Is Caesarean section really that safe? What are the risks?

Giving birth is the most difficult moment in a woman's life! However, if a caesarean section is used, it is both convenient and can reduce the pain time, so some women take the initiative to request a caesarean section. So who needs a caesarean section? What are the risks of a caesarean section? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a caesarean section? The following editor will introduce you to the details.

Reasons for Caesarean Section

Fetal factors: malposition of the fetus, fetal distress, extremely low birth weight babies (premature babies <1500 grams), and umbilical cord prolapse.

Maternal factors: previous cesarean section or uterine surgery, heart disease or other medical diseases, pelvic stenosis, advanced primipara age, birth canal obstruction (fracture, tumor, etc.).

Delivery factors: delayed labor (macrosomia, posterior position, etc.), antepartum hemorrhage (placenta previa, early placental abruption), multiple pregnancy, severe preeclampsia or epilepsy, and failed induction of labor.

Risks of Caesarean Section

The immediate dangers of cesarean section are easier for most people to understand, which come from the risks of anesthesia, the risks of surgery, and the sequelae after surgery.

Dangers of anesthesia: such as drug allergic reactions, shock reactions, and even aspiration pneumonia. Although these complications rarely occur, if they occur, they are very serious and may even cause maternal death.

Risks of surgery: Risks of surgery range from bleeding, phlebitis, inflammation and infection to trauma to the bladder, rectum, internal organs, small intestine, etc. Since the wound of a caesarean section is larger than that of a natural birth, the amount of bleeding will also increase, so the risk is also higher.

Postoperative sequelae: In addition to the longer recovery time and hospital stay, the need to place a urinary catheter before cesarean section increases the possibility of urinary tract cystitis and sometimes causes short-term loss or reduction of bladder function. On the other hand, cesarean section may cause intestinal adhesions, adhesions of the greater omentum or abdominal wall in the future.

Complications of cesarean section: cesarean section will also have different degrees of impact on future pregnancies, including an increased incidence of placenta previa and placenta adherens. These two complications often cause prenatal and postpartum hemorrhage. In addition, after a cesarean section, the wound healing time is longer than natural childbirth, and the scars left on the uterus may cause uterine rupture during the next pregnancy. Once this happens, the mortality rate of the mother and fetus is very high. In order to avoid this tragedy, in addition to taking some time for the wound to recover, the disinfection of the wound, the needle and thread used, and the attention to surgical techniques are all ways to prevent uterine rupture.

Advantages of Caesarean Section

When vaginal delivery is absolutely impossible for some reason, performing a cesarean section can save the lives of mother and baby.

The indications for cesarean section are clear, and anesthesia and surgery are generally smooth.

If an elective cesarean section is performed before contractions begin, the mother can be spared the pain of labor.

If there are other diseases in the abdominal cavity, they can also be treated together. For example, combined ovarian tumors or subserosal uterine fibroids can be removed at the same time.

It is also very convenient to perform vasectomy.

In cases where retaining the uterus is not suitable, such as severe infection, incomplete uterine rupture, multiple uterine fibroids, etc., the uterus can also be removed at the same time.

Due to the improvement in the safety of cesarean section in recent years, many pregnancy complications and pregnancy termination have been caused by clinicians choosing cesarean section, reducing the impact of complications and diseases on mother and child.

Disadvantages of Caesarean Section

Caesarean section is traumatic to the mother both mentally and physically.

Although anesthesia accidents during surgery are rare, they can happen.

Massive bleeding and collateral injuries may occur during the operation, damaging other organs in the abdomen. Complications of the urinary, cardiovascular, respiratory and other systems may also occur after the operation.

Even if the operation is uneventful, there are still risks of poor healing of the uterine incision, late postpartum bleeding, formation of abdominal sinus tract, long-term non-healing of the incision, intestinal adhesions or endometriosis after the operation.

The recovery of the uterus and the whole body after surgery is slower than natural childbirth.

During subsequent pregnancy and delivery, there is a possibility of uterine rupture due to the splitting of the original uterine incision. If the original incision does not heal well, another cesarean section will be required during delivery, thus causing long-term adverse effects.

Newborns delivered by caesarean section may develop respiratory distress syndrome.