Hello

I have been advised by my (anti c-section) consultant that I should seriously consider c-sections for future pregnancy, as there are possibly some risk factors that have caused ds' brain injury and neonatal seizures.

Despite the ICU/SCBU start ds and I are an ace breast feeding team (7lb4 to 12lb in 12 weeks) and I am glad that I can give him the very best start in life at least in this respect.

There are a lot of reasons (obviously) why I prefer to avoid sections but I keep on hearing that sections interfere with breast feeding. Is this true and what causes it?

Thank you!

my dd was born by elective section 15 months ago and we are still breastfeeding

she did have to work a lot harder to get the milk in (compared to ds who was vd), she pretty much fed constantly for the first 48hrs to get the milk to come in.

i think it can take longer for milk to come in when you've had a cs as your body doesn't know the baby has been born iyswim in the same way that it would with hormones etc if you had a natural birth.

hope that makes sense!

I've had 2 emergency c-sections and breastfed both of my children- DS for 10.5 months and I'm still feeding DD who's 10 months old now.

I agree with beautifuldays that sometimes it can take longer for your milk to come in but if the baby is allowed to suckle as often and as long as he/she likes in those early days it shouldn't be a problem. With DS my milk came in pretty quickly but with DD it took 3 days (I was getting worried)- with both of mine I had to express lots to start with as they were both prem and in SCBU.

2 other mums I know also breastfed with no problem after c-sections. Although I'm not 'pro' c-sections if they are needed to ensure health of baby and/or mother that is the main consideration.

Good luck for the future xxx

My milk came in fine after my elective. Echo above advice re putting baby to the breast frequently. Good Luck.

I had two natural births and a c-section with ds. I didn't notice any difference in bfing any of them.

My understanding is that the removal of the placenta sends the signal which triggers milk production, so cs should not make any difference. I also understand that it is not unusual for it to take 3 or more days for milk to come in - regardless of how the baby is born.

I had an elective section with DD and had been warned that my milk might be delayed as a result as labour helps kick start the production of pro-lactin. My milk came in on day 2, so that certainly wasn't my experience. She did suckle voraciously though, which the MW told me helped speed the process up. Putting baby to the breast often is the key I think.

It can be quite painful to feed if you are particularly tender or have an infection, especially in the cross cradle hold. A v-shaped or curved pillow helps, as does the rugby ball hold.

hth

Took longer for my milk to come in with dd1 (emergency section) than with dd2 (VBAC) but both were bfed to 11 months. Would highly recommend a bfeeding pillow though, to put over your scar (I couldn't get on with the rugby hold for feeding). I did have some issues with bfeeding dd1, but I think those were more to do with her being my first baby rather than the section.

Had emer section with ds1 at 38 weeks, took a few days for milk to come in but that is normal regardless of birth.

What i found hard was the practicality of feeding as i could lift him and had to keep buzzing the mw's who put him in bed with me. Ended up co-sleeping and feeding often, worked out well and am now bfeeding ds2 but managed a vbac with him.

x-posts, Daisy

oooh just a wee thought.... I found the theraline c-section belt REALLY helpful after my second section as it protected the scar and made it easier to breastfeed (never mastered the rugby hold) without pain plus was good protection from my enthusiastic then 2-yr-old who wanted to sit on me for cuddles... Take a look at: www.bebeco.co.uk/theraline-caesarean-belt-409-p.asp

sorry if has been said before, but cs do not have to interfere with bf at all. Have had 1 emcs-dd1 and 1 elcs-dd2, breastfed dd1 until 20 months, was hard work to begin with but problems were not due to section. DD2 was bf within an hour of delivery and was over birthweight on d7. Just feed baby when it wants to be fed and make sure that you can get skin to skin contact as soon as possible after birth. good luck

I've had one emergency c-section & one elective - both times I had jaundiced, sleepy babies (ABO incompatibility, nothing to do with c-section), both times I breastfed successfully.

The midwives got me a clip on bassinet so the baby was effectively co-sleeping, that helped with the first night when lifting the baby is hard. Milk came in before day 3 both times. No problems at all.

I think I read a study on this a few years ago. Breastfeeding rates are slightly lower for C-section, but the effect is much more marked for a first baby.

I had an EMCS with DD but prem so feeding was buggered as she couldnt suck and I was craqp at expressing but have fed DS1(3) and DS2(11 days) since birth with no issues whatsoever, they were both ELCS.
If it could be any easier I'd be surprised!

I have read that you get the full normal birth hormone experience IFYKWIM if the baby actually exits vaginally . SO that means that you are in the zone with a natural birth BUT I know lots of ladies that had a c section and breastfed sucessfully . So the difference is that these ladies need a little more determination but many have that and more .

I had a Emergency C Section with DD and she BF for 3 months. As soon as we came out of theatre and onto the ward they gave her to me and we had a feed then with skin to skin so it wasn't much different from a normal birth - just a little delayed.

I think the prolonged labour etc. for my DS affected him more than the emcs, he and i were shattered. Both my babies fed absolutely fine, fed them in the recovery room. DD was by elcs and we had no problems at all. I had a bit of a cough and that was uncomfortable.
I had gallons of milk, honestly.
Colostrum for the first 2-4 days, then milk, with a vengeance. I think that is pretty normal.

By the way good luck you will be fine.

I had no problems whatsoever breastfeeding after an elective. Popped her on and off we went - the midwife came and had a look and just said to carry on!! And she is putting on loads of weight. Don't worry.

speaking form personal experience i had no problme feeding my children after having c/s than after a v/d all three were breastfed for well over 12 months.

workign on a postnatal ward i would say problmes with feeding come regardless fo the type of delivey you have. just as amny mums who have had 'normal' deliveries seem to suffer from problmes such as pooor latch, poor suckers as women who ahve had c/s. in fact on my last night shift where the ward was pretty much evenly split between c/s ladies and normal delivery aldies, it would appear that the normal delivery ladies had a higher proportion of feeding difficulites.

It took me a while to get going with bf after emergency c-section. That was mainly because she was very sleepy and would go for hours without feeding. Once she was a bit more energetic and the milk came in it worked well and I bf until she was a year old.

Thanks all, that is encouraging and reassuring

I did not really plan on bf. I had a planned C section and after cuddling DD I drifted off to sleep. I awoke to find she had attached herself and was sucking very well. My milk took about 3 days to come in and I bf until DD was 18 months old. TBH I think my csection and subsequent relaxing drugs alo helped me to bf. But the reality is this - my DD was a great little sucker and most of my success is due to her!
In my ante natal class this discussion came up and there was no relationship between delivery type and bf...as lubyluby says it was a very individual thing. I am very proud of the fact despite my inital fears I was able to successfully bf (apart from one night in week one) and did so for 18 months!

I had an emergency c-section and DS wouldn't latch on and I found it impossible trying to hold him, no matter how many cushions we had round us. My milk came in by the gallon though.

He only latched on after 3 weeks, which is when I started to find it less painful. I think because I couldn't relax round him it affected the bf.

Ciic what a lovely story!
meglet I had a few problems getting DS to latch on after my emcs, but I don't think it was the section, I think it was more to do with the labour and poor advice from the mw-.He had fed fine in the recovery room and straight after, with help from the paediatrics lady,and we both slept for ages, but on the ward mwives started saying I was feeding too much, then too little - very conflicting and a lot of pushing the back of his head- which is a definite nono. I got really stressed out,and engorged. WE both relaxed after a few weeks of expressing at home and he latched on fine.

I fed ds1 for over 3 years following an emergency section and ds2 is 14 weeks and has been b/fed since my elective.

I think this is pretty rare but some cs babies because they are not squashed like a vaginal deliver can be very full of mucus (as my ds was) and so they don't want to feed. I think it would be the same for bottles as bf but with a bottle you can see if they are taking anything. Anyway with my DS he was tube fed and cup fed formula until the mucus cleared out (2 or 3 days) and then he BF pretty well. So I would say if the baby doesn't seem to be feeding after a cs flag it up with the mw's just to make sure it isn't a mucus problem.

I could BF after my elective CSs.

I bf after my em cs. Milk took 5 days to come in but dd was fine on the colostrum till then. She's still going at nearly 6 mo.

2 emergency c sections and breast fed both times..think it took 2-3 days for milk to come in.

With ds2 during the first night i did end up giving him 1 oz of formula as despite me putting him too boob lots he just seemed hungry and was trying to feed then crying as though not enough there. Once the milk proper came in i never had this problem and it didnt affect his feeding at all.

Ds1 was a sleepy baby and i had to wake him to feed, i did this every 3 hours and im sure it helped, also had to express as he wasnt putting on weight and paed wanted me to give formula...midwife was fab and set me up expressing so at least we knew what amount ds1 had taken..also im sure the expessing helped establish milk supply.

Hedgepig- you are so right, I forgot about that. Mine were both a bit 'rattly'. DD I had absolutely no problems with, but the lady next to me who was ff had terrible problems, and it took her dc ages to have a good poo, which is a sign that the mucus is clearing.

ps...never had any trouble with scar pain during feeding...just used a pillow on lap.

With ds2 in hospital the plastic cot they put them in had a lowere side on one side so i could lift him out myself without having to ring the midwife. Ask on the ward if they have one of these if you dont get given one.

yes hedgepig my DS was full of mucus. It took a couple of days for it all to come up poor thing.

On a more positive note the 3 mums i know who had planned c-sections had no problems bf. I am having a planned cs this time .

Glad to hear so many stories of successful bfing after c-section, but for balance must add that I had a lot of problems after my crash cs. These may or may not have been due to cs: it's so hard to tell. DD did not grow; there were obviously problems with supply, and I had to supplement with formula very much against my wishes. However did carry on bfing for 10 months.

It may have been retained placenta that caused the problem: I bled for a long time after the birth and then there were "bits" that came out of me (sorry TMI) and if any placenta remains, the body may think you're still pg and not produce much milk. This is all guesswork tho and prob quite rare, so don't let this put you off either having a cs if you need one, or bfing afterwards.

I think a traumatic birth experience is more detrimental to breastfeeding, whichever way the baby came out. When you just want the HPs to leave you alone, asking for breastfeeding help isn't very appealing.

Re the mucous, a MW noticed it with my DD and stuck a pipe down her throat to pump it out! Sounds shocking but it worked a treat, before that the milk had just been sitting on the mucous and getting posseted back up. Not sure how standard a practice it is though.

buckets I wish they had done that with my ds, because he was so mucusy he didn't pass his meconeum for over 72hr and so alarm bells stared going with the pedeatricans (sp); did he have bowel problems, meningitis, cystic fybrosis !! loads of horrid tests and he was fine they just put it down to the cs in the end. But looking at all these posts it looks like 90% had no probs with bfeeding which is brill.

Agree with some of the earlier posts. For us, I think it was the long labour pre-c section that made it difficult, I was so shattered and baby was jaundiced and very sleepy. Difficult to start with but Successfully BF for 9 months.

Had another emergency c sec for second baby but after a relatively 'easy' labour (well compared to my first one which was hell) and baby at boob in recovery room and feeding like a little monster every hour for first two days. But as the labour was easier and baby was alert, I found it much easier to get on with it.

The scar does hurt but I BF lying on my side, or in the 'rugby ball' position.

Re scar pain, trapped wind is very common after abdominal surgery so combine that with the uterine contractions when breastfeeding on the first day, yes it can be quite achey around there. Always pack peppermint teabags in your hospital bags to help eliminate one kind of pain (because you never know if you'll end up with CS).

yes,mw gave me warm peppermint cordial with paracetamol in it, worked a treat!

I had an elective CS and had no probs with BF - the midwife helped to get DS latched on while the surgeon was still stitching me up and DS has been hoovering away good style ever since.

I had an emergency section with dd2 - and bf for over a year.

I was determined to be more successful that I was with dd1 - helpful that dd2 was always hungry whereas dd1 could never be bothered - part of the problem!

My emergency C section was less traumatic than my vaginal delivery, I was in less pain, found it easier to sit up and move about and found bf'ing easier. It was my second baby though, which helped. And not being exhausted by the delivery/heavy blood loss helped a lot.

Emergency c section here after very long labour. Initially epidural took long time to wear off on one side which meant I couldn't feel the latch and got a bit sore. But that sorted itself out quite quickly. Had some problems with positioning etc in hospital but main difficulty was that milk took a long time to come and DD was getting very frustrated at no milk and wanting to feed constantly & then crying when only dribbles coming out. Was asked if I wanted to give bottle but I said no and just fed constantly for 5 days and massaged boobs to help things along - eventually milk came in with a vengence (started pouring out in public including spurting at registrar when went to register birth - oops) and am still feeding now 13 months later! No problems with putting baby to breast after section - just had to take my time and ask for help getting into position, but because she was permanently attached in the first few days this wasn't so much of a problem in hospital and at home I had DH to wake up in the night.