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Risks
By Mayo Clinic staffRecovery from a C-section takes longer than does recovery from a vaginal birth. And like other types of major surgery, C-sections also carry a higher risk of complications.
Risks to your baby include:
- Breathing problems. Babies born by C-section are more likely to develop transient tachypnea — a breathing problem marked by abnormally fast breathing during the first few days after birth. C-sections done before 39 weeks of pregnancy or without proof of the baby's lung maturity might increase the risk of other breathing problems, including respiratory distress syndrome — a condition that makes it difficult for the baby to breathe.
- Surgical injury. Although rare, accidental nicks to the baby's skin can occur during surgery.
Risks to you include:
- Inflammation and infection of the membrane lining the uterus. This condition — known as endometritis — can cause fever, foul-smelling vaginal discharge and uterine pain.
- Increased bleeding. You're likely to lose more blood with a C-section than with a vaginal birth. Transfusions are rarely needed, however.
- Reactions to anesthesia. Adverse reactions to any type of anesthesia are possible. After an epidural or spinal block — common types of anesthesia for C-sections — it's rare, but possible, to experience a severe headache when you're upright in the days after delivery.
- Blood clots. The risk of developing a blood clot inside a vein — especially in the legs or pelvic organs — is greater after a C-section than after a vaginal delivery. If a blood clot travels to your lungs (pulmonary embolism), the damage can be life-threatening. Your health care team will take steps to prevent blood clots. You can help, too, by walking frequently soon after surgery.
- Wound infection. An infection at or around the incision site is possible.
- Surgical injury. Although rare, surgical injuries to nearby organs — such as the bladder — can occur during a C-section. If this happens, additional surgery might be needed.
- Increased risks during future pregnancies. After a C-section, you face a higher risk of potentially serious complications in a subsequent pregnancy — including bleeding and problems with the placenta — than you would after a vaginal delivery. The risk of uterine rupture is also higher. With uterine rupture, the uterus tears open along the scar line from the prior C-section. Uterine rupture is a life-threatening emergency.
References
- Berghella V. Cesarean delivery: Preoperative issues. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Grant GJ. Anesthesia for cesarean delivery. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Berghella V. Cesarean delivery: Technique. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Berghella V. Cesarean delivery: Postoperative issues. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Norwitz ER. Cesarean delivery on maternal request. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Berens P. Overview of postpartum care. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- About Cesarean childbirth. American College of Surgeons. http://www.facs.org/public_info/operation/aboutbroch.html. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Cesarean birth. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/Search?Keyword=cesarean+section. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Lusskin SI, et al. Postpartum blues and depression. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed March 2, 2012.
- Harms RW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 22, 2012.
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