Risk of having a second child after caesarean section two years later

Generally speaking, if a woman who had a caesarean section wants a second child, she needs to wait at least two years. If the interval is too short, it can be dangerous, especially in the late pregnancy, when the uterus may rupture. This can cause great harm to both the child and the mother. Therefore, if a woman who wants a second child has a caesarean section, she must wait at least two years before getting pregnant again.

Is it dangerous to have a second caesarean section?

If you want to get pregnant again after a caesarean section, you need to wait two years. Because the incision on the uterine wall after cesarean section does not heal well in the short term. In premature pregnancy, the uterus continues to grow due to the development of the fetus, and the uterine wall becomes thinner, especially the surgical incision is made of connective tissue and lacks elasticity. Fresh scars can easily rupture in late pregnancy or during delivery, causing massive abdominal bleeding and even life-threatening. Therefore, it is safer to get pregnant again two years after the operation.

After your first cesarean section, there will be an incision on your uterus that will form scar tissue as it heals. Compared with normal uterine smooth muscle, the elasticity and contractility of scar tissue are greatly reduced. When the second labor contraction occurs, the normal uterine smooth muscle contracts, but the scar tissue cannot contract normally and has no elasticity, which may cause uterine rupture and heavy bleeding in the mother, which is life-threatening to both the mother and the baby. Therefore, for safety reasons, it is best to have a caesarean section after the first caesarean section.

Generally speaking, caesarean section does not affect pregnancy and a normal pregnancy is possible. However, the incision on the uterine wall after cesarean section does not heal well in the short term. In premature pregnancy, the uterus continues to grow due to the development of the fetus, and the uterine wall becomes thinner, especially the cesarean section incision, which is connective tissue and lacks elasticity. Fresh scars can easily rupture in late pregnancy or during delivery, causing massive abdominal bleeding and even life-threatening.

What situations require cesarean section

Fetal distress

Fetal distress can occur at any stage of pregnancy, especially in the late stages and after labor. There are many reasons for fetal distress, such as umbilical cord around the neck, placental dysfunction, aspiration of meconium, or complications of the mother such as hypertension, diabetes, preeclampsia, etc.

Most fetal distress can be detected by a fetal monitor showing a poor fetal heartbeat, or by ultrasound showing adverse changes in fetal blood flow. If the condition does not improve after emergency treatment by a physician, a cesarean section should be performed to quickly remove the fetus to prevent life-threatening danger.

Delayed labor

Labor delay refers to prolonged labor, which has a clear definition and classification in obstetrics. Usually the time of cervical dilation varies from person to person, but the average cervical dilation time of primiparas is longer than that of multiparas, taking 14 to 16 hours. If it exceeds 20 hours, it is called delayed labor. The mothers who encounter this situation suffer the most, because the labor pains have lasted for a while, so they have to change to a cesarean section. This means they have to experience both prenatal labor pain and postoperative pain, a total of two pains.

Generally, labor delay can be divided into three types according to the abnormalities of delivery: prolonged latent phase, prolonged active phase, and stagnation of active phase. Common causes of delayed labor may be abnormal uterine contraction strength, abnormal fetal body or fetal position or orientation, abnormal maternal birth canal, etc.