How long does a cesarean section surgery take?

If the fetus in the abdomen is large, or the pregnant mother is not suitable for natural delivery due to physical reasons, then a caesarean section is required. Nowadays, cesarean section technology is very mature and will not cause much harm to pregnant mothers. But if pregnant mothers have decided to have a caesarean section, it is best to be mentally prepared. So, do you know how long a caesarean section takes? Generally, it takes 1-2 hours depending on the specific situation.

Cesarean section is an important operation in obstetrics. Due to the progress in anesthesiology, blood transfusion, infusion, water and electricity balance knowledge, as well as improvements in surgical methods, surgical suture materials and infection control measures, cesarean section has become an effective means to solve difficult labor and certain obstetric complications and to save the lives of mothers and perinatal infants.

(1) Cephalopelvic disproportion: refers to the narrowness of the pelvic inlet plane. In layman's terms, it means that the fetus's pelvic entrance is too large relative to the mother's.

Among them, "absolute cephalopelvic disproportion" occurs when the pregnant woman's pelvis is obviously narrow or deformed, or the fetus is obviously too large. The full-term live fetus of this type of pregnant women cannot "enter the pelvis" and cannot be delivered vaginally. A cesarean section is required at full-term pregnancy. The indications are clear and the decision is easy to make. However, "absolute cephalopelvic disproportion" is rare in clinical practice, and "relative cephalopelvic disproportion" is more common. Pregnant women with "absolute cephalopelvic disproportion" can try vaginal delivery if the fetus is estimated to be not heavy, the fetus is estimated to have good tolerance, and the pregnant woman has sufficient physical strength and labor force.

However, since current pregnancy testing methods for measuring the inner diameter of the fetus and pelvis are mostly "estimated", and the delivery process involves the fetus passing through the birth canal in multiple planes and diameters (such as shoulder dystocia: after the fetal head is delivered, the fetal shoulder is stuck at the pelvic outlet and cannot be delivered), it is impossible to ensure before delivery whether these pregnant women with "relative cephalopelvic disproportion" can eventually give birth vaginally, and it is even more impossible to accurately predict the delivery process.

(2) Abnormalities of the bony or soft birth canal: Abnormalities of the bony birth canal, such as a pregnant woman with a coccyx fracture, may have an upturned coccyx tip, narrowing the effective birth canal. Abnormalities of the soft birth canal, such as severe vaginal malformation, scar stenosis, etc., or pregnancy complicated by rectal or pelvic benign or malignant tumors obstructing the birth canal. In these cases, even if an episiotomy is performed, it is estimated that the full-term fetus cannot pass through the birth canal, and a cesarean section is preferred.

(3) Abnormal fetus or fetal position: For example, some breech presentations, transverse presentations, and abnormal head presentations (high upright presentation, frontal presentation, posterior chin presentation, etc.) are not suitable for vaginal delivery. There are also certain situations in twins or multiple pregnancies (the first twin is in breech position, transverse position, or conjoined twins, etc.) that are not suitable for vaginal delivery. In addition, cesarean section is recommended for some correctable fetal abnormalities, the fetus cannot tolerate the delivery process, or some part of the fetus is abnormal and cannot pass through the birth canal.