Why some Women CAN only have one child?

Question

The other day I was watching TV and this Character was telling her daughter how after she (her daughter) was born she (ther mother) got sick and the doctor told her she couldn't have anymore babies or that it would be best if she didn't.
I'm wondering what caused that to happen was it because of the birth of her daughter?
And also what symthoms would the woman have gotten?
Is this such a thing or was it just TV shows being TV shows?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

If it was a very dangerous delivery (life threatening for the mom or child) then they would suggest not having anymore children.

Also if something happened after delivery. If she contracted an STD during pregnancy that's not curable, if she has uteran cancer and she has to have parts of her cervix or uterus removed.....

There's tons of reasons that could happen.

Answer 2

If the woman CAN'T have another child, something may have happened to make pregnancy impossible. Usually, infertility is a result of scarred fallopian tubes (the eggs don't easily come out). Scarring can be a result of infections; which is why STDs can cause sterility, but it could be any other form of infection too. Scarring from IUD infections used to be a well-known problem. Infection is not unheard of from childbirth. It might also be scarring in the uterus, so the egg can't implant. A lot of stuff gets torn, exposure to outside germs; no matter how much you try to keep the environment sterile... infections do happen.

In the good old days too, the (male) doctors could be arrogant jerks and recommend hysterctomies and similar procedures for very flimsy reasons. We question that sort of authority a LOT more nowadays.

If the TV character was told she SHOULDN'T have another baby - it could be problems, as others mentioned, like diabetes or weak uterus. My stepmother, her 2 daughters and my niece for example, all had kidney problems. By the second or third child, it was touch-and-go whether mother or child would survive (one had several abortions afterwards before giving up her dream.). My niece waited too long, was hospitalized with the same problem, and likely can't have kids. If she tries, her kidneys will fail and they both will die.

These sorts of things add to the drama in TV shows, but like most things Hollywood, seem to happen to often and conveniently when the plot requires it. After all, how many people do you know in that boat?

The biggest reason most people can't conceive is that they had their tubes tied (or vasectomy); and it costs way too much and is unreliable to change back. Reconnecting the tubes might work, but the scar at the joint may also not allow pregnancy.

Answer 3

Another possibility is gestational diabetes. I used to know a woman who had two kids and had gestational diabetes with both pregnancies. With the second one, it got bad enough that she and the baby were both having a rough time. Her doc advised her that she'd be risking her health and her life if she got pregnant a third time, so she ended up getting her tubes tied at the same time as she got a C-section for the second birth.

I would be somewhat surprised to hear about the same thing happening with gestational diabetes after only one pregnancy, but I suppose it wouldn't be impossible.

Answer 4

My mom had my brother and he was born with a myriad of health problems including a very rare blood disease and a hole in his heart. The doc told my mother (a few months later) don't get pregnant again because the next baby would have this problem to and she could not have any more kids.....too late! She was already pregnant with me. I am just glad they told her later rather than sooner or I would not be here. she stopped after me for fear of tempting fate.

Answer 5

Sometimes, after labor, a woman starts hemmorrhaging (is that how you spell it?) really bad and something happens and she can never have kids again. It doesn't happen too often, but it does happen.