Trouble conceiving after a c-section?

[cloak]

Has anyone out there had no trouble conceiving and then after a c-section you did?

[orangebird]

I never heard of it affecting conception, but that is an interesting question. Have you googled it yet?

[orangebird]

Article on iVillageHealth:
Cesarean section is rarely a cause of infertility. If the surgical procedure is followed by a severe pelvic infection, abnormalities can develop in the uterine lining; this is called intrauterine adhesion formation. Adhesions might also form around the fallopian tubes and ovaries.

But even for those women with postcesarean infection, the risk of sterility is low. It appears that zinc in the amniotic fluid that is released into the abdomen during the delivery may play a role in minimizing infections of the pelvic cavity and fallopian tubes. Other hormonal changes that occur with pregnancy may also minimize the risk of scar tissue formation. When compared with other similar pelvic surgeries, in fact, sterility is less a factor after cesarean than after most other open abdominal procedures.

Web MD article
Jan. 14, 2004 -- Women who deliver their first child by C-section may have more trouble getting pregnant again, a new report from Scotland suggests.

When compared with moms who had difficult deliveries ending in vaginal birth, women in the study who had cesarean deliveries said they had more problems getting pregnant after the birth of their first child. Roughly 20% of the cesarean mothers reported difficulty conceiving a second child, compared with 5% of women who had vaginal deliveries aided by instruments like forceps.

But a childbirth expert who commented on the study for WebMD says fertility issues are way down the list of concerns regarding cesarean section.

Conceiving Again After C-Section
For a number of reasons, many women don’t conceive another child after a C-section.3 Part of this decreased fertility is voluntary — a woman may not want to face childbirth again after experiencing a cesarean.4 Moreover, a cesarean operation is a convenient time to perform tubal sterilization. Some women take advantage of the timing rather than face a separate procedure later. Studies have shown, however, that not all of the lower fertility can be accounted for by sterilization.5 In Great Britain, researchers found that once she started to try and get pregnant after a cesarean, one in eight women took more than a year to conceive. After natural birth, the figure was one in twelve.

[cloak]

Thanks for all the info. I had just heard about the possibility of scar tissue forming in the fallopian tubes as a result of a c/s and that prompted me to ask the question.

[Devaskyla]

C-section also increases the risk of miscarriage and still-birth in future pregnancies. I've had 4 miscarriages since my c-section.

[kyle98sean02]

I have a bunch of scar tissue from my csection and I have had 2 misscarriages since. I definately think it is related

[Karennnnn]

I was pregnant 8 months after my c-section. No problems there
Now 4 years later I'm ttc again. I got pregnant on our second try but it resulted in a blighted ovum. Totally unrelated; a fluke. Now I'm ttc again, about a month and a half later.
However I think there might be a correlation between having trouble ttc and prior c/s. For example, it may not be hard to conceive per se, but implanting may be a different story. If the egg tries to implant on or near the scar it would make sense that there might be problems. I could be wrong though!!
Good luck
Karen

[Colorful~Mama]

interesting. had a csection in 1989 with my first, another in 2000 with my second and a vba2c with my third in 2003 at age 38.

hrm. never considered my c's might affect conception was more concerned with my age

[mmace]

I had an emergency c-section with my first, and went on to have two more kids, conceiving the first month of trying with both of them.

[MamaBug]

I had issues getting pg the first time. Had a c/section and when I ttc the second time got pg on the first try. Now 4 years later I have pain at the scar sight and not luck getting pg. For me they think I developed endo on the scar sight and that might be the issue.

[rainbowmoon]

we are on cycle 1 of ttc (it took us 9mo with our c/s baby). I Am 30 and more worried about my age. I've done a little research though and read 1 in 8 will have trouble conceiving after a c/s. the statistic is about 1 in 12 for a vaginal birth. I also read something that said it depends how *rough* your dr. was during surgery or any mistakes could cause damage. onbviously these sort of things aren't disclosed to us post OP or anywhere on file so we'll never really know, unless you somehow videotaped it. I don't have any answers but I think a million factors can effect fertility and a definitly c/s not being ruled out.

[MamaBug]

That worries me then. They were VERY rough getting my second ds out, I mean it actually felt like they were pushing him out my throat. My dh and the anesthesia person told me to push so that they would not have to use the vac on him. Very scary and I was in alot of pain. I wonder if that is what my issue is.

[rainbowmoon]

soccermom
I will try to find that info tomorrow and post it

btw what kind of pain do you have? (just curious as I still have intermittent pain, more tingly though and don't think it will ever go away)

eta-i forgot to add all the info I read seemed based off the same few studies. so please try not to worry. I don't think it's been studied all that much.

[MamaBug]

The pain generally radiates from the spot that they left the staple in ( they sent me home with a staple in and it got slightly infected). It is more a sharp searing pain like a knife. Although at times it is a dull sting. At first we thought fibroids but the Dr ruled that out with sonogram, then we thought hernia, but after walking 900 miles at Disney last year without any pain we ruled that out. Now he thinks it may be endo, but I am not at this point willing to under to find out with laproscopy (sp?) Just noticing that it comes at certain times of the cycle, usually either right before or after AF.

Thanks so much I would like to see that article

[rainbowmoon]

soccermom I hope you find some relief and an answer! my pain is more of an itchy tingly thing, I do definitly get some pain on and off from O until AF but it has gotten sparser and less painful as the months go on.

I know how scary & infuriating this must be to think a dr. could have cause you damage from being too rough.

I have only heard of 1 other story IRL where a lady had a c/s and they tied her tubes! (unbeknownst to her and without permission) a dr. accidentaly disclosed that her tubes were tied and it's been a huge coverup ever since..she has 5 kids and everyone tells her to be happy with it. she is not taken seriously and it's so sad. scary I know. I wonder just how many people have been injured by c/s though and not just thier fertility,yk? I devloped pancreatitis as a complication and that was just an effect of the surgery IMHO not my dr.'s negligence (though I never will know for sure). My dr. was quite shocked and a bit afraid (I think she thought I might come after her for malpractice)

anyway here are some various articles...there is more (try a google search for endo after cesarean/infertility after cesarean)
http://www.ivillagehealth.com/expert...=adid=10882761
http://www.maternitywise.org/pdfs/ce...essrelease.pdf
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl..._9/ai_98594607
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/...000_1000_ln_04
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract


you might find some more info here..but will have to wade through it
http://www.medhelp.org/HealthTopics/Pregnancy.html

[MamaBug]

Thanks. Is there a way to see if your tubes are tied via sonogram? I would totally freak out if I found out that they did that. They asked me too if I wanted that done and I said NO WAY. I will go beserk if that is maybe what is causing my pain. Thanks so much for those links too!

[Electra375]

I think there is a scientific correlation and a mental one. Scietifically, scar tissue, etc. Metally, no wanting that again.
I think my issue may have been mental after my 1st c/s, after my 2nd c/s I didn't have any issues getting pregnant, wasn't really even trying.

[rainbowmoon]

I think the mental aspect of TTC after a c/s is terrifying/unnerving in a way but I was much more terrified of a c/s last time around TTC I can tell you that much...now there's just a whole new set of issues (VBAC/PP wise)

how are you doing soccermom?