QuestionHi. I just had my second daughter by csection in JANUARY 2008. This was my second c section. I breast fed only very shortly due to my daughter's jaundice. I had what I thought was a period in February 14th 2008 which lasted about 5 days with heavy bleeding..
My husband and I have been very intimate with each other since the birth of our 2 month old. on March 18th I experienced a light spotting and then it went away and I have not had a period.
I tried a home pregnancy test last week and it said negative but COULD I BE pregnant so soon after my c-section??? I am very tired and crampy and have to urinate alot...... And is it safe to have 3 csections so soon. My oldest daughter just turned 3???
Any answers would be greatly appreciated..
AnswerDear Laura,
If you were not breastfeeding exclusively and were not using any other form of birth control, it is possible that you could have ovulated and conceived a pregnancy in February or March. It sounds like you had a regular period on 2/14 which would definitely indicate a return of fertility. I would suspect if you did conceive, it was likely around 2/28-29 (if you have regular 28 day cycles). Therefore, I would not expect a home pregnancy to be very accurate until about 3/21 at the earliest.
I would suggest waiting another five days and testing again. If those results are negative, you can either wait for the next cycle to see if your periods resume or have your doctor's office do a quantitative blood pregnancy test (serum beta hCG). That test will give an actual amount of hCG in your bloodstream rather than just a positive/negative result. Any amount of 25 mIU/ml or more would be considered positive for pregnancy.
If you did conceive a pregnancy and have to have another C-section, there is some risk due the close proximity of the pregnancies. With any previous C-section, there is some risk that the surgical scar from that C-section could stretch and pull apart (rupture) during a subsequent labor and delivery, often with very serious consequences for mother and/or baby. Typically, a classical (vertical) incision line is considered to be a higher risk for a rupture occurring than a low transverse or "bikini cut" incision because the incision line runs through the main body of the uterus, which is more muscular and contains more blood vessels. In researching the timing of a subsequent pregnancy for you, I found some information from some studies done on complications after a C-section. In one study of 170 women, the risk of scar rupture was significantly higher when the gap between pregnancies was less than six months. In another study, an increased risk of scar rupture was seen for women who had had a premature delivery by C-section, particularly if they hadn't labored at all before the section and if the gap between the deliveries was less than two years. So, this is definitely something that doctors keep a close eye on when caring for patients with close pregnancies and a history of C-sections.
Full healing of the surgical scar usually has occurred at about three months after the C-section, so therein lies the concern. If you have not reached the point of full healing quite yet and the incision line starts becoming stressed with uterine growth again, you will need to be watched fairly closely.
I hope this has helped you and answered your questions. I wish you well.
Brenda
