Must feed within an hour of birth, is this true?

[wahwah]

I just found out from a friend that after a very lengthy birth (induction, episiotomy etc) she was lying down, exhausted when a midwife told her that she had to feed her baby within an hour after birth.

She could hardly move for drips and exhaustion, so the midwife held the baby to her. Baby didn't want to latch on. Midwife then says that she'll need to give her a bottle and asks what brand milk she'll be using.

My friend has no idea, having planned to exclusively breastfeed and asks her which one she should use-Midwife indignantly says that she can't recommend a brand!

So please tell me, is this really true? Do babies HAVE to feed within an hour of birth, or was this whole event worthy of a complaint?

[LibrasBiscuitsOfFortune]

Bollocks. Complain. Of course it's a good thing for the baby to feed as soon as possible but mine wouldn't feed for 24 hours and then b/f for the next 10months. After 24hrs the midwives might get a little concerned about dehydration but not after an hour.

[wrigglershouse]

Load of rubbish. Don't know if worthy of a complaint in itself unless she was unhappy with the entire experience or was particularly distressed but don't you worry about that for when your babe is born. It is recommended to feed asap for bonding, milk establishment and general getting used to it-ness but not for any reason that would require a bottle if it didn't happen for a little while longer.

[Meglet]

i had a planned cs and it was well over an hour before she fed, probably nearer 2. And she fed beautifully.

the midwife sounds like a drama queen who needs to calm down a bit.

[psychomum5]

no, utter crap.

tis nice if they do, but not compulsory.

with mine, DD1 did, DD2 didn;t want anything until 14hrs later, just as my 'high' had worn off and I went to sleep....I swear she knew.

with the others......DD3 was 12hrs later, DS1 was while I was waiting to be checked for grazes, DS2......erm.....not until I was upstairs and I was not well for about 2hrs after the birth, so definately a while after the hour.

[OmicronPersei8]

Load of rubbish - I bf DD until she was 18 months: our first successful breastfeed was 14 hours after she was born (she wasn't interested when we tried her about 2 hours after the birth, she then slept all night!). It took 2 hours for the stitching and paperwork to be complete - the midwife wasn't able to show me before that, and was relaxed about DD not feeding at the point.

[LovelyTinOfSpam]

That is utter bollocks. Midwife sounds horrible. Probably "feed within an hour" was a box for her to tick on her forms.

[Claire2009]

Bullshit.
I was in recovery after a section for 6hrs, when I finally met my Ds (for longer than the 2 mins in the theatre) he'd been given a bottle, he was a big baby & apparently starving. That was his only bottle, he was breastfed after that absolutely fine

[Northernlurker]

Dd3 did feed quite quickly - can't remember about the others but I agree with everybody else that it's nice but not essential.

[PuzzleRocks]

I first fed DD1 3 hours after birth and DD2 about 90 minutes after. I have had no problems breastfeeding either of them.

[MerlinsBeard]

utter tosh. DS3 just plain wasn't interested. He liked the snuggles but didn't feed properly until we got home a ciuple of hours later and then stayed on for HOURS because i couldn't remember how to get them to latch off

[peasandbeans]

lol at latching off, MOM

[NotQuiteCockney]

It's possible, maybe, that the baby's blood sugar was dangerously low? There are some situations (but generally not right after birth) where babies do need to be fed, and where using formula is the right decision.

I hope your friend has had some help to get breastfeeding established, after such a bad beginning?

[wahwah]

Thanks for all the replies, it's really helpful to know what you think. My friend has established breastfeeding as planned and her baby is thriving. She's grateful to be alive and have a healthy baby, but is a bit puzzled and upset by this experience-it knocked her co fidence in her ability to breastfeed.

[madwomanintheattic]

can be a cultural thing too - i was flat on my back after a cs in a german hospital, and they brought dd1 to me immediately she had been checked, effectively latched her on, waited until she'd fed, popped her off and took her back to the nursery. surreal. this happened like clockwork for 24 hours until they levered me upright onto the commode (one must perform on schedule).
she hadn't put it in her birth plan, had she?

[hazeyjane]

dd1 was given formula whilst i was being stitched up in theatre, it was because her blood sugar had gone very low. The MW asked dh what brand to use, and whether i was intending to b'feed. Maybe your friend was in a similar situation.

[LovelyTinOfSpam]

ROFL @ efficient german birthing and feeding

[Lulumama]

sucking reflex and alertness in a baby usually v v strong within the first hour after birth,but it is not to the second

as has been said,lots of babies don't feed for hours

so unless there was a compelling reason she had to have formula that instant,i would raise the issue

[oodlesofpoodles]

I didn't feed my ds2 for 6 days and he latched on fine.

[oodlesofpoodles]

I should add he was on a drip at first and tube fed after 48 hours. I didn't just leave him lying there for 6 days .

[cory]

when dd's blood sugar dropped low (several hours after birth though) they gave her donated milk from the breast bank and through a syringe rather than a bottle so as not to compromise the breastfeeding in any way- tbh I'm not sure a single bottle would have, but it was nice that they cared

[traceybath]

I had this with ds2 but he was poorly and had been taken to NICU.

He actually only had glucose water via a drip for the first 48 hours as too poorly for milk - and by then i'd got expressing going to give him colostrum via a tube.

But unless baby was poorly not sure what the midwife was going on about.

[me23]

it is good practice to initiate breastfeeding to try breastfeeding within an hour of birth Not feeding full stop! So NO the baby should not have been given formula and I would complain. www.babyfriendly.org.uk/page.asp?page=41

[Upwind]

Some babies DO have to feed soon after the birth. Those that are at high risk of hypoglycaemia. Otherwise they may wind up with hypoglycaemic brain damage.

Was the baby's blood sugar abnormally low? Was the baby exceptionally small or large?

[KittyWalker]

My first 2 dcs fed within an hour of birth but DD2 fed for the first time eventually about 12 hours after birth and her second feed was about 24 hours after she was born. No-one was getting their knickers in a twist except me! Midwives were great and said DD would feed in her own time. Once she got started we've never looked back. She is 18 weeks today and bouncing!

[Jojay]

Ds1 didn't feed for 39 hours after birth - lazy so and so..........

Ds2 fed within minutes and has hardly stopped since