Womb so thin surgeon could see baby through it - csection

[MSxx]

I had baby number 2 last week and the surgeon asked if we planned to have anymore children. We half did and half didn’t so I was going to be devastated if it was bad news but I still feel a bit robbed that the decision seems to have been taken away from me.

He commented that my womb had been so thin around the scar area that he could fully see the baby before opening it up. He advised that if I want to have more children in future I should have scans etc first to assess the womb but said there is no guarantee of them being able to say if it’s safe to go ahead with a pregnancy as it can be so hard to pick up. If I’d gone into labour it would have been likely that baby would have ruptured through the scar so I’m very thankful that didn’t happen. I’ve done some googling of the outcomes for both mum and baby if this was to happen and they’re terrifying and seems you’d need to be very close to hospital for it to end well for either of you!

Am I mad for not just taking this as a definite no? I just feel a bit gutted that I don’t seem to have the option anymore. Has this happened to anyone else and it’s worked out okay? I’m very lucky to have my two so I will happily cope with that if need be

@chopc that’s a shame you had the same issue. I’m too much of a nervous person to go for it regardless and really I would never have even had a second if I’d known that’s how bad it was so in a way it’s lucky I didn’t know and even luckier I was fine

I was discussing this with a doctor friend recently and she said multiple c sections were very risky for a number of reasons and that's why she always advised against elective c sections unless medically necessary.

You just don't know down the line what's going to happen or how your body might heal, and neither does the surgeon. We would like another but have decided against it. It feels like we've spun the chamber enough times. With our fourth, it was so unexpected at my age (46) that we just took each day of the pregnancy as it came, had every test we could get and trusted the doctors/Fate/God.

I hadn't really thought about it to be honest , I mean you know it's a risk and the consultant didn't seem to bothered, but I guess it's reading stories like yours that hit it home.
I will probably mention it when I see the consultant anyway, I guess I'm just worried I'll go into spontaneous labour again !
Congratulations on your newborn btw !!

@MSxx I had exactly the same a thing at my second C-section and consultant also told me that if I did happen to get pregnant again I would likely have to be admitted into hospital from 30 weeks and still no guarantees the baby would be born alive as there is just no time if you rupture. I wasn’t quite ready to have that decision made for me of no more babies but we took it as a definite and my husband had the snip a month later as it was so terrified by what the consultant had said, my view was it is far more the priority that I am here safe and well for the 2 dc I do have than risk it all for a 3rd including the life of that 3rd baby - I do still think about it though years later

I'd try to be super relieved I was told this beforehand, so I could be grateful for the children I already have, and for them to grow up with their mother. But of course it's hard news to hear, and I am sorry about that.

Take it as a no. You need to be around to raise your children.

I know vast majority of women will sensibly have csection due to undisputable medical reason. I'm not judging procedure in negative way as if it's not birth etc. However I came across quite few expecting mothers on Mumsnet who decided to have csection because for example they were scared of vaginal birth or were given induction option and would rather have csection 🙄or even as extreme as didn't want to be damaged down there ....

You may roll your eyes but alot of inductions end up in an assisted birth anyway.

That's not her point though. It's choosing a c section over an induction which isn't always recommended.

I think c sections are often portrayed as the "easy" option when they're really not.

This happened to me op during my ELCS. First c section was for medical reasons (undiagnosed breech).

The surgeon actually conducted a repair during the surgery, not sure what it entailed exactly but I believe it was numerous layers of stitching. Do you know if they did that for you? Someone in the room told me they wouldn't have anymore children but the surgeon wrote in my notes I could providing I had an ELCS before 39 weeks.

I went on to have my final child at 38 weeks with no problems, the scar was not remarkable. My first c section had complications (surgeon error) which I suspect led to the dodgy scar. The surgeon who conducted my second section was fantastic.

So sorry you've experienced this, I couldn't really find many other people it had happened to.

This nearly happened to me 51 years ago at my second emergency c section.
I had nearly died with my baby during the first one, so I had already signed the consent form for a tubal tie if I had to have another c section.
I had been in labour for ages and no descent of my DS2's head,my contractions suddenly ceased.The contractions ceasing apparently was a sign of an impending rupture.I was only got to theatre in time as my uterus was about to be ripped open before the surgeon did it.
My son's head was also stuck inside me and he had to have forceps to bring him out of my uterus, their was a large scratch on one side of his head to prove it.It could have been much much worse than that.
The tubal tie was done as soon as he was safely out and my uterus was sewn up.I felt a bit regretful afterwards but knew it was the right thing.That baby has made me a grandmother and great grandmother, none of these would have existed if I had not got to theatre in time.

@sxary oh im glad you managed to have another! It came as a bit of a shock to me. He didn’t mention any sort of repair but I haven’t seen all the notes yet. I kind of want to tell myself it’s a no so that I don’t think there’s any possibility of a way I could safely have another but he did mention scans and coming back for a chat in a few years if I did decide to try for another so it also didn’t sound like he was completely putting me off it. Was all a bit of a blur!

My first was very rushed, even though it was elective and I couldn’t believe the speed baby came out and how fast it was over but I’m now wondering if that’s maybe contributed to it

@MSxx I'd really recommend booking a debrief - I didn't for a long time because I thought they were just for after vaginal births. It was really helpful though and might help you get some closure.

It was a huge shock to me too, I'm really healthy, over 3 years between births etc so shouldn't of been high risk for complications. Aside from the scar everything else was looking good, no adhesions anywhere.

Congratulations on your baby btw. I found I couldn't stop thinking about it in those first few weeks/months but eventually it became a passing thought in the background.

My mother died when I was 14 months old, well a year old really as I was a prem C Section. I never knew her but loved and missed her all my life. I'm quite sure I would have made better life decisions if she had lived. It was hard for my father on his own.
Please don't take the risk of a third child for your living children and your husband's sake. Life is shit without a mother.

@neilyoungismyhero so sorry to hear that. If that was the realistic reality of it then I obviously won’t chance it but just looking to get more information or other experience’s of it as it was kind of suddenly announced to me without any warning

@sxary ive felt a bit flat the last few days and I’m so in love with my baby but just lacking that ‘this is amazing’ feeling and I’m pretty sure it’s because that’s hanging about in the background of my mind. It’s also the ‘what ifs’ of potentially how close I was to dying that time if I’d gone into labour early and it’s like I’ve been told such a massive piece of information that’s so final but I have exactly what I want right now so I don’t know why I feel at all bothered by it 🤦🏻‍♀️ A debrief years down the line is definitely the way to go, just need to try and block it out before then

I think OP feels robbed...I would too.

I had my dc both by section abroad in an Eu country. After my second (at the same hospital as first) I still remember the dr popping his head around the screen while I lay on the operating table (alone as partners weren't allowed in) to ask if I'd ever had an abortion or d&c. When I said no he raised his eyebrows and disappeared. On rounds later him and the other surgeon came to check on me and said that 'sewing up my womb was like trying to stitch a wet paper towel' and that I should think carefully about having more dc. At the time I wasn't really thinking straight so just nodded but I did ask the very same dr at the 6 week check for clarification who merely shrugged and said we don't normally recommend more than 2 sections. 🙃. So basically Ive no idea how serious it is or isn't but at least you can be thankful for slightly more informative and tactful staff than I had 😅. DC are now 10 and 13 and I'm single so it's not become an issue