thinning of the uterus

[notpregnant]

hey ladies,iam always on here obbessing
just a few qsts to ask, one is ive heard the term 'thinning of the uterus' and forgive me for sounding doh, but what does this mean and what causes it..and when do you find this out, only in surgery?
another qst.when you have multiple sections do they cut into the same scar on your uterus or is it a new cut, and with each cut does it completeley heal.i dont get it, because ive also had 2 mcs and the midwife said, that maybe a cause of this could be that, the egg had implanted into my previous section scar??? erm....confused.com

 

[SuperKat]

From what I understand, it is exactly the way it sounds, like stretching out dough- the more it stretches the thinner it gets, and it can tear. Your uterus can do the same thing if it gets too thin. Is a woman has a thinning of the uterus, she may be advised against having more children due to the possibility of uterine rupture (which isn't actually very common, but it would be scary if it did happen). I'm not exactly sure what causes it (other than c-sections I guess? Or it is actually caused by pregnancy but complicated by c-sections rather...some women have good thick uterine walls, other women, not so much)

I have had 4 c-sections, and for more of them they cut at the same incision, with my last one they cut at a new incision because the scar tissue was too bad. So, it just sorta depends on what the doctor wants to do. It is possible to have a miscarriage due to implantation occurring on scar tissue, but i am not sure how common that is, i don't know if anyone knows- it could could be a reason, but then it may be something else as well. I am so sorry to hear about the m/c, I had one 2 years ago and wondered if it was for the same reason you mentioned- my doctor said that there are tons of possibilities and i would only drive myself mad trying to figure the "why" out. He was right. I had to just make peace with the loss and accept that I will never understand why it happened.

 

[BlueHadeda]

Your uterus has an upper and a lower segment. The lower segment gets pulled upwards by the upper segment during contractions. This causes the lower segment to open up at the bottom (the cervix), to expell baby. So the lower segment is designed to thin out by being pulled upwards. Unfortunately, it could potentially thin out too much, and putting more strain on it by being in labour, could rupture it. Especially when there's already a "weak" spot in it, like previous c-section scars.

I've had 4 c-sects, and with this last one I started to get the burning pain I already knew meant my scar is stretching on the inside weeks before my due date. The dr kept a close eye on it by doing weekly sonars with which they're able to measure the scar thickness. I went into early stage labour at 37 weeks (very weak contractions) and while the dr checked how far I was dilated, she said she could feel baby's hair through the uterus. That's how thin my uterus was streched. Not the baby's head, she could feel her hair!! She immediately scheduled the c-section to prevent uterine rupture, and during the c-sect said it's good that I'm not having any more babies, because the uterus wouldn't be able to carry them any more.

So there's at least two ways they checked the thinning of my uterus - with ultrasound and by checking the cervix.

I got 4 different lines (cuts) but so close ontop of each other, it looks like one biggish scar after it healed and my stomach shrank.

Sorry about your m/c's. I had one, a few years after my 2nd c-section. Not sure if it's related, but it's an interesting notion. I wonder if c-section ladies have more m/c's than those who had vaginal births?

 

[SuperKat]

Your uterus has an upper and a lower segment. The lower segment gets pulled upwards by the upper segment during contractions. This causes the lower segment to open up at the bottom (the cervix), to expell baby. So the lower segment is designed to thin out by being pulled upwards. Unfortunately, it could potentially thin out too much, and putting more strain on it by being in labour, could rupture it. Especially when there's already a "weak" spot in it, like previous c-section scars.

I've had 4 c-sects, and with this last one I started to get the burning pain I already knew meant my scar is stretching on the inside weeks before my due date. The dr kept a close eye on it by doing weekly sonars with which they're able to measure the scar thickness. I went into early stage labour at 37 weeks (very weak contractions) and while the dr checked how far I was dilated, she said she could feel baby's hair through the uterus. That's how thin my uterus was streched. Not the baby's head, she could feel her hair!! She immediately scheduled the c-section to prevent uterine rupture, and during the c-sect said it's good that I'm not having any more babies, because the uterus wouldn't be able to carry them any more.

So there's at least two ways they checked the thinning of my uterus - with ultrasound and by checking the cervix.

I got 4 different lines (cuts) but so close ontop of each other, it looks like one biggish scar after it healed and my stomach shrank.

Sorry about your m/c's. I had one, a few years after my 2nd c-section. Not sure if it's related, but it's an interesting notion. I wonder if c-section ladies have more m/c's than those who had vaginal births?

Ooh, so glad you responded, great info, thank you!!! I have had that burning feeling, had no idea what it was! I had it with my 4th pregnancy. I will definitely have to pay attention to it this time! What do you mean when you said your stomach shrunk? Did that have something to do with scar tissue?

 

[notpregnant]

Your uterus has an upper and a lower segment. The lower segment gets pulled upwards by the upper segment during contractions. This causes the lower segment to open up at the bottom (the cervix), to expell baby. So the lower segment is designed to thin out by being pulled upwards. Unfortunately, it could potentially thin out too much, and putting more strain on it by being in labour, could rupture it. Especially when there's already a "weak" spot in it, like previous c-section scars.

I've had 4 c-sects, and with this last one I started to get the burning pain I already knew meant my scar is stretching on the inside weeks before my due date. The dr kept a close eye on it by doing weekly sonars with which they're able to measure the scar thickness. I went into early stage labour at 37 weeks (very weak contractions) and while the dr checked how far I was dilated, she said she could feel baby's hair through the uterus. That's how thin my uterus was streched. Not the baby's head, she could feel her hair!! She immediately scheduled the c-section to prevent uterine rupture, and during the c-sect said it's good that I'm not having any more babies, because the uterus wouldn't be able to carry them any more.

So there's at least two ways they checked the thinning of my uterus - with ultrasound and by checking the cervix.

I got 4 different lines (cuts) but so close ontop of each other, it looks like one biggish scar after it healed and my stomach shrank.

Sorry about your m/c's. I had one, a few years after my 2nd c-section. Not sure if it's related, but it's an interesting notion. I wonder if c-section ladies have more m/c's than those who had vaginal births?

thankyou very much for your lovely post..would you say in your experience that until you get to around the 36-37wk mark then thats when your uterus is more at risk from rupture? and would you say your at a much greater risk when in 'labour' ? my understanding after reading posts is that, your at risk for rupture whilst in 'labour'
how was your last pregnancy? take care

 

[BlueHadeda]

SuperKat, by "my stomach shrank" I meant that I got my pre-pregnancy body back. My first language isn't English, so I'm not sure if I used the correct word "shrank"? Directly after a c-section, my wound is probably around 20cm. This shrinks as my skin shrinks back to pre-pregnancy. At the end, months after the birth, my scars are about 10cm long. Does this make sense?

About the burning pain during pregnancy. Someone told me that her gynae warned her to come in when the pain doesn't go away. When you have that burning ache it usually comes and goes. But when it stays with you for days, it could be indicative of a possible rupture. Also, if it causes you to struggle to walk. So keep an eye on that. I can only imagine how scared you must be of this 5th c-section. Good luck! I would've loved another baby.

Notpregnant, I'm sure it differs with people, but yes, in my personal experience, labour has triggered the thinning of my uterus. I went into early stage labour at 37 weeks during my 3rd pregnancy, and had it on and off for 4days. From the 2nd day of this early stage labour, my scar started with that burning feeling, and once I went into established labour, it really burned. So the c-sect was done. With this 4th pregnancy, I had weak contractions from around 32 weeks already (due to kidney complications). And that's when the burning started. Before that I would only have "twitches" of aches. I think the one important thing with this is to rather have any pain checked out, and if you have any labour symptoms, to go in immediately. My dr said that even if I just have the show, that I should go in. Or any contractions, any pain, etc.

NotPregnant - you ask how was my pregnancy? It was really great! No problems apart from mild SPD and the kidney problems (which is "normal" for me). My first two pregnancies were very complicated, mostly due to placenta problems and a bloodclotting problem. My last 2 pregnancies were comparitively absolutely fantastic. In my opinion, it makes a huge difference to a pregnancy, where the placenta implants. My first two were very, very low. The last two implanted high up in the uterus.

 

[SuperKat]

SuperKat, by "my stomach shrank" I meant that I got my pre-pregnancy body back. My first language isn't English, so I'm not sure if I used the correct word "shrank"? Directly after a c-section, my wound is probably around 20cm. This shrinks as my skin shrinks back to pre-pregnancy. At the end, months after the birth, my scars are about 10cm long. Does this make sense?

About the burning pain during pregnancy. Someone told me that her gynae warned her to come in when the pain doesn't go away. When you have that burning ache it usually comes and goes. But when it stays with you for days, it could be indicative of a possible rupture. Also, if it causes you to struggle to walk. So keep an eye on that. I can only imagine how scared you must be of this 5th c-section. Good luck! I would've loved another baby.

Notpregnant, I'm sure it differs with people, but yes, in my personal experience, labour has triggered the thinning of my uterus. I went into early stage labour at 37 weeks during my 3rd pregnancy, and had it on and off for 4days. From the 2nd day of this early stage labour, my scar started with that burning feeling, and once I went into established labour, it really burned. So the c-sect was done. With this 4th pregnancy, I had weak contractions from around 32 weeks already (due to kidney complications). And that's when the burning started. Before that I would only have "twitches" of aches. I think the one important thing with this is to rather have any pain checked out, and if you have any labour symptoms, to go in immediately. My dr said that even if I just have the show, that I should go in. Or any contractions, any pain, etc.

NotPregnant - you ask how was my pregnancy? It was really great! No problems apart from mild SPD and the kidney problems (which is "normal" for me). My first two pregnancies were very complicated, mostly due to placenta problems and a bloodclotting problem. My last 2 pregnancies were comparitively absolutely fantastic. In my opinion, it makes a huge difference to a pregnancy, where the placenta implants. My first two were very, very low. The last two implanted high up in the uterus.

Hahaha, okay, I get the stomach shrinking thing! I was getting too technical and thought you meant internally, like somehow scar tissue caused it to shrink or something, I get it now, just a dense moment on my part!

Thank you so much for your wealth of knowledge, you've been really helpful, and I appreciate you taking your time to answer my questions!!!

My doctor didn't seem too concerned about me having a 5th c-section, so i am hoping that is a good thing, I would have imagined they would have spoken up if there was a problem. I am definitely going to be more careful with this pregnancy as far as paying attention to pains, and going in immediately if I go into labor! (I didn't last time, and it was horrible!)

Thank you again!!