scar tissue as with both my repeat c-sections, they said it was if I had not had one before. Every body is different.
Will 3 months make that much of a difference in your baby planning? It can make a huge difference in healing. Is it worth the risk of bed rest, miscarriage, rupture, infertility, etc to push it? In my mind any pregnancy already has so many risk factors, why add to them?
I got pregnant w/ my second 10 months after my first (who was a c-section because she was breech). My Dr. said she would have preferred a year between them, but she wasn't overly concerned. I elected to have another c-section, and the Dr. said it was a good thing I did, because when they got in there, they saw that the bottom part of my uterus was extremely thin and probably wouldn't have survived labor. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with having my kids so close together; the Dr. didn't seem to think the two were related.
I think that all depends on which study and research you refer to and what you expect from the next birth. The general consensus appears to be 18months between births.
I recommend International Cesarean Awareness Network as a great resource for evidence based information and recommendations as well as support.
http://www.ican-online.org/
There is a local chapter:
http://www.icanofnova.org/
It is a wonderful group of caring and passionate moms.
My kids are 17 months apart...both c-sections and no problems. good luck!
Its probably pretty safe, but your doctor just wants you to be in the best physical shape as possible when conceiving again. It really is best to give your body a rest after giving birth, or nursing, or going off birth control, or a miscarriage, or any other trauma to your body. A year is just a safe amount of time for most of these things. Is there any particular reason you are in a "hurry" to conceive again so soon?
My friend had 4 succesfull pregnancies - all C-sections. She had 4 years break after 1st, 2 years after second and 3 years after third. You really need to make sure that your scar tissue is gone. Otherwise you'll be facing utherine rupture or bed rest for 9 months. My friend found an MD-accupuncturist who was able to significantly reduce her scar tissue by using accupuncture needles right into her scar tissue on the belly and it helped to reduce utherine scar tissue as well.
Please, listen to your doctor on this one. Give your body sufficient time to recuperate and heal.
I have 3 boys and all c-sections. I became pregnant with my 3rd when my 2nd was 6 months old. When I went into my first appt. my dr. was not concerned. He said he usually tells people to wait a year just because of scar tissue. I healed very well the first 2x times so he thought it wouldn't be a problem. After my son was delivered, I did experience complications. My uterus would not contract and I started to bleed out. I had to be knocked out at that point. I did lose a lot of blood but not enough to warrant a transfusion. Afterwards I asked my doctor if that happened because of having 2 c-sections 15 months apart and one 2 years prior to that. He did say that what happened could have been due to the 2 c-sections being done so close together. However, he also said it was a complication that can happen in any c-section or natural birth. I know my dr. is ver big on everything is a case by case basis. He tells some people no more then 3 c-sections but he told me I was good to go for another one if I wanted to since my scar tissue is minimal. I would really just discuss with your doctor why she wants you to wait a year...if it's just what she tells everyone or if there is a reason for you. Good luck.
