Table of contents:
- What is LASIK?
- Do you have to give birth by caesarean section after LASIK?
- Why do many believe in this issue?
- After LASIK, women can still give birth normally
Nowadays, it is not difficult to find people with vision disorders such as nearsightedness or minus eyes (myopia), farsightedness or plus eyes (hypermetropy), or cylindrical eyes (astigmatism). Various ways to get normal vision were taken, from wearing glasses and contact lenses to surgical procedures such as LASIK.
What is LASIK?
LASIK or laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis is a surgical procedure to treat vision disorders in the eye. This procedure involves reconstructing the shape of the cornea in order to adjust the beam of light entering the eye so that the light beam can enter and fall right on the retina.
As a side note, in the minus eye, the image falls in front of the retina. In the plus eye, the image falls behind the retina, and in the cylindrical eye, the image is not focused on a single point.
Do you have to give birth by caesarean section after LASIK?
For a long time, there have been rumors that women who have undergone LASIK surgery are no longer allowed to give birth normally, namely vaginally. It is feared that if the birth is normal, the condition of nearsightedness or minus eyes will actually get worse. Even some people believe this can lead to blindness.
Fortunately, this issue is not true. After performing the surgical procedure for this eye, women still have the opportunity to give birth normally. So you don't have to go through a caesarean section.
Why do many believe in this issue?
In patients with minus eyes, especially in severe minus eyes (minus above 6 diopters), it was found that the size of the eyeball became more oval than normal. As a result, those of you who have minus weight are at risk of experiencing retinal depletion or detachment.
Yes, in ancient times this was often an indication for women to give birth by caesarean section. The consideration is that if you give birth normally, you will need a lot of energy when pushing (cool), causing the eye pressure to rise and increase the disruption of retinal function. One of them is detachment of the retina.
After LASIK, women can still give birth normally
A number of studies have actually shown that there is no link between nearsightedness or severe minus eyes and the possibility of delivery by caesarean section. It is said that neither a normal delivery nor a caesarean section will affect the condition of the mother's vision and retina.
So don't worry, normal delivery will not make eye minus worse or cause blindness.
In addition, in the LASIK procedure, as discussed above, the reconstructed structure is the cornea, the part that is located in the front of the eyeball. This procedure in no way involves structures at the back of the eye such as the retina. Therefore, there is absolutely nothing to do with the LASIK procedure and retinal detachment during normal delivery.
That way, it is answered that in patients who have undergone the LASIK procedure, it is okay to give birth normally. Likewise in people with nearsightedness who do not even undergo LASIK.
But keep in mind, it is better if the obstetrician refers people with nearsightedness to the ophthalmologist first to do an examination of the back of the eyeball (funduscopy) for assessment of the retina and other structures.
