Cesarean section: Complications and consequences

Caesarean section is considered a safe operation. However, there is a risk of developing some complications. With this type of surgery, the recovery process lasts longer than after vaginal birth.

After a cesarean section, women often experience the following complications:

• infection
• major blood loss
• venous obstruction
• nausea, vomiting and severe headache after childbirth (after anesthesia)
• death (in very rare cases - 6 cases per 100 thousand births). In case of emergency caesarean section the risk level increases slightly - 18 per 100 thousand births.

Risk factors in newborns:

• birth injuries;
• need for special care (resuscitation);
• underdevelopment of the lungs (if a cesarean section is scheduled earlier than the due date - before 39 weeks).

Although most women recover quickly and without complications from a C-section or vaginal birth, special care and monitoring are still required after the procedure. Women typically spend about 3 days in the hospital after an uncomplicated C-section, compared to 2 days after a vaginal birth. Full recovery from a C-section takes 4 to 6 weeks, and from a vaginal birth, 1 to 2 weeks.

Consequences of cesarean section

Women who have a scar on the walls of the uterus may experience negative consequences of surgical intervention in the future during subsequent pregnancies.

• Divergence of the suture during a subsequent pregnancy or childbirth.
• Placenta previa.
• Placenta accreta, placenta ingrowth, placenta ingrowth (from mild to severe forms), placenta growing deeper into the uterine wall than usual, causing severe bleeding after childbirth and in some cases requiring removal of the uterus (hysterectomy).

Caesarean Section: Postoperative Period

After such a surgical intervention as a cesarean section, a woman is under the supervision of doctors for 24 hours due to the risk of complications. During this period, you will be given painkillers and advised to start walking a little. Usually, women feel discomfort during the first attempts to walk, but the pain will gradually go away and disappear completely in a few days. As a rule, a woman remains in the hospital for 3 days after childbirth, and can, if possible, feed and care for the child. Before discharge, you will be given detailed postoperative recommendations and told about the signs of complications. The recovery process after a cesarean section lasts 4 weeks or more, while it is quite normal to have minor pain in the suture area during the first year after childbirth.

Signs of complications

• You use more pads than usual (if you have already given birth, then you probably know that in the postoperative period, bleeding is insignificant).
• Vaginal bleeding increases, blood is still bright red on day 4 postpartum, or you notice blood clots larger than a golf ball. Abdominal pain is common.
• Signs of infection appear: fever or discharge in the suture area.
• The seam opens and starts to bleed.
• My head is spinning.
• The back of your leg starts to hurt and swell, you find it hard to breathe, or you feel chest pain (signs of blood clots).
• Signs of postpartum depression are observed:
  • you are haunted by a feeling of despair or helplessness for a long time;
  • dangerous, disturbing thoughts or hallucinations;
• Vaginal discharge has a bad odor.
• The abdomen is hard and full.
• The breasts are painful, reddish in color, and the temperature rises (signs of engorgement of the mammary glands and mastitis).

Some women experience forearm pain after a cesarean section, but this is not a cause for concern as this type of pain is considered a reflex pain resulting from the trauma to the abdominal muscles during childbirth. These symptoms usually resolve during the recovery period.

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