Whats the best way to get a baby to take the colostrum after a c-section?

[Librashavinganotherbiscuit]

DS1 was born by EMCS he was very sleepy and didn't want to latch in the first 24 hours, NOW I know that is normal for cs babies but at the time I almost had a mini breakdown over it. This time I am having a ELCS and am aware the same problem might occur, even tho I will not panic this time and just let the baby latch in it's own time I would like the little one to have as much colostrum as possible.
What is the best way to do this? Express on to a teaspoon and then tip it in (gently!), or use a pipette or plastic syringe.

Any advice welcome. TIA

I had both of mine at the breasts. Same EmCS and then elCS. DD1 was much more sleepy than DD2. The birth was traumatic for her too, no trauma with the elCS. DD2 was even rooting (crawling to find the nipple), DD1 never did.

I haven't done this personally but have helped a friend do it. She would hand express and use a syringe to pick to the drops of colostrum as they appeared and then we used the syringe the drip them straight in to the babys mouth. We also tried a cup which was messy (and therefore a bit wasteful) but maybe you would have more luck? Though i would imagine a syringe would be easier for a sleepy baby.

There was a thread on here recently where people were talking about putting the baby to the breast and dribbling milk into it's mouth as it suckled so you may want to consider this for as your baby wakes up as it will also help stimulate supply. Sorry i don't know more about this.

Best of luck for the birth.

Hi,

I tried bfing in recovery and when it was difficult (still flat on back) the midwife helped me use a syringe as described above. They do often insist on being the one to feed it though (for safety reasons ). I managed about 2mls, but when I got to the ward about half an hour later she latched on .

Good luck!

I didn't manage to breastfeed for 18 hours after my CS and was helped to express into a cup/ pot and syringe feed in hospital. The midwife should help you to do this.

I would have thought that a spoon would be too messy and you'd spill the colostrum.

Good luck.

ds1 emergency section and was in NICU - he didn't feed til 3 days old but then latched on fine and away we went, milk came in around day 7 or 8.

ds2 emergency section - latched on as soon as he was given to me in recovery room, about 2 hours after he was born (bloody junior doc wouldn't let me have skin to skin in case he got cold!!) but milk was quite slow to come in, just kept him skin to skin constantly for first 2 days (much to chagrin of hospital staff who wanted him put in his plastic cot, obviously)

dd planned section at 39 weeks, i was worried milk would be even slower because i hadn't gone into labour - she was given to me for immediate skin to skin while they stitched me up, she latched on in recovery within about an hour. again had her in bed with me constantly for the 24 hours i was in hospital, milk came in by 2nd day.

My faith in midwives is a little shaky as they were the ones pushing to give formula when he didn't latch on last time so thought I would get advice from here first! Think I will ensure I have syringe and pot just in case but hope that she latches on quicker this time!

thanks for your help.

my second experiece was like LadySanders, get it into your birthplan that you want skin to skin asap while you are being stiched up and help with breastfeeding in recovery.

worth finding out if your hospital has a breastfeeding coordinator who can help get the immediate skin to skin.

the coordinator at my hosp was incredibly helpful (esp after i told her about experience with ds2 not being 'allowed' to have skin to skin) - she spoke to the anaesthetist 5 mins before i went in(crucial because they need to attach their bits and pieces in such a way that you can get your gown off one shoulder easily) and told the consultant and the theatre m/wives to get them all geared up. she also, bless her, somehow managed to get the paediatrician to wait outside the operating theatre rather than coming in.

I asked to speak to a breastfeeding counsellor last time and was told they only work normal hours. It was roughly 3pm on a Tuesday. She never appeared at all.
However I will be asking for skin-to-skin in the theatre.

Again thanks for all your advice.

You may not have the same issue with your second - I had 2 cs's (one emcs, the other elcs), and both of mine fed easily, so fingers crossed.

You may not have the same issue with your second - I had 2 cs's (one emcs, the other elcs), and both of mine fed easily, so fingers crossed.

I had an elective caesarean and DD would not latch on. Midwives helped me hand express into syringes which they then gave to DD. This did go on for a few days as DD couldn't latch on but they can put the syringes full of colostrum in the fridge for you. Good luck.

Another positive story here after emcs - dd rooted and latched on immediately in recovery - I didn't get into recovery until about an hour after delivery for one reason or another. Good luck.

Thanks to all positive stories, I know it can be different a second time around however if it is the same this time I want to be prepared. Didn't know you could keep colustrum in the fridge!!

I had an ELCS recently - no skin to skin in theatre, but I made sure that as soon as I was in recovery, I just shoved DS down the front of my gown so he was resting on my chest. He seemed sort of half awake (is my 1st DC, so I have no others to compare him to), so I squeezed some colostrum out, rubbed it round my nipple, then squeezed out a little more and gradually 'nudged' him towards my breast.

I just mean I did it in stages, moving him a few inches, letting him lift his head a tiny bit, then moved him again. I wanted him to latch on asap and get colostrum, but I also thought that just shoving my boob in his mouth seemed a bit forceful. I also rubbed a tiny bit of colostrum on his lips to get him licking.

After about ten mins or so, he was on my boob and chomping lightly away. I was in the recovery bed, so mostly lying down - I think I had him lying slightly across me/up mein a loose cradle hold. I made sure I kept him very much with me and on top of me in hospital - he only really went in those fishtank cradles to have his nappy changed, and then came back to me. I think you have to be a bit wary of MWs taking your baby off you when you're post-operative. I think they worry that if you seem sleepy or doped out, the baby is 'safer' in a cot than in bed with you. I'm sure in extreme cases that's true, but while it may be easier in the short term to leave a newborn in a hospital cot, I don't see how it helps establish BF at all.

I also think there's a sort of assumption that the baby will be brought to you for feeds, and then put down in his cradle 'between feeds.' This didn't make sense to me. DS seemed to nap and snack in such short bursts, and I wanted him to feed as much as possible, so it seemed sensible to keep him on my chest as much as possible.

(there was no BF support or advice at the hospital, btw - one MW observed in passing that my nipples 'stuck out' a lot, which was helpful for BF-ing, apparently. That was it.)

DS is now 10 weeks, EBF-ing with no problems and gaining weight very well.

Gosh, I've had two emcs and two elcs and all times babies fed well within the first couple of hours. DS2 was a little slower than others but then I had had a GA.

I'm not worried that I won't establish b/f, DS1 was b/f for 11 months it is just how to manage things until the baby decides it is time to latch on. (I had skin to skin in recovery last time). Posie it is quite normal for c/s babies to take longer for b/f to be established.

DS was an EMCS and we were both groggy from all the drugs I'd had before the op. It took me a few hours to be able to feed him and establishing feeding was a nightmare.

DD was an ELCS and I put her to the breast as they were stitching me up! Didn't ask, just did it. She didn't latch and feed properly till we were back on the ward but since then she's fed really well and we're still going 9 months later.

ELCS are a lot less traumatic for you both than an EMCS. You'll both be far more calm and awake. Just put baby to the breast as soon as you can. It'll help that you know what you're doing this time too.

Good luck!

If everything is normal does it really matter if the baby does not latch in the hours following birth? They're able to survive for days with just a few mls of colostrum so surely they are not programmed to starve? I am just wondering whether, if a baby doesn't feed for the first day or so you'd need to mess about with spoons or whatever.

My DD1 didn't latch on until about 12 hours after she was born by emcs. I was keeping her in my nightie for lots of skin to skin and she did it herself while I dozed (clever girl). Up until then she'd just licked me whenever anyone tried to stuff my boob in her mouth. I asked the consultant if I needed to feed her right away and was told that she was full right up until the cord was cut so not to panic.

DD2 was also an emcs and she latched in recovery, although this was over an hour after she was born because I had a crash section.

So based on that I reckon skin to skin until they latch is the ticket.

I was wondering if there was a difference between EMCS babies and ELCS babies, actually - in that prior to an EMCS, mothers may have already had a certain amount of drug intervention over a longer time, which might have an effect on newborns? Don't know if that was the case for you Libra, just wondering. Obviously babies born by EMCS because of fetal distress tend to have a higher proportion of all sorts of problems immediately after birth - respiratory, stays in SCBUs etc - which would make BF-ing harder to get going.

I didn't see why a healthy baby born via elcs would have problems establishing BF-ing. The initial immobility of the mum seemed the biggest difficulty to me, as you're reliant on others to pass you your baby (another reason I just kept my DS with me all the time).

Well there's a couple of differences, a elcs baby isn't ready to come out unlike a emcs baby. Pethedine can make a baby drowsy. GA makes mother and baby drowsy. My elcs babies fed for at least an hour in recovery, as did the other two....

I didn't have a c-section but DD didn't latch on immediately after birth despite skin to skin, and even 12 hours later was still not really sucking, so the midwife helped me express some colostrum and sort of catch it in a syringe and then feed DD that way which worked fine. It was reassuring for me to see that at least she was getting something, even if it wasn't quite the lovely snuggly experience I'd hoped for! I found the midwives really helpful actually, and endlessly patient (though very busy and could be difficult to catch their attention initially) in helping me to BF.

I had an EMCS under general anaesthetic and struggled with breast feeding for the first few days.

One lovely midwife showed me how to express colostrum into a sterile cup then feed by syringe. I would imagine this is easier then expressing straight into a syringe?

This was after a fretful night when the not so lovely midwife wouldn't help me because expressing colostrum is "a waste of time" and insisted on giving DD a formula top up.