I (not a medical professional, but have had 6 children and spent a fair amount of time chatting with OBs) was told that 3 c-sections is a tipping point where, after that, future pregnancies will have higher risk of placental complications. I understood it as more scar tissue = less favorable places for a placenta to implant in subsequent pregnancies and if it attaches to scar tissue it can cause serious problems. I know some other posters here work in the field so maybe you can explain it better.
With that said, I have had 3 c-sections and nobody told me to avoid pregnancy after the last one. When I did get pregnant again I was all set to have a 4th c-section and no one seemed terribly concerned other than they did look at placenta placement carefully on ultrasound and said it was fine. If it had not been fine they said I would have been transferred to Boston (which is fortunately just 45 minutes away) as a higher risk patient. If a woman gets pregnant the baby has to come out one way or another. It's not like they can force it to stay in forever because you already used up your allowed 3 surgeries, and the doctor said she had operated on women having at least 5 c-sections.
I did not have the 4th c-section. I changed doctors and pushed hard for a chance to vbac. I have gone the vba3c route twice now, in an excellent hospital in Boston with an amazing doctor. Vba3c births (vaginal birth after 3 c-sections) are not common in the USA, but my doctor and I are pretty confident that it was a good choice for my situation.
4 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now