When I was 4 years old I had to undergo two emergency surgeries that left scars on my abdomen . One of the first things I thought about when I got pregnant was them: what would happen to my already ailing belly? Would my skin resist the tension of carrying a baby inside? Spoiler alert: they held out, but they gave me a lot of headaches.
Pre-care of scars
One of the things that we should take into account before becoming pregnant is that in case of having previous scars, it is convenient that a specialized professional (generally a physiotherapist) check them and check that there are no adhesions , and in case there, try to take them off, at least partially.
These resemble ribbons of tissue that form internally when a scar has not been properly treated. Although it is true they can occur anywhere in the body, they usually form after abdominal surgery.
Whenever you go through surgery, especially in this area of the body, including a caesarean section, give it all the attention and care it needs, because in the medium and long term they usually cause problems.
Abdominal scars during pregnancy
I did not treat my scars previously (I confess that I never paid much attention to them -until that moment-), so the discomfort began when the belly began to grow . The characteristic itchiness caused by the stretching of the skin began right around those two scars, and as he put on weight, they became even more bothersome.
Considering that at that time I could no longer do physical therapy, my only help was liters of anti-stretch mark creams and body oil. I applied it at least three times a day and sometimes reapplied just to the scars to soothe the area.
Around the sixth month, the scars pulled quite a bit, especially when I stood up, coughed hard, or turned from lying down . Turning over in bed with a pregnant belly costs… with pulling scars costs even more.
Scars during childbirth
My first delivery was an emergency C-section. I remember that when the doctor saw my abdomen, she made a gesture similar to when you see an impossible puzzle: in one minute she did a general review of the entire belly and decided that the best thing for me was to cut exactly on one of the scars (which was already quite large and that went from the navel to the pubis).
Recovery from that injury was very painful, uncomfortable and extremely slow. However, once healed, its appearance was practically identical to how it was before, so I think that cutting again in the same place was a success .
In the second pregnancy I had already taken some physiotherapy sessions and also had the experience of the first, so this time everything was more bearable. The best thing is that the birth was natural and during the contractions I didn’t notice them (even less when they put me in the epidural), so in that case, the previous scars were not a determining factor.
In Babies and More | Has your caesarean section wound healed long ago but it still bothers you? It happens to me too and that’s how I get relief
Pictures | freepik
