Yes, but I think we’re mostly talking about the scar being a thin nearly invisible line, not that it’s short.
And it depends on your cut. Most modern c-sections attempt to do a “bikini cut” because that cut is along the Langer’s Line - it’s how your skin “wants” to be cut, in line with the collagen fibers. It provides the least amount of disruption possible, making it less likely that the body will make lots of thick heavy scar tissue, or that you’ll pull out your staples or stitches or develop hernias, abscesses or other problems in wound healing.
If you look at old “vertical cut” c-sections, which cut across the collagen fibers, you’ll see a lot more scarring in general. The scar tends to be wider, and many women develop a “butt belly” with a tight scar separating the abdominal fat into two sections. Vertical cuts also weaken the uterine wall, which is where the old “once a c-section, always a c-section” rule came from.
What type of cut you need depends on the surgeon’s preference, the length of the pregnancy, your personal anatomy and, most importantly, the speed needed. A vertical cut is fast. If you have an *emergency *emergency c-section because you’re bleeding a lot or they can’t find a fetal heartbeat or the shoulder is stuck or some other urgent emergency, you’ll probably get a vertical cut.
If you’re early on in your pregnancy, you may get a vertical cut, because the uterus isn’t stretched out far enough for a doctor to get to the fetus through the bikini cut. If it’s not an *emergency *emergency c-section (that is, if they need to get the baby out in the next hour, not in the next five minutes), the surgeon may choose to do a bikini cut through the skin and then a vertical cut through the uterus. That’s what my surgeon did, but I don’t know how common it is. I’ve not run into another mother who mentioned it. Risk factors for future pregnancy and delivery are those of the vertical cut, even though the only scar you see is the bikini scar. So no VBAC attempts, by most hospital’s current guidelines.
But back to the question: I can rarely find my scar. I’m kind of bumpy and loose in that area to begin with, and the scar hides in a little skin crease. Or maybe the scar made the skin crease, I’m not sure. Once in a while (like now), my body decides it’s time to have Fun With Inflammation. All my joints get very achy and all my scars, including the c-section scar, scars where I had moles removed as a child and even my tattoos get hard and raised and painful to various degrees, so I can then see them pretty easily. But that’s my body being a big old jerk, and not something most women seem to have a problem with.
KSO, have they gotten you a consultation with a Certified Lactation Consultant yet? They should. Stamp your mama feet until they do, and seek out a doctor who considers low/no milk supply a medical issue, not just a petty inconvenience. There are medications that can help, but unless you make a fuss, they’re likely to ignore your need. Don’t get me started…
