Cervical Scar Tissue – A Cause of Preventable Cesareans

Dawn Thompson is a doula and the founder of ImprovingBirth.org.  She has spent the past eight years on a mission to understand how scar tissue on the cervix affects women in labor, and to let the public know about it.  In her article below, she identifies a variety of gynecological procedures that can potentially cause Cervical Scar Tissue, such as treatments for abnormal Pap smears.  (I also discuss the topic on pages 132-133 of my book, which includes a list of additional medical procedures that may be the cause of CST.)  Other resources on CST include: 

• an excellent article by O'Nell Starkey, doula and founder of The Beautiful Cervix Project
• photographs of the cervix from The Singapore Family Physician (images are graphic but informative -- see Figures 24a and 24b for scarring of the cervix); and
• an article by Dr. Fred Licciardi of New York University, with drawings that demonstrate how gynecological procedures may cause scarring 

Below, Dawn Thompson describes her investigation of the topic of CST, and the ways she has helped mothers with this condition avoid complications in labor.