Why does my c-section scar look folded over?

Question

I had a c-section 4 weeks ago and it was sewn up with dissolvable stitches. All the nurses commented in the hospital how nice the incision was. The problem is there is a hard fold of skin that hangs over it. It is not loose skin, and it is not belly fat. It looks like I have a smiley face on my stomach. I knew I would have an incision scar, but I wasn't prepared for this fold over. Did anyone else have this happen? Does it ever go away? I am very depressed about it :(

Answer 1

You had major abdominal surgery 4 weeks ago!! Give yourself a break!!

To get to your baby they had to cut through your skin, abdominal fat, strong abdominal muscles and finally your very muscular uterus. All in all, that's some MAJOR work being done there.

Then, they had to stitch it all back up and tuck it away again!

Please don't be "very depressed" about this, it's a surgical scar and there's nota whole lot you can do about it, and what you are describing sounds normal. Just give your body time to heal. It takes about 6 months for a c-section wound to heal up to the point where some feeling comes back into the area, and a couple of years to really fully settle down. In a year or two your scar will look different.

At the moment, please don't try rubbing lotions and potions into it, just let it heal. Don't exercise, don't do sit ups, don't lift anything heavy, don't strain your belly in any way shape or form at all. This will help everything fall back into place and heal in a more natural position.

Just give yourself a bit of time.

Answer 2

No it never goes away. It will shrink down some. The fold is caused by them cutting through your muscle wall. They have to cut through three layers, skin, muscle, and organ to do a C-section. It takes 18 months to FULLY heal from a C-section. My doctor has done them for 35 years and said give yourself the full 18 months to recover. You had major surgery. My son is now 2 1/2 years old and it took the full 18 months before things really returned back to shape. I lost all my baby weight in the first year but still noticed changes in my breasts and stomach tone up to a year in a half.

Answer 3

That scar you have is cosmetically referred to as a "keloid" which is a big up of scar tissue and will take years to flatten out if at all. This is a genetic trait that some people have and some don't, just as the tendency to get stretch marks is also a genetic trait. Nothing you can do about it and just be grateful that in this day and age they can perform caesarians to deliver babies that once would have died in the uterus and possibly killed the mother also.

Answer 4

Yep, I had this happen, and it was even worse after my second section four months ago. My doc told me it would flatten out, and it did, but for a while it looked like a ridge on my lower abdomen. Don't worry, later you can tell your kids about it. My 2.5 year old knows that "owie" is where she and her brother came out.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

i got the fold over thing immediately afterwards...but mine is soft and flabby...extra skin...it bums me out...but at least i had a healthy beautiful baby instead.