Does having a c-section impair breastfeeding?

[TicToc]

My goal is a drug free vaginal birth, but I recently gave myself a severe back injury. It's muscular, but will take a few more weeks at least to heal. I am afraid if I go early I won't be able to have my drug free vaginal birth. Since I had to break down and take pills for the pain I have now I have come to peace with needing pain medication during labor if my back isn't fully healed. But I am concerned that if I still feel the way I do now that won't be enough and I may need a c-section because the pain in my back is so severe I simply can not move at all without excruciating pain and spasms unless I keep myself in one very specific position.

Does having a c-section either with epi or by being fully knocked out (not sure if they can even epi me since my lower back is all swollen) interfere with breast feeding? Do you have to wait a certain amount of time for the drugs to get out of your system before you can feed? What about recovery, would it have to be drug free in order to start feeding?

I am so worried about this as I desperately want to breastfeed but I also can't imagine the pain of trying to recover from this back injury and a surgery on the front side at the same time. For the first time I am hoping I go all the way to my due date or beyond so that maybe this won't be an issue!

For those who are curious, I fell down my basement stairs.

 

[Jary]

Hi There!

First of all ouch! I hope it gets better by the time baby shows up! Have you had it checked over by doctor/midwife? They'd probably be able to tell you if it would be an issue.

As for BFing, I remember hearing that your milk might take longer to come in because its an artificial birth (although if you labour before hand the hormones probably will help bring your milk in)

Even so, I wouldn't worry, you will have colostrum present even now and that'll be all baby will need until your milk does come in (it won't seem like a lot but trust me its more than sufficient for baby!)

As for drugs being present; your baby will probably not be hungry at first. I didn't feed LO until a good few hours after birth as she wasn't interested! I blame it on the pethadine. lol. For the record, pethadine is amazing. I had back labour and with that drug I got half an hour of sleep with no pain whatsoever and that really helped me in the long run.

Hope all goes well and fingers crossed your back injury is gone by baby time!

 

[TicToc]

I was seen by the ER doc who said it was muscular and then was sent to the birthing ward to monitor baby who is fine. I have an appt with the OB in 2 days so I will bring it up with him then, then he will get to see first hand how bad off it really is and maybe he can talk alternatives if I do go early. Thanks!

 

[sheldonsmommy]

Sorry you're having these difficulties

I have had an emcs, and then a planned cs after I failed to go into labour naturally by 42 weeks. Both times I was able to breastfeed very successfully

As for meds, I didn't need anything stronger than alternating Advil (ibuprofen) and Tylenol (acetaminophen). I didn't need any codeine or other narcotics, though I didn't have back issues. But many people take stronger pain medication and it is totally ok to breastfeed. In the early days, baby is getting very little; something like 50 ml per day of colostrum, and what ever is passed on is very dilute.

As for your milk coming in, it's about 3 days. Mine took that long with lots of nursing after birth, every 2-3 hours. I've heard it takes longer with the surgery, but either way baby does nothing but sleep and nurse in the early days. Early skin to skin is helpful to stimulate early milk production.

I think your best chance for successful breastfeeding is gathering tons of information ahead of time so you can be prepared for all the hurdles. Something I would specifically suggest you look into would be breastfeeding positions compatible with back issues.

I hope you get the birth you want! Sections are tough, but if you end up with one, it's totally doable

 

[sunnylove]

I gave birth via c-section at 26 weeks and I pumped in the recovery room and established a very good supply, so you will be fine!

As for the drugs, doctors don't usually give mothers medication that would be harmful if she were to breastfeed, so you will be fine on that account too. If your hospital has breast-feeding consultants, they will assist you post-birth.

 

[steph.]

I had an emcs with spinal and breastfed in recovery. I took endone for the pain for about a week and continued to bf. My supply came in on day 2.

 

[Katrina18]

I had a c section after failure to progress after 36 hours of labor. I breastfed from the moment I was able to hold my daughter and am still going strong at 7 months tomorrow! I had her on a Thursday and my milk came in that Sunday. I told them from the beginning that I planned on nursing so they never gave me anything that I couldn't take while doing so. I had an epidural but they ended up giving me a spinal block after the epidural didnt work and I could still feel everything. You should be fine. I hope you feel better and have a swift recovery!

 

[daneuse27]

I had a C-section, and I won't lie - breastfeeding was definitely harder to get started, but after lots of perseverance it worked out Don't let anyone discourage you, it WILL work out if its what you want. I had added difficulties with an inverted nipple, and needed extra professional help from a breastfeeding clinic with that. But despite the added complication, I was still able to breastfeed exclusively for a year. You'll be fine!

 

[fashionlover]

I had a c section and am nursing just fine at 4.5 months! Whoever called a c section an "artificial birth" it is a bit insulting. I think "alternative birth option" would be a wiser choice of words. There was absolutely nothing artificial about having a c section, probably the most "real" moment in my life. Artificial is a word best used for sweeteners.

 

[Jary]

My apologies fashionlover. No offense was meant. I just meant that it was started by intervention rather than nature.

Again I'm sorry if I offended you.

 

[Marythefairy]

I had an emcs after a long and unsuccessful Labour. I bf successfully for 18 months and was totally determined to do so. I found a rugby ball hold comfortable in the early days as my scar was swollen and sore. Knowledge is power when bf and your in the best place in here. I always found answers to my queries in here

 

[Here_we_go]

Let me assure you it will not hurt you one little bit

I had to have a C-section under general anesthesia due to a medical condition I now have. If I had gone into labor, the increased cranial pressure could've killed me and I was forbidden any spinal blocks or epi by neurologist . It sucked knowing I was the last person in the world (or so it seemed ) to get to see my baby girl though It took a while before I was able to get my pain under control (finally had to put me on a morphine drip I hate surgeries) and I didn't get to hold her until about 3-4 hours after her birth.

I made sure to tell nurses, drs, husband, family that NO BOTTLE was to be given and that I was going to breastfeed ONLY!!

Even after all that time, when I finally held her and put her against me, she just wasn't interested in nursing. Still groggy I suppose. She was a tiny 6 pounder. My son was a huge (compared to her!) 8 pounder and took to nursing straight away after a spinal block vaginal delivery. He was sleepy though and wouldn't nurse for very long. It worried me that she was so small and just wouldn't latch on.

That night though, she quickly found her appetite She'd nurse for 10-15 minutes, sleep for 10 min, wake up and nurse for 10 more minutes, sleep 5 min, nurse for 15, sleep for 20 min...and so on (I highly recommend taking a regular pillow and covering your belly just incase baby accidently kicks you. You will be VERY sore! I also recommend wedging other pillows around you, supporting baby and your arms in case you doze off) She had a very shallow latch and I swore she was trying to kill me (my poor, POOR nipples ) but I knew the longer she was on, the better and by the end of the second day, my milk had already came in It didn't come in that soon with my son!

My daughter didn't get the hang of breastfeeding until she was 2-3 weeks old. Until then, I slathered on Lansinoh (which I never had to use with son) and rubbed breastmilk on to my nipples and let them air dry before I tucked them away. She'd get frustrated and angry sometimes at my boobs and I'd have to call a time out for both of us and burp/soothe her (not to mention calm myself down) before letting her give it another go.

Just because I knew how to do it didn't mean SHE knew how to do it and it took time for her to acquire the technique of successfully breastfeeding. My son took to it like a pro. Never had any issues at all with him until I had to go to work and I introduced several types of bottles (some of which had a fast flow apparently) and it made him a lazy nurser. Finally had to switch to formula at 4 months. Stupid bottles

The first month is the hardest because you will be constantly nursing. Sleep when you can (which is when baby is sleeping!). I am completely for co-sleeping. I did it with both of my children (occasionally still do so with daughter). Make sure to have a nice glass of ice water by your side and nice healthy snacks that are easy to grab so you can munch while baby nurses. I actually miss all the clusterfeeding now. It's pretty much nonstop nursing but you can sit back and relax, watch tv, read book, etc. It's quite nice actually They are only small for so long *sigh*
Now I'm racing after my daughter "No, don't do that" "That's yucky, don't touch that" "Quick grab her before she____________"

Good luck hun. I'm sure you'll do fine. Just make sure to make your wishes known and hang in there. It's so much easier to whip a boob out in the middle of the night than it is to stagger half asleep into the kitchen and mix and warm a darn bottle to the tune of a screaming baby

BTW, no matter how your baby is fed (breast or formula) will make a difference in sleeping through the night. My son didn't sleep through the night until he was like 8 months and even then we had bad nights. By that time not only was he formula fed but was also on solids. My daughter started sleeping through before 8 weeks of age and was EBF. Don't let anybody (dr, family or friend) bully you into giving up. I had a dr try to tell me I needed to give formula to my daughter to make her sleep better. I switched drs because as I previously stated, she was STTN by that time, she was gaining weight, growing and having plenty of dirty diapers. How much better was she supposed to sleep?????

Again good luck hun

EDIT: Completely agree with Marythefairy: Knowledge is power! Research everything. Lots of drs, nurses and hospitals agree breast is best but their actions show they'd prefer you use formula

 

[JenX]

I had a c-section under general anesthesia and had no real problems with breastfeeding. A lactation consultant will be very helpful and I recommend a BF support group.

 

[TicToc]

Thanks ladies!

I feel more confident that I can still BF even if I need to be put under. I see my OB tomorrow and will talk to him about it as well, I just need my back to heal so I can actually pick her up once she is here! That's my remaining concern, if she is too early and I still need pain pills to do anything but lay on the couch in tears I am afraid I might have to pump and dump for a while which will affect any successful outcome. She just needs to stay put till her DD.

 

[Here_we_go]

I have a medical condition which makes me sometime have to take pain meds. As long as you don't have to take the pain meds too long, too frequently and are not on too high a dosage, your baby will be fine.

In the beginning, your baby won't require too much work anyways. Just sit back, nurse and relax It's later on down the road when the chasing around occurs

I'm on weight restrictions myself after having a brain/spinal surgery. I pumped and dumped while in hospital and would monitor what time I took my meds as to if I should offer frozen breast milk or just feed from the boob. My husband and son help out lifting my daughter.

Hopefully you'll heal quickly and won't have any troubles or issues

 

[TicToc]

I have been taking 2 mg of hydromorphone (pain meds) almost every 4 hours and10 mg of cyclobenzprine (muscle relaxer) every 8 hours for the last 5 days. I am usually strict about taking anything but I just couldn't bear the pain. As it is it only take the edge off a bit, I am still in tears half the times I try to move. I didn't research the safety of these pills, normally I would have obsessed over it but I just accepted they were safe since OB said they were because it's ssssoooooo bad. And now I keep jerking awake when I am sleeping from dreams of falling down the stairs. I seriously want to move because of this!

 

[Noo]

I BF on the operating table whilst being stitched up then again in recovery. I was an elective section with a spinal.

 

[Here_we_go]

This is the site I use to double check any meds I get whether the dr gives me the ok or not

https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/htmlgen?LACT

 

[babyjan]

Don't have much advice but my mother had an emergency c section and was able to breastfeed and continued till my brother was 2.

Sorry about your back, hope your feeling better soon x