For those worried about breast feeding after c section

[apple_20]

I was really worried about bf before my c section as I'd been warned it could take a lot longer for milk to come in etc. I just want to share my story.

Straight after c section I got skin to skin in the recovery room he managed to latch for 2 sucks. Whilst in hospital I kept trying to bf and was advised to strip him off and do skin to skin (it also helped keep him awake). He gradually started latching but still not for long. On the second night lo must have been hungry because he latched and fed for half an hour! I was so proud! Every few hours he would feed for 20 ish mins. On the third day my milk started to come in, my breasts were swollen. By day 4 he was definitely getting real milk as he threw it up!

It's now day 6 and he has started to cluster feed and has gone from taking 15 mins to latch to less than a minute. I know it's early days and I have alot more to come but I hope it helps people to feel more confident about bf.

Please feel free to add your own stories or ask questions (though I'm a ftm and no expert)

 

[LovingLimes]

I hope I have a success story like you! I am more concerned about breastfeeding than I am about the actual section which I am having Thursday. They better give me skin to skin in the hospital and ample time with the baby to help with feedings! What did he eat for that day in between your section and the second day where he latched for a half an hour? I seriously can't wait to breastfeed my LO, I don't know why I am so excited about it. It just seems like such a good thing because of all the benefits and the bonding with her!

 

[Liesje]

Mine was fine too (other than my boobs were busted but now exclusively breasfeeding), no one should buy into the scare mongering. Where there is a will, there is a way. A c-section certainly doesn't make anything easier but nothing is THAT much harder that people should be afraid.

 

[apple_20]

He had just the tiny amounts of colostrum he managed to get. And his weight was fine. babies come out with back up fat to keep then going x

 

[sapphire20]

Im on day 6 of breast feeding after my section, had no problems latching on and milk came in on day three and I can probably drown the wee guy there's that much! Im finding that the rugby ball hold is the easiest and most comfortable way! It is possible!!!

 

[Lettuce]

I had an emcs and massive blood loss (2.5l), no immdiate skin to skin, didn't even ge to bf til she was 2 hours old and my milk didn't come in til day 6!

But...
I'm STILL breastfeeding my 13month old, the can survive on the colostrum for ages. We didn't have to top up at all.
Good luck ladies, the breastfeeding section on here is great. Xx
to the op on the cluster feeding, I remember it well! Just put your feet up and watch tv. x

 

[Annie77]

One positive aspect of c-sections is that you are in hospital longer and therefore have more time to spend establishing breastfeeding. My dd was a poor feeder and if I had been sent home 6 hours post birth I think I would have given up. Because we were in hospital, they got me to use a breast pump as well as supporting me to put her on the breast very few hours (try doing that at home with never ending stream of visitors). My milk came in on day 3 and we were discharged 2days later when she started to put on a little weight.
My 2nd daughter climbed down from my shoulder to breast and latched on by herself - in the recovery room!

 

[Rosered52]

I had my baby via c-section on Monday, and now it's Friday night and still no sign of milk. She's been suckling very well every 1-3 hours since soon after birth, and still no progress. I'm fighting off the sadness andpanic, but it's getting to me. Saw her doctor today, and she okayed the use of an ounce or two of formula to help keep her hydrated, which is helping console me.

I'm just so sad.

 

[apple_20]

I had my baby via c-section on Monday, and now it's Friday night and still no sign of milk. She's been suckling very well every 1-3 hours since soon after birth, and still no progress. I'm fighting off the sadness andpanic, but it's getting to me. Saw her doctor today, and she okayed the use of an ounce or two of formula to help keep her hydrated, which is helping console me.

I'm just so sad.

I'm sorry to hear that it's taking some time but it will happen it's very sudden! So long as you lo keeps sucking and you have lots of skin to skin. See if you can buy bottles with teats that mimic breasts if possible x

 

[weebun]

I breast fed both of my babies after emergency c-sections. My son was in a four hourly feeding pattern by day 2 and stayed like that till weaning. My daughter last year, had to be cuddled by dad for the best part of 2 hours after I had a tiny hold, due to complications that arose during my c-section! She slept and baby pretty much did till I got another hold 4 hours after she was born at 6am in the morning, and I had GD in that pregnancy. but baby was fine. She breast fed really well the first time I tried and she continued to do so, she had one night where she cluster fed every 15 minutes to 30 minutes all night!!! due to my milk coming in .... the day after she was fine. and I continued to breast feed despite added complications till she was just too greedy and hungry for my milk alone to satisfy her....

I think breast feeding is a good option after c-section, due to having to rest for weeks afterwards etc, the last thing I wanted to be doing was getting up and down day and night making bottles etc. It also helps with the post birth bleeding and loss.

 

[Rosered52]

I had my baby via c-section on Monday, and now it's Friday night and still no sign of milk. She's been suckling very well every 1-3 hours since soon after birth, and still no progress. I'm fighting off the sadness andpanic, but it's getting to me. Saw her doctor today, and she okayed the use of an ounce or two of formula to help keep her hydrated, which is helping console me.

I'm just so sad.

I'm sorry to hear that it's taking some time but it will happen it's very sudden! So long as you lo keeps sucking and you have lots of skin to skin. See if you can buy bottles with teats that mimic breasts if possible x

Well, a couple of hours after I posted this, it was time to feed her, and when I went to manually express a bit to get her started, there was some milk!!! Not enough to help her pack on the ounces just yet, but it's finally coming! She's lost a full pound since birth , so we're still going to be supplementing with formula until my milk is enough to help her thrive, but hopefully that will be soon.

So, for any other ladies who find this thread, it took from a Monday morning until the wee hours of the following Saturday morning (almost 5 full days) for there to be ANY sign of milk after my c-section. We'll keep feeding every 1-3 hours and offering formula every other feed, and hopefully I'll have more success to report soon.

 

[apple_20]

I'm so glad your milk is finally coming in. Im having over supply issues now and the let down is too fast which upsets him.

 

[Septie]

No problems BF my two whatsoever - I think it's a myth and that a section has nothing to do with BF problems I didn't get to hold my first until maybe 4-5 hrs after birth (standard procedure at the hospital) - but he latched on well right away, and exceeded all expectations in terms of weight gain; they told us to skip one of the well child visits because he was putting on weight instead of losing it in the days after birth. My second latched on immediately when put on me in the recovery room (as soon as I felt comfortable holding him, as I was shaking quite a bit lol). And again, a champion breastfeeder, and he lost very little weight before putting it on. Note that I BF my first exclusively without solids for 13 months, and am doing the same now with my second (now 11 months old). BF should not be one of your fears if you are having a section in my experience.

 

[Rosered52]

I'm so glad your milk is finally coming in. Im having over supply issues now and the let down is too fast which upsets him.

Aw, poor mom, it's a roller coaster, isn't it. My milk is still there, but there's very little of it. I am pumping regularly to help stimulate production. I get about 10-15 mililiters every few hours. I'll keep going, hope it'll increase! Even if I have to pump exclusively and have her on bottles, I'm okay with that.

Glad to hear so many success stories, ladies, great work!

 

[apple_20]

im now pretty much pumping exclusively- it was getting to stressful and he wasnt eating properly. however he is now gaining weight rapidly and happy as larry with his bottle.
it is harder to pump as you have the added stress of cleaning bottles, keeping milk cool/warm etc. however i can have OH feed him and i getr 2-4 oz per breast every 4 hours.

my mw said i was doing very well but may have to accept that as he gets older he will need toping up with formula as my milk supply wont increase with his appetite

 

[sw121]

I had a terrible experience trying to BF after my section. I specifically asked whether having a planned CS could affect it and was categorically told it didn't make any difference. After the birth, when there were problems, they told me the opposite!

There were a combination of problems. Skin to skin contact was virtually impossible. I didn't get to hold him until he was about an hour old and they had him wrapped in loads of blankets because he had a low temperature. After about 45 mins in recovery we were moved onto a shared bay, where we couldn't have skin to skin because there was no privacy. They kept telling me to do it, but I don't like having my breasts exposed in a room full of other patient's visitors.

So I had no milk for ages. Plus, I had gestational diabetes and what they didn't tell me in advance was that because of this my baby was at risk of low blood sugar and therefore had to feed every 2 hours from birth. As I didn't have any milk, this meant formula. It was poured down his throat with a pippette. They kept insisting that this would not interfere with BF, but when I did finally have some milk a few days later, he would latch on well but then not suck. No matter what anyone tried, we just could not get him to suck and we ended up giving him more and more formula. We had to start feeding him my express milk from a bottle just so that we could go home.

In the end he never took to BF - he could never unlearn what he had learnt from pippette feeding - i.e. that milk would just be poured down his throat. Also, the BF support in the hospital was appalling. None of the staff had time to sit with me, so their support consisted almost entirely of different members of staff coming to me periodically, man handling my breasts and literally stuffing my nipple into my baby's mouth. Each person I asked for help gave different and conflicting advice, which was very confusing. I was staggered afterwards when I found out that the BF support was supposed to be "hands off"!

So my advice would be:

- Insist on skin to skin straight away
- Insist on the privacy you need to be comfortable doing skin to skin
- Make sure if you have any medical conditions that may influence how your baby has to feed, that you discuss this fully with the midwife before, as they won't necessarily raise the subject
- Try to avoid pippette feeding at all costs. They will tell you it will make no difference to BF, but it does
- If you know you're going to have a CS, ask what you can do shortly before the birth to get your milk flowing
- If you're having problems ask if the same person can sit with you for each feed. Chose a member of staff whose advice seems sensible to you and who you are comfortable with.

 

[apple_20]

Wow you had a vary different experience to me and your only up the road! I know what you mean about them not having time though. It sounds like the consultant who you asked all the bf question to before the op diddnt know what they were talking about. They didn't take into account your health issues at all.

 

[sw121]

Wow you had a vary different experience to me and your only up the road! I know what you mean about them not having time though. It sounds like the consultant who you asked all the bf question to before the op diddnt know what they were talking about. They didn't take into account your health issues at all.

It was a midwife who told me that. Then after I hadn LO, the same midwife was one of the many who said one of the reasons for the delay in my milk was having an elective CS And this was on a ward specialising in CS, so you'd think they'd know what they were talking about.

I'm not sure how many of my problems were directly caused by having a CS, or if they were more a result of factors relating to it (e.g. not being able to get early skin to skin, not having the privacy for skin to skin later), but some of the staff said it was related to not having been in labour. Also, I don't think the ward had any more staff than the other postnatal wards, but they had a ward full of women who couldn't get out of bed, so I do feel the staff probably had even less time to spend helping with BF. And yes, they completely failed to advise me about the issue regarding diabetes and regular feeding. They've changed their guidelines on this now, although they refused to accept my suggestion that they need to at least prepare women with my combination of issues, e.g. needing a CS and having diabetes, that they might need to formula feed. But don't get me started on their unrealistic ante-natal BF info they give out - woollen boob anyone?!?

 

[apple_20]

yeah i was warned not going through labour could make my milk take longer. i totally agree with the staffing thing i wasnt in a c-section only ward but they were so busy I felt bad buzzing them to keep getting him out of his cot to try bf. also there were some mw who were hands off and others shoving nipple in mouth so they dont seem to be following the same guidance.

 

[AnnieB82]

Hi, it's great to see that many mothers still get the hang of breastfeeding relatively easy despite c section.
My first son was born by emergency section. I didn't get to hold him until about 4 hrs after the birth. Due to drugs I'd been given during labour, he was very lethargic and would not latch on. The nurses were not very helpful and kept insisting on pricking his foot to test his blood sugars. It was very stressful, they made me feel like I was starving him. I eventually relented and gave him formula as they were putting me under a lot of pressure. For each feed I'd try a good 20 mins on the breast and then give up and give the formula.
When DS was 4 days old, my milk came in and a lactation specialist happened to come by. When she heard I wanted to breastfeed and saw all the formula bottles she took them off me. I was freaking out, but finally someone managed to latch him on. He spent pretty much the whole day feeding, and although he had slight jaundice and lost some weight he was fine a week later and back to his birth weight. I didn't need to supplement with formula at all.
My second son, I got only about an hour after my planned c section. He was ravenous and was actually wary of him! He latched straight away, but I must've gotten complacent, as the latch wasn't correct and I suffered with very sore/cracked nipples for the first week. My milk came in after about 3.5 days, probably because he was attached to me so much, it must have really gotten milk production going!
I really hope things are better again this time. I hope to get a lactation specialist almost straight away to check the latch so I don't end up with bleeding nipples again this time