sister struggling after c sec

[katiepotatie]

Hi, my sister had baby boy on Monday by emergency CS, and has been having problems with supply, as yet her milk hasn't come in and they are having to top up with formula her poor starving boy.(he has lost 11.5% birth weight) Anyone else had milk come in late after cs, and then gone on to ebf?
Any advise or help appreciated,my poor sleep deprived sister, is at the end of her tether

yes, my milk didn't seem to come in for about 5 days, (DS born on Monday, milk came in Saturday) and he was crying a lot the first week.

I didn't use top ups myself, and he did also lose >10% of birth weight, but he put on loads after we got going. Best advice from one of the many midwives that visited that week was just feed, feed, feed! Seemed to work.

Was ebf till 6 months and we are still going at 10 months.

Was a very hard first week, but glad I persevered.

All the best to your sister

Mine was unplanned CS too, forgot to say so I was a bit of a wreck!

Kellymom info:

www.kellymom.com/bf/start/concerns/c-section.html

It says that after a CS milk should come in from days 2-6 so she's not that late. Are they feeding her baby with a syringe not a bottle?

Topping up can cause supply issues so she needs to get some good help - is there a lactation consultant at the hospital?

That Kellymom info was really interesting - I was told that my milk taking a while to come in might be due to the CS, but wasn't sure if it was true. Thanks

They are using a syringe and topping up now after every feed, she's still in hospital and they are concerned about weight loss. She is a bit of a wreck too, knicked her bladder during surgery, so still got cathetar to deal ith too! I'm worried she'll give up as she is so exhausted, as I know she will regret it.

Exactly the same happened to me - I had an EMCS & my DS was also born with a fairly serious problem - I really struggled to breast feed in hospital - DS was losing weight so I wasn't allowed home - my DH had to shout at the nurses to allow us to give him one bottle - when we got home everything was a lot calmer and I was able to establish breastfeeding. I found out later that this is really common when you have an EMCS (and also bad news like a health problem). Hope it works out for your DS.

I'm not an expert but 11.5% isn't much particularly for bf. I would always be reluctant to stray from medical advice but sometimes protocols can be a bit too rigid. 11.5% is just outside the 'golden' number of 10% that the hospitals, mw and hv are often oblidged to stick to as it is 'protocol'. Formula can often hinder supply as the baby is not stimulating the milk supply while on the bottle. It can help satisfy baby and reduce the distressing crying (for baby and mother). If it does cause the mother to have less milk then she needs it just means that she will have a few more days of very frequent feeding to increase her supply once formula is being decreased and eventually discontinued if that is what she plans to do. It is not something to worry much about which is easy for me to say now that my two are 4 and 2 and I am having a decent nights sleep so I can fully understand your sister's (and your) distress. It is very difficult at the beginning as listening to your baby crying is the most distressing sound and combined with feeling like your failing to provide food for your baby is a lot to contend with. Hang in there as I'm sure from reading some of the threads on this forum you can see that lots of people have a difficult start to feeding whether bf or ff. Good luck

Hi Katie, my milk also came in on day 5 after both of my cs. dd lost 13% birth weight, dd lost 9.5%
I bf'd dd (some expressing) exclusively to 5 mo then til 2.6 & for ds excl for 6 mo and he is still going strong at 19 mo so yes it is absolutely possible.
Really feel for your poor sister, at least my mw reassured me that dc's tummies were the size of walnuts and colostrum would be fine for the first few days. Her ds won't always be starving, he may be crying for many other reasons - windy, tired, uncomfortable etc.
If she can keep feeding as much as possible that will help; the first few days are difficult after a cs as you are relying on someone to pass you your baby.
You are doing a fab job supporting her and do let her know her situation is not unusual.

Thanks for the replies, I will let her know it can be as late as day six. Mine came in on day 3 with both mine, and no cs either. Hopefully she will be home tomorrow which might help her relax a bit

Oh I hope so Katie, it will be much easier at home.
Meant to add, my sister didn't have cs but her ds was 5 wks early so fed by tube for over a week & lost about 11% of bw. They got her expressing before her milk came in and fed him a bit by syringe too. (Think the expressing helped stimulate and increase supply so your sister could try that?)
Anyway he is ebf now & thriving

Her milk came in last night, and she managed to sleep more so is feeling a bit better today. They have said she can probably go home today, although they have left her cathater in, so she'll have that to deal with too. Hopefully her hungry horace is getting enough from her now.

Glad to hear it Katie, hope she is at home now feeding away and munching on biscuits to keep her strength up!

had same with DS1 - can honestly say establishing feeding was hardest thing I have ever done but so worth it.

Milk in late and he wouldn't latch on - 5 days in hosp trying to est. feeding and discharged without him being able to latch - lost over 10% weight. Syringed and tried cup feeding but exhausting so switched to expressing and bottle feeding him it - my breast punp was my best friend (Avent Isis one - Tommee Tippeee one rubbish). Before each feed I tried to latch him on. At three weeks he got the knack and we were away and then I had baby who could do both bottle and boob - result. HV had told me I would ruin breastfeeding if I did it but have since started bottles of expressed for other two sons very early and never had any probs feeding off boob too.

Feeding with DS2 and 3 piece of piss - like riding a bike I think. Try and encourage her to perserve if she can as she won't regret it. Good luck to her.