Has anyone had more than 3 sections?

[3monkeys3]

Just interested in hearing from anyone who has had 4 (or more) sections. We are thinking of a 4th, but all of my dc have been born by section:

ds1 - emergency for fetal distress

dd - planned vbac, but randomly changed my mind on an apparent whim just before final consultant appointment and had elective - the cord was wrapped round her neck so badly they couldn't get her out, had to make a bigger incision from which I lost lots of blood (glad I didn't try vbac - am certain I instinctively knew she wouldn't be born naturally).

ds2 - blissfully uneventful elective

I recovered pretty well all 3 times and had no complications in pregnancy as a result of having had multiple sections. Still, I am a bit apprehensive about the whole thing - would love to hear some positive stories, but obviously welcome more negative ones too.

[TheAngelshavetheOod]

I'm pg with dc4 which will be my fourth section. Not had any comment fromthe consultant on this yet.

[3monkeys3]

I asked lots of questions when I was still pregnant with ds2 and it seemed generally acceptable to most medical professionals. I am most nervous of accreta or something happening to the baby.

[YoungJoseph]

Not quite the same but I know someone with 6 children, all sections! Not sure why she had them but she appears to have recovered quickly after the births. Obv. I know nothing about her medical history but just thought you might be interested.

[imip]

I've had four sections. 1st -emergency for foetal distress; 2nd -placenta Previa (I wanted to vbac, but it was too risky); 3rd, planned c-section but emergency because I went into labour a week early; 4th planned c-section.

My consultant was happy for me to have four sections, said he wouldn't rule out a fifth, but the record at my hosp was eight! My first three recoveries were fantastic, not a problem at all. My fourth was really difficult. I think I left hospital too early (36 hrs), did too much bending (dd3 really struggled with me not being around) and the overhang on my scar was much worse. I got an infection, reacted to the mix of drugs I was given (cocodamol and antibiotics) ended up back in hosp for three days when dd4 was 10 days old ( she was ebf, we ended up in a side room on the gyne ward together rather than a mad, busy post natal ward). It took 2 full months for the wound to heal, quite a while for the side effects to wear off (vomiting diarrhoea), overhang is worse than ever before :-(. It was a very slow recovery, with no pain meds!

No lasting effects though, apart from the overhang. The hospital always seemed pretty relaxed about the four section thing. I went into labour again just before my planned section date on a Saturday night. I was quite nervous and went into hosp early. It wasn't until I was in hosp that I realised the staff were a little uneasy about the sections. There was no consultant on duty and they just watched me, preferring a more experienced consultant to do the operation. I held on til the planned section date. I was sterilised at the same time, no more c sections for me!

[3monkeys3]

Gosh imip that's a bit of a reality check! I think I've been lulled into a bit of a false sense of security because my third one was so amazingly easy - totally unexpected, especially after the horrible second one (by far the worst birth - even more scary and horrible than the 3 days of labour and sudden emergency I had with my first). After the second one I had said no more, but I found the desire for a third child overtook the fear of another section and obviously it has paid off as I now have my lovely ds2!

[NellyTheElephant]

It is a very personal thing to be honest. I think that you need to get your notes from the last section and see what they say. I have had 3 sections and at the time of having third I asked about prognosis for another as DH and I had always talked about having 4 children. Before having the section the consultant said that everyone is very different in the way that they heal and that some people are fine to have loads of sections, 3 is just a rough guideline. After the op she came to came to talk to me the next day about it. She said that she had had a lot of difficulty stitching me up after the operation as the uterine wall had become so very thin and stretched that it wouldn't hold together. She said that although she would definitely not tell me that I couldn't have a 4th child she would be quite concerned about rupture due to my uterine wall being so thin and weak and she said I would need to consider the possibility of being hospitalised for the last few months of any subsequent pregnancy and expect to have a section 4 - 6 weeks before my due date. Given the slightly blase way she had spoken about multiple sections before my op and the complete about turn afterwards I am inclined to believe that she wasn't just scare mongering and that I wasn't in a good state. It was a moot point for me anyway as after the exhaustion of 3 small children both DH and I swore NEVER AGAIN!!!

All 3 of my section recoveries were v easy and straightforward with no complications - you can't really tell from that, you need to see what was said at the time about the state of your uterus.

[lisalisa]

Yes I have had 6 sections

[MotherOfNations]

I've had 4 sections and we're currently ttc baby number 5. Like Nelly says, everyone heals differently. I'm sure you will be fine.

[advance01]

I have just had my 3rd section. 1st two emergenies of varying degrees. 3rd a lovely elective. Did ask whether i had lots of scar tissue. Told not too bad but not green light to carry on having more. (Well thats how I understood it). Not really an issue as no plans to have a 4th but than we didn't plan 3rd either.

[IShallWearMidnight]

I had three, and they would have been happy to do a fourth (sadly no 4 was ectopic), and possibly a fifth, but would have been talking seriously about sterilisation after a fourth. The attitude at my hospital was "we have to get the baby out somehow, and another CS is probably safer all round than a VB". But I have very little scarring inside (consultant showed me photos he'd taken during the laparoscopy ).

I'd suggest going through your notes with the consultant/midwives before ttc, and make sure they're happy with how things are internally, then make your decision. Good luck.