Can I have a natural birth two years after a caesarean section?

Caesarean section seems to be a very simple operation, but it requires cutting open the abdomen to take the baby out. No matter how advanced the technology is, it will cause scars on the abdomen during the suturing process. Even after the scar heals, there will still be a red mark on the belly, which looks particularly obvious. Caesarean section also has certain risks. Can I have a natural birth two years after a caesarean section?

It depends on how long the interval between the two births is.

During a caesarean section, the mother's uterus is cut open, and a scarred uterus is formed after healing. The uterus's tolerance to expansion is significantly reduced, and if the second child is born at a short interval, if the second child is delivered naturally, the uterus may rupture due to excessive expansion and swelling, and the mother may suffer from heavy bleeding, which is very dangerous.

If the interval is long, the first baby can be born by caesarean section, and the second baby can be born naturally. Of course, the interval between the two births should be more than 3 years, so that the wound from the caesarean section of the first baby can heal well, and there will be no big problem. As long as the second baby is not in a situation where a caesarean section is necessary, such as a small pelvis, a narrow birth canal, or an abnormal fetal position, then a natural birth can be given.

It also depends on the suture of the uterine wound from the first caesarean section. After the caesarean section, doctors will generally perform two layers of sutures on the mother's uterine wound. Although the thicker sutured wound was stretched thin by the fetus during the second delivery, the degree of uterine rupture was significantly lower than that of the thinner sutured wound. This means that as long as the sutured wound of the first pregnancy is guaranteed and the second pregnancy does not show symptoms requiring a caesarean section, a natural birth is possible.

Is it better to have a natural birth or a caesarean section?

A large number of clinical examples have verified that natural birth has more benefits than caesarean section. Therefore, expectant mothers are advised to avoid caesarean section as much as possible if natural birth is possible. However, some expectant mothers do not meet the indicators for natural birth, such as malposition of the fetus, a small pelvis, or a large fetus. In this case, they can choose a caesarean section according to the doctor's advice. In most emergency situations, choosing a cesarean section can save the lives of the expectant mother and baby. Therefore, the choice of cesarean section or natural birth should be determined based on the specific circumstances of the expectant mother and baby.

Benefits of Caesarean Section:

1. Provide a delivery method for mothers who do not meet the conditions for natural delivery. Due to reasons of the fetus or the expectant mother, some expectant mothers are unable to give birth vaginally, or when natural birth may threaten the safety of the expectant mother or newborn (fetus), such as malposition of the fetus, fetal asphyxia, the fetus is too large to be delivered, or the expectant mother suffers from pregnancy complications, cesarean section should be given priority.

2. Reduce labor pains. Many expectant mothers cannot fully open their cervix during childbirth. If an elective cesarean section is performed at this time, it can reduce the pain suffered by the expectant mother.

3. Combined treatment of other diseases. In the case of a caesarean section, if the expectant mother has other diseases in the abdominal cavity, such as ovarian tumors or subserosal uterine fibroids, these diseases can be treated at the same time to reduce the need for future surgical treatment.

4. Ligation can be performed. After a caesarean section, if the expectant mother needs to have a vasectomy, she can undergo the vasectomy at the same time.

4. Combined with hysterectomy. This situation is relatively rare and is mainly aimed at expectant mothers who are not suitable to retain the uterus. For example, if there is severe infection, incomplete uterine rupture, multiple uterine fibroids, etc., the uterus can be removed at the same time after cesarean section.