4TH C/S What are the risks!

Hi ladies, I need some advice.
I have 6 wonderful children. I had the first 3 normally and the last 3 c/s. We are looking at trying to fall pregnant next month so that will make it my 4th c/s:hide:.
Im pretty scared about the hole c/s thing and I always get really worked up over it getting close to the due date.
I have been very very luck with my c/s that everything has gone to plan.
God I have butterflies in my tummy now just thinking about it....
Just wondering what the risks are etc????
Can anyone help me???

i'm sorry i'm not going to be any help, i'm not sure what the risks are etc, but since you have the experience with vag births and c-sections, why are you going for the c-section this time, how do they compare?? i had an emergency c-section with my first and the labour was so traumatic and long it left me fragile for months and months... this time around i'm torn with whether to go for an elective c-section (i will feel so much more in control and have a lot less anxiety) or get a doula and try for a VBAC - i am terrified with going thru the same thing again and being emotionally ruined with a newborn...

sorry for rambling long winded personal post, just interested to hear comparisons with vag births and c-sections..... a girlfriend of mine has done both and she said if she had her time over she would have just booked in for an elective c-section and not gone thru the birth.....

Hi, Mumofsix, I've had an emegency caesar and an "elective" caesar and I was told by an ob (not the one who performed the second caesar) that four are perfectly safe but they start warning you against having anymore after that as it does weaken the uterus. If you have an obstetrician you know and trust I'd go straight to him/her for answers.

Emma, everyone experiences things differently and one person's experience is no guarantee that yours will be the same. With my first labour I went into labour naturally but things started to go wrong almost 12 hours after I made it into the hospital and I ended up with an emergency caesar. My next one was an "elective" and I put this in inverted commas because I really hadn't much of a choice. Despite what people say about feeling more in control during an elective the only thing you have control over is booking the date, everything else is completely out of your hands and you have to place tremendous faith in the health professionals performing the operation and looking after you that they will do their job to the best of their ability, to be fair that is what you get the vast majority of the time in any hospital in Australia. You also have to trust you won't fall prey to post-operative infections or have any other complication. I don't want to scare you but some people will act like having a caesar is so much easier and safer (and more controllable!) and that is really not the case. You need to do research, talk with people, and if necessary get counselling to get over the trauma of your previous birth experience before you can make a decision. In my own case, if I were to have another child, I'd also have an elective caesar and I trust my ob and the hospital where my last one was performed. But I still can't help feeling envious of my sister who just had a VBAC.

Hi Mumofsix,

the risks are always the same as with any c-section

I've had 3 c-s and the easiest recovery was my 3rd because it was elective and i didnt labor for any part of it.

I've never had an infection but i know some have. Its hard to know if you'll get an infection or not. All you can really do is keep clean and keep as healthy as possible. Eat really well thru your labor, take pregnancy vitamin supplements and exercise regularly. (swimming is good)

Hiya...ive had 4 csections and was told really there are no increased risks. I know years ago it was unheard of having more than 3 but my OB said that those attitudes are really changing. Ive had no conerns or complications..other than feeling that bit older!:redface:

Jo

I think the risks and difficulties depend on the way your body heals to some extent. It depends on the amount of scarring on your uterus - whether your body makes a lot of scar tissue, or not. Scar tissue is hard to work with during surgery, I guess. But generally, if the pregnancy goes well, I think you should be all fine!

My mom had 8 c-sections, and while the recovery is no picnic, as I'm sure you are aware, it didn't get worse with each one. Seven of those pregnancies, surgeries, and recoveries went very smoothly. She did run into trouble in her last pregnancy, because the placenta adhered to a scarred section of uterus, and grew through the uterus and into the bladder. (placenta percreta - pretty rare). This lead to major hemorrhaging, hospitalization at 19 weeks, and emergency delivery and hysterectomy at 28 weeks. (My brother is healthy and well and almost 10 years old now, and mom is fine too. :) )

So there are risks with multiple c-sections, but they are relatively rare, and in our case, happened after 7 surgeries, whereas you are talking about 4. I would be willing to bet that all will go very nice and smoothly for you.

All the best!