Why Does My C-Section Scar Feel Numb?

Everyone warned you that the toughest part about delivering your baby via C-section is the recovery period afterward, and it has certainly turned out to be no walk in the park. While you're doing your best to take it easy and slow life down for a while, you might be more aware of your body and its sensations than ever before. The site of your incision, for example, might preoccupy your thoughts, and if you find yourself frequently wondering, "Why does my C-section scar feel numb?" you're not alone.

It's only natural to want to understand the ins and outs of your own body's healing process. Dr. Tanya Kormeili knows that firsthand. In addition to being a Los Angeles-based dermatologist, Kormeili also had a baby via C-section and knows the recovery process all too well. In an interview with Romper, Kormeili explains that surgical scars, including those from C-sections, are "deep cuts through the dermis of the skin, where blood vessels and nerves live. The cut from the surgery also damages the nerves and, as they begin the process of reconnecting and rebuilding themselves, there is often numbness (if the nerve is cut and not working) and some itching (when the nerve is growing back)."

When it was Kormeili's turn to be the patient, she understood how women worry over their scar's sensations and changes in appearance. But as a dermatologist, she says, she reassured herself just as she reassures others: in time, the numbness will reverse, the itching will stop, and the scar will become less worrisome.

Kormeili adds that some surgical scars do turn into keloids, or raised scars, and that they may result in more itching than a normally healed one. In that case, she says, talk to your doctor about treatment options to pursue. But if you're still early on in the healing process, a numb scar is exactly what you should have. So sit back, relax, and make someone bring you a pint of ice cream already.