How many times can I have a cesarean section?

How long after a cesarean section should one get pregnant? Is a third cesarean section dangerous? How many times can one have a cesarean section? These are questions that many mothers who have had a cesarean section are interested in.

Illustration photo.

According to Fit Pregnancy magazine (USA), health risks decrease after each cesarean section, however many women can have up to 6 cesarean sections without any complications. So normally, if you have a cesarean section, how many times can you give birth at most?

Everyone’s body is different. Some people recover at the same rate after each cesarean, while others have a harder time after each cesarean. Some people recover faster after each cesarean, says David Ghausi, MD, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, California.

While it's difficult to say exactly how many cesarean sections a woman can have, "In general, the risk increases with the number of cesarean sections," says Jason S. James, MD, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Baptist Hospital in Miami.

These risks can include bladder injury and having to have a hysterectomy during delivery. All of these risks increase by more than 1% after a third cesarean section. The risk of having a hysterectomy increases by nearly 9% after a sixth cesarean section.

There is also no set rule for the maximum number of cesarean sections. “I have had a woman who had her sixth cesarean section without any difficulty or complications,” says James. “I have also had to deal with a second cesarean section where the woman had many complications and many problems.”

Potential problems that increase with each subsequent cesarean section include abnormal placental position, damage to the bowel or bladder, and opening of the uterine scar.

Regarding the time it takes to get pregnant again after a cesarean section, Mr. Ghausi recommends waiting at least 6 months after a cesarean section before getting pregnant again. However, he also said that he has seen many cases where women get pregnant just 1, 2 or 3 months after a cesarean section and the health of both mother and child is still normal.

According to Infonet