Want more iVillage? Sign up for our
Newsletters
Cesarean Section - Risks and Complications
SYMPTOMS & TREATMENTS
- Topic Overview
-
Health Tools
- How a Cesarean Section Is Done
- Who to See
- Why It Is Done
- Risks and Complications
- What to Expect After C-Section
- What to Think About
- Other Places To Get Help
- Related Information
- References
- Credits
Cesarean section is considered relatively safe. It does, however, pose a higher risk of some complications than does a vaginal delivery. If you have a cesarean section, expect a longer recovery time than you would have after a vaginal delivery.
After cesarean section, the most common complications for the mother are:
- Infection.
- Heavy blood loss.
- A blood clot in the legs or lungs.
- Nausea, vomiting, and severe headache after the delivery (related to anesthesia and the abdominal procedure).
- Bowel problems, such as constipation or when the intestines stop moving waste material normally (ileus).
- Maternal death (very rare). The risk of death for women who have a planned cesarean delivery is very low (about 6 in 100,000). For emergency cesarean deliveries, the rate is higher, though still very rare (about 18 in 100,000).2
Cesarean risks for the infant include:
- Injury during the delivery.
- Need for special care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).5
- Immature lungs and breathing problems, if the due date has been miscalculated or the infant is delivered before 39 weeks of gestation.5, 1
While most women recover from both cesarean and vaginal births without complications, it takes more time and special care to heal from cesarean section, which is a major surgery. Women who have a cesarean section without complications spend about 3 days in the hospital, compared with about 2 days for women who deliver vaginally. Full recovery after a cesarean delivery takes 4 to 6 weeks; full recovery after a vaginal delivery takes about 1 to 2 weeks.
Long-term risks of cesarean section
Women who have a uterine cesarean scar have slightly higher long-term risks. These risks, which increase with each additional cesarean delivery, include:3
- Breaking open of the incision scar during a later pregnancy or labor (uterine rupture). For more information, see the topic Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC).
- Placenta previa, the growth of the placenta low in the uterus, blocking the cervix.
- Placenta accreta, placenta increta, placenta percreta (least to most severe). These problems occur when the placenta grows deeper into the uterine wall than normal, which can lead to severe bleeding after childbirth, and sometimes may require a hysterectomy.
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: February 24, 2010 |
| Medical Review: | Sarah Marshall, MD - Family Medicine Femi Olatunbosun, MB, FRCSC - Obstetrics and Gynecology | |
© 1995-2011 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
Welcome to Care Circle, an exclusive tool to help you take care of yourself and your loved ones. Here's how it works:
- Create profiles for yourself and your loved ones.
- Select the topics and conditions that interest each of you.
- Get customized news updates, original content, tools, and expert advice for each Care Circle member delivered directly to your personalized homepage.
The information you input is strictly private; you choose who has access to your Care Circle.
How do I add myself or someone else to my care circle?
Click on "Add someone." Fill out the short profile. Choose an avatar. Select the topics and conditions that interest this person from the pulldown menu. You can select as many as you want, but you must choose at least one. Click on "Add Someone" again. You should start getting updates immediately.
How do I save content to my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab of the person for whom you're saving content. Put your cursor over the piece of content that you want to save; a disk icon will appear in the righthand corner. Click on the disk and the piece of content will be moved to a save folder.
How do I add additional topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Add More to Follow," select additional topics and conditions.
How do I delete topics and conditions for someone in my Care Circle?
Click on "Manage My Care Circle." Select the tab for the person whose preferences you'd like to update. Under "Follows," scroll over the topic or condition you want to delete. An "X" should appear on the righthand side. Click on the "X" and the topic or condition will be deleted from the list.
To manage your Care Circle, Please
Sign In.
from
- Facebook is now fueling organ donations
- Military women and suicide: Home safe but not sound
- Still in gear: Injuries don’t stop veterans on 100-day bike trek
- Ask Jenna: I've hit a weight loss plateau. What do I do?
- He poses in a tutu to laugh in face of wife's cancer
- After chemo hair loss, 'henna crowns' help heal
The iVillage Network