Postnatal abdominal massage if breastfeedin?

[MommyJogger]

So when I had DS, the nurses came in periodically to massage my abdomen to help prevent hemorrhage and shrink the uterus.
My question: is this actually a useful practice if bf is going well? I assume the practice became standard during the rise of ff, as bf will accomplish both of these things.
It was absolutely excruciating when they did it to me. Worse than the pain of labor after 9 hours on the highest allowable level of pitocin. I would ideally like to opt out this time, but I won't do so if it actually is a useful practice. Anyone in the know on this? Thanks so much!

 

[TicToc]

Stalking.

 

[BunnyN]

My uterus didn't shrink propperly, probably mostly because of a big baby and long labour. I hardly got contractions when I BF. I had a HB and delivered the placenta naturally. The MW was a little concerned 4 days PP but said we could still give it some time. It started to shrink a lot at about a week PP ( I think rasberry leaf tea helped, I started getting contractions when I BF after I drank it ). My uterus was still above my bellybutton at almost 2 weeks PP when I got a massage done by a friend who does massage. The massage definitely helped and by that point didn't hurt at all. She also showed me how to do it myself. I'd do it sooner next time but the I didn't have any side effects of my uterus not shrinking. I did bleed heavily at the time of the birth but normally after that and it had pretty much stopped 2 weeks PP. I don't think my case is typical but I thought I'd share incase any of it is of interest. For the majority of women their uterus goes back fine all on it's own, especially when BFing like you say. Maybe say you don't want it because you are BFing and then if your uterus isn't shinking fast enough you can always change your mind.

 

[Feronia]

It really depends on your situation. There haven't been any conclusive studies to determine whether uterine massage after the third stage prevents postpartum hemorrhage, but if you already lost a lot of blood, I expect that uterine massage would be warranted. Did you receive oxytocin after you delivered the placenta? Research suggests that, if you did, uterine massage most likely wouldn't have much of an effect. The oxytocin would be doing the majority of the work.

In my case, I lost 1,000 ml of blood despite breastfeeding directly after birth. The massage was VERY painful, I agree -- it certainly was more painful than any other part of labour and birth. Breastfeeding, uterine massage, and finally misoprostol was used with me when the first two didn't prevent further bleeding.

Overall, I think that uterine massage is useful if the third stage is handled expectantly (i.e. no intervention like cord traction, oxytocic drugs, or immediate cord clamping) and there is cause for concern over PPH. However, if it's managed actively with the use of oxytocic drugs, then there's little need for uterine massage.

 

[BunnyN]

I didn't mention the MW did some massage when I delivered the placenta but she stopped once the placenta was delivered and I stopped bleeding heavily, she didn't do more after the birth. Getting more massage may have helped shrink my uterus faster but I didn't bleed much after anyway. She did tell me not to be too active for a couple of days because I had had heavy bleeding during the birth and my uterus was taking it's time to shrink. I agree that if you get the injection there shouldn't be much need for it but even without I think in most cases the uterus will shrink fine on it's own. I had a really huge bump and a 38hr labour so I think my poor muscles were feeling sorry for themselves, lol.

 

[SoyLatte]

My MW put some pressure while my baby nursed the first time right after birth. We had a home delivery and the placenta came shortly after baby. It wasn't pleasant but it also wasn't terribly painful, nothing compared to back labor, that's for sure!