Hi all
I'm hoping someone can answer a couple of practical questions I have thought about since my last visit to the hospital, when I really should have asked all this stuff but had lots of other stuff going on in my mind!
I have an ELCS for medical reasons booked for the end of December. The one thing I do know is that my baby will be taken away almost immediately for assessment on the neonatal unit (with possible/probable heart problem) and I will be packed off to the post-natal ward for recovery. My (probably obvious) questions are:
- I know I am going to be pretty immobile in the immediate aftermath of the ELCS but will I be able to be wheeled down to see baby the same day? How soon after? I'm worried that baby is likely to be taken away within 5 minutes and I won't be able to see him for hours and hours while he has tests and is hooked up to machines, which will be horrible.
- Does anyone have any experience of managing to maintain breastfeeding while their baby is on neonatal? I won't be able to get down there every time baby needs feeding, and they have talked about helping to express if that's what I want, or giving baby some formula (I'm not at all against that and if that's what they do for his and my wellbeing then I trust them to do that - if I end up having to bottle feed but my baby's life is saved then clearly that is my priority). BUT if I can express and baby is fed that artificially, how difficult will it be to establish breastfeeding once we are home (which could be 2-3 weeks later after major surgery in the worst case scenario). I just want to be realistic - and also plan to get more bottles etc in at home if that looks likely.
Thanks for any help or advice you can give.