Introduction
Pain after caesarean section is very distressing for many patients, but to a certain extent, although disturbing, it is quite normal. Less than 100 years ago, it was common for patients to lie in a so-called puerperium for up to 6 weeks after birth and to recover from the efforts of childbirth. Nowadays, however, a patient is expected to be fit again immediately after birth and, ideally, to lose the excess pounds within a very short time.
This is however an enormous load for the body since a pregnancy with the following birth is quite exhausting and eats at the forces of the becoming mother. Therefore, pain after the Caesarean section is also quite normal and should be accepted as well as possible. There is not one reason why a patient has pain after a Caesarean section.
However, many factors coincide which lead to a patient having more or less pain after the Caesarean section. One factor is how long the patient was in labor before the Caesarean section. In general, patients who were in labour for longer and then had a Caesarean section are more likely to have longer post-cesarean pain than patients who had a Caesarean section planned from the beginning.
It also depends on how many superficial skin nerves were injured during the caesarean section. Since a Caesarean section is a very large abdominal incision, it is quite possible that many superficial skin nerves are injured, which in turn can lead to severe pain. Furthermore, it is important that the patient keeps in mind that a Caesarean section is a very large injury that extends over the entire abdomen and not only damages the skin, but also the underlying fat and muscles.
Therefore, it is quite normal for a patient to experience pain in the abdominal area for a long time after such an enormous operation. Pain after a caesarean section is therefore nothing unusual, but is to some extent a part of it. You have to imagine such a wound in a similar way as if you cut your finger deeply.
It takes quite some time until the wound has completely healed and the wound continues to hurt for several days afterwards. The same happens to a patient who gives birth to her child by cesarean section. Pain after the Caesarean section is therefore normal and can sometimes last for several weeks.
However, there are also more dangerous causes that can lead to pain after a Caesarean section. It is normal to feel pain in the scar and abdomen a few days after the Caesarean section. If, however, the scar turns red and symptoms such as fever or chills appear, the scar may be infected, which can also lead to pain after the Caesarean section.
Therefore, it is important that a patient, especially in the first few weeks, pays attention to whether the scar changes negatively (turns red or ulcerates) and whether other symptoms such as fever or sweating are added to the pain after the Caesarean section. In rare cases, it is also possible that a patient has pain in the abdominal area after birth and this is related to the caesarean section, but the cause is in the gastrointestinal tract or in the female reproductive organs such as the uterus or the fallopian tubes (tuba uterina). It is therefore important that the patient pays attention to accompanying symptoms.
For example, whether the patient has regular bowel movements, diarrhoea or constipation. The discharge from the vagina should also be taken into account, although this is very difficult after giving birth, as bloody discharge can occur repeatedly. It is important that a patient who has not only pain after the Caesarean section but also other accompanying symptoms, should consult a doctor so that she can be examined more closely. In most cases, however, these are harmless pains that are typical after a Caesarean section and should disappear again within a few weeks.
