A caesarean delivery or a caesarean section is when a baby is delivered via an operation which involves cutting the front wall of a woman's abdomen (tummy) and womb to lift the baby out.

Caesareans may be planned (elective) procedures, when it becomes apparent during the pregnancy that vaginal delivery is not feasible, potentially dangerous or simply unwanted by the woman.

Or it may be an emergency procedure, when medics decide that urgent delivery of the baby is necessary.

In either case it is carried out under regional anaesthetic, where the lower part of the woman's body is numbed.

So what are the possible risks from having a caesarean?

Recovery time:
Mums are often very uncomfortable after a caesarean and take long to recover than those having a vaginal birth. The wound may be sore or uncomfortable for several weeks. Medication is usually prescribed to deal with the pain, but it may make day-to-day living a bit difficult to start with.

Infection
Women having a caesarean are given a dose of antibiotics before surgery to reduce the risk of infection. But infection is quite common and symptoms can include heavy or irregular bleeding, a smelly discharge or a fever.

Redness, discharge, separation or worsening pain around the wound indicate a wound infection. They occur in about 10% of caesareans with the odds increasing for women who have diabetes, are over or underweight.

Endometritis is the infection of the lining of the uterus which is most likely if the woman's waters broke prior to labour.

A urinary tract infection can occur if a catheter is inserted during surgery to empty the bladder. It may cause a painful, burning sensation when peeing.

Blood clot
Blood clots can develop after any surgery. If one lodges in the lungs (pulmonary embolism), it can be very dangerous.

Signs of a pulmonary embolism include coughing, shortness of breath, or swelling or pain in the calf. These symptoms should be treated very seriously.

It's likely that blood-thinning drugs will be given after surgery and the new mum will be encouraged to move about as soon as possible to reduce the risk of clots.

Adhesions
These are bands of scar tissue that can cause internal organs to stick to each other, or to the wall of the stomach. As many as 50% of caesarean patients suffer from them to some degree.

How the surgeon stitches the layers and how many prior caesareans the woman has had all have a bearing on adhesions occurring and their severity.

They are painful and can cause bowel obstruction and even fertility issues later on.

Other complications:
Serious complications are unlikely with a caesarean, but an emergency operation to remove the uterus (hysterectomy) occurs in about eight out of every 1,000 women who have a caesarean. Around five in every 1,000 need follow-up surgery and one in 1,000 may have some damage to the bladder or the tubes from the kidneys to the bladder during surgery.