What a cesarean delivery actually is
It is abdominal surgery, not a different way of pushing.
A cesarean delivery is an operation. A surgeon makes a cut through your skin and the layers of your abdominal wall, then makes a second cut into your uterus, and lifts the baby out through both openings. The uterus is then stitched closed, and the abdominal layers are closed on top of it.
Two separate incisions are involved, and they do not have to match. The skin cut is usually side to side, low, just above the pubic bone. The cut in the uterus is usually side to side across the lower part of the uterus, but sometimes it has to be up and down. Which one you get changes what is possible in your next pregnancy, and you should be told which one you had.
Ask for this in writingThe type of cut made in your uterus should be recorded in your operative report. Ask for a copy before you leave the hospital. Many women only find out years later that they cannot attempt labor because of an incision no one told them about.
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This page is educational. It supports the conversation with your own clinicians. It is not consent to any treatment, and it cannot assess you. If you are worried about a symptom now, see urgent warning signs.