Giving birth by cesarean section reduces the chances of a second pregnancy 2026

Having a cesarean section for your first birth could reduce your chances of getting pregnant again naturally in the future. At least, this is confirmed by a new study carried out by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania (United States) and published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Its main objective was to analyze, precisely, whether birth by cesarean section can be related in some way to a lower subsequent conception compared to first vaginal births. And so that the result is closer to the affirmative than negative answer.

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To reach this conclusion, the group of experts was in contact with more than 2,000 women (specifically 2,423) between 18 and 35 years old who had recently become mothers for the first time. In interviews with them, participants answered questions about their type of birth, unprotected sex afterward, and whether they had subsequently become pregnant again.

The result of the first interview concluded that 600 of these women had given birth to their first child by cesarean section. And after? Well, later it happened that 69% of them were able to conceive after that birth naturally, compared to 79% who achieved it after a first birth without a cesarean section.

Of course, it is worth pointing out and highlighting that these results only took into account the three years following the cesarean section. That is, the study demonstrates that the possibility of conception after delivery by cesarean section decreases in the three years following the procedure.

Factors to take into account

To reach these results, the researchers took into account, as explained in the study itself, variants around the mother's age, body mass index before pregnancy, the period until the conception of the first child, weight gain during pregnancy, previous induced abortions, diabetes or hypertension, among others.

The reasons that could be behind this fact

Researchers have also tried to find a solution to the results of the study and, although the answer is not clear, the truth is that they have found some possibilities. First of all, they think that it may be because the woman, after undergoing a cesarean section, does not consider having children again and, therefore, does not directly try to conceive a new pregnancy.

They also talk about the physical consequences of the cesarean section as another possible reason: “in recent years it has been reported that some women develop a defect at the site of the incision that can increase the risk of subsequent infertility,” state the authors of the study.

Furthermore, they complete by saying that this scar from the wound in the uterus can make implantation of the zygote difficult, even though it is in an area where it does not exactly implant.

The number of cesarean sections increases

Regardless of the results of this new research, it is true that in Spain the rate of cesarean sections recommended by the WHO is exceeded. At least, this is what the data provided by the National Statistics Institute for 2018 states, the year in which 26% of births occurred through a cesarean section.