How long does it take for the uterus to return to its original position after cesarean section?

The uterus is the part of a woman's body where she bears children. After pregnancy, a woman's uterus will not return to its original state immediately. It takes a certain period of recovery for the uterus to return to its original state. Of course, the time required for the uterus to recover varies with different delivery methods, and the time it takes for the uterus to recover is also related to personal constitution. Next, I will introduce to you some relevant knowledge about uterine reduction after cesarean section!

1. Restoration of the uterus

Postpartum uterine recovery mainly includes three aspects, namely the recovery of the uterine body, the recovery of the cervix and the recovery of the endometrium. The main action of uterine recovery is continuous contraction, which squeezes out the fetus and then the placenta during delivery. The blood in the uterus is constantly discharged from the body, which is called lochia. The uterus contracts continuously and forcefully, pressing the openings of the blood vessels together, causing blood clots to form and stopping the bleeding. The uterus will be further squeezed to continuously discharge the blood clots, and the size of the uterus will gradually shrink. The uterus can be said to be the organ in the mother's body that undergoes the greatest changes during pregnancy and childbirth. It can grow from the original 50 grams to 1000 grams at full term.

After the placenta is expelled, the uterus will contract immediately. You can feel a very hard and spherical uterine body in the abdomen with your hands. Its highest point is at the same level as the navel. In the future, the height of the fundus of the uterus will decrease by 1-2 cm every day. About 10-14 days after delivery, the uterus will become smaller and descend into the small pelvic cavity. At this time, the fundus of the uterus cannot be felt in the abdomen.

2. Restoration of the cervix

Just after delivery, the cervix becomes very soft due to congestion and edema. The cervical wall is also very thin and wrinkled like a cuff. It will take 7 days to return to its original shape. The internal cervix will close after 7-10 days. It takes until about 4 weeks after delivery for the cervix to return to its normal size.

3. Restoration of the endometrium

After the placenta and fetal membranes separate from the uterine wall and are expelled from the mother, a new layer of endometrium will grow from the basal layer of the endometrium. About 10 days after delivery, except for the surface where the placenta is attached, the rest of the uterine cavity will be completely covered by the new endometrium. Just after delivery, the area of ​​the uterine wall where the placenta is attached is about the size of the palm. By about 2 weeks after delivery, the diameter has shrunk to 3-4 cm, but it will take 6-8 weeks after delivery to heal completely.