Can having a fat vagina increase your risk of a C-section delivery?

Have you ever heard of the term fat vagina? Before you get confused, let us tell you: your vagina can’t exactly be fat. In fact, according to experts, very little fat can be stored in your vaginal region. Rather, a fat vagina refers to the fat stored in the pubic mound region. But why are we discussing this today? That’s because the news is a fat vagina can lead to more C-sections in women today.

Gone are those days when normal delivery was, well, the norm. Now every third child is born through C-section. That means almost 92% are undergoing the procedure to deliver.

There are many commonly-known reasons that can lead to a C-section. But here’s one which is so neglected that we hardly pay heed to it. Yes, we’re talking about having a fat vagina. 

But can we put all the blame on a fat vagina for the increasing number of C-sections?
In a way, yes. Excess weight creates an obstruction in the birth canal making it narrower. Due to this, it becomes hard for the baby to come out through it and doctors are not left with another choice but to operate on the mother.

According to Dr Archana Chandak, a gynaecologist and obstetrician at Apollo clinic in Pune: “Due to the obstruction created in the birth canal at the time of the delivery the coordination between the push and the abdomen wall/ muscle gets hampered. It is also known as obstructed labour. The mother tries to push but due to a fat vagina the force is not targeted in the right direction. After a while even the mother gets tired and there is no option but to go in for a C-section.”

“Having said that, you just can’t only blame a fat vagina for increasing the number of C-sections as there can be other complications during the delivery due to which the doctor has to operate the mother. But without a doubt it is one of the concerns and women should take care of it”, she concluded.