Is it the longer the better for cs recovery?

[ag123]

I know the advice is you only need to wait a year, but do you think it is actually better to wait longer?

I had my 2nd cs in August (an elcs after an emcs with my 1st). I actually had a 3y 9m gap between the two, but I asked the consultant who performed this cs if I'd be able to have more children and her reply was "that was not a straightforward procedure, it was all very 'stuck' in there (meaning the scar tissue) and you would need to weigh up the risks as the risks would be increased". My gp says that is a very strange thing for her to have said and has probably made me worry more than I need to but I have been wondering, if I leave another reasonable gap would that at least help?

I have no idea - sorry that's not very helpful! I know that I had 2.5 years between DS1 and DS2 and exactly 3 years (-2 days!) between DS2 and DD. They were all EMCS and the third was definitely the worst, the obstetrician told me that I had quite severe adhesions. So I really don't know whether leaving it longer makes any difference to the scar tissue. They recommend waiting a year so there is less risk of scar rupture, I think.

I think the risk is increased for each one, and a third is quite a bit more risky than a second. That's what the consultant told me when signing off my second anyway.
I had a 13 month gap between my EMCS and ELCS and no problems, but I didn't know it wasn't advised until pregnant again

I thought the advice was at least two years to avoid rupture. Lots of scar tissue/adhesions does make it a more tricky operation but shouldn't stop you. I have had three c sections but I was told not to have any more than that.

I'm in the same situation op but from 3-4.

The consultant said it was v risky to have another - scar splitting/,very premmie/ hemorrage being the risk. I asked about time delay - she said at least a year but shrugged no when I asked about a longer delay being better.

It's tough - I'm sad :(

Thanks everyone, all v.interesting.
Lauren15 does that mean an aspect of it is just how long/complicated the procedure will be for the surgeon rather than it all being about the risks to you/the baby..?

When I had dcs 2 and 3, both surgeons told me after the op that they took longer than expected because there was more scar tissue than expected. Neither mentioned any extra risk as a result. I recovered much quicker from dc3, no idea why.

I don't know if it helps at all but I've had 5 csections in less than 7 years. Of all of them, the last was easiest to recover from, it was in a different hospital to the others and I had the top 2 surgeons put on duty that day especially for my op.

I was advised to wait two years before conceiving again. The risk does get higher with each section and that's with 'normal' scar tissue etc. If you're thinking of more, I'd ask for clarification about what she meant. It may be that whatever your complication is won't be any different with a bigger gap. Also there's the age factor. Once you get past what, 25ish, your risk of problems grows with every year anyway.

I know, I do need to balance with the age factor... I am 31 now so if I wait 3 years I will be 34...that's not too old in the scheme of things is it?

I shouldn't think so, I just meant that there are generally some risks to waiting that will need to be weighed up too. Honestly I think the best thing would be to try and find out more about what the consultant meant.