“How many cesarean deliveries can you have?”

“I am 35 years old and I have three children, all born by caesarean section. The youngest is now twelve. I did not plan for more children, but I separated from their father for two years, and now I have met a new man who has no children.

He really wants at least one, and preferably several, and I would like to expand the family. But I explained to him that I might not be allowed to have any more caesareans because I’ve already had three caesareans, which is probably kind of the limit – or how is that really? “

/ Meena

Expert: There is no longer a general limit

– You are right that in the past a limit was used for a certain number of operations on the uterus (they were also weighed in how the operations were performed). Nowadays, Dr. Susanna Erickson says it is the way the surgeries were performed, and what they were seen during, that determines the number of cesarean deliveries.

– This means that for some women there may be multiple caesarean sections – there are those who come in six to seven caesarean sections without complications, while other women are advised not to do it after two. It can be the reason why you choose to advise or not, but above all it depends on how you assess how well the uterus looks at the operation and the amount of scars after previous operations that you find inside the stomach.

Read also: Ask your midwife: 8 early signs you’re pregnant

“Call the hospital”

The uterine wall may have healed too weakly (even if your obstetrician sewed it together in exactly the same way as you always do) and then there’s a risk of scarring when you’re in labour. The risk is ultimately greater when the woman is in pain and the thin wall is stretched. Then uterine rupture can occur, it is a frightening but unusual complication. Scarring within the stomach is also called adhesions and can make a cesarean section very difficult.

– I advise you to contact the hospital where you had your last caesarean section and ask for information – The obstetrician wrote in his operation report that you should not have another caesarean section? If not, the fourth surgery will probably not be a problem, at which point you will have to make an evaluation for the fifth – if your new partner and you still want more children after the fourth.