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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

breastfeeding and general anaesthesia

12 replies

PavlovtheCat · 23/09/2010 19:55

I am having a procedure as a day patient in hospital on monday, will involve GA, be out a few hours afterwards.

I have been told can BF around 24 hours after as the body would have metabolised it all by then. Is that right? can I do it sooner?

DS is almost 10 months, established with his feeding, and has a bottle of milk 1-2 times a day (sometimes formula, sometimes cows milk) so no issues with bottles in general. But he loves comfort and milk from mama, and gets upset if he does not have milk from me for too long and if I am around and he knows it, he is likely to refuse more than 1 bottle in any length of time, so over 24 hours it will be a bit difficult to console him if he knows I am around and unable to feed him. Any tips on how to manage this will be gratefully received.

OP posts:

Haliborange · 23/09/2010 19:59

I kind of think you must be able to do it sooner. I was under general when I had my DD2 and I know she would only have got a bit of colostrum but she spent the whole of her first day on the boob and noone batted an eyelid.

Ineedsomesleep · 23/09/2010 19:59

Not sure how long it must be before you can feed him. Out of interest, who told you it would be 24 hours?

if you leave it that long surely you will be in agony with your boobs?

EldonAve · 23/09/2010 20:03

Best plan is to speak to the anaesthetist

I had GA twice while bf - both times they said I would be fine to feed as soon as I felt up to it

Original poster

PavlovtheCat · 23/09/2010 20:04

the SHO who has sorted out the procedure said it is probably around 24 hours, but to talk to anaesthetist on monday morning, he would know best time frame but i want to sort of get prepared before i am prepped for theatre!

haliborange yes I read an article which said morphine is the safest for infant and as such is used for pain relief in labour, and some anaesthesia is better than others for GA, and is used in child birth/c sections etc, so i agree. I just don't know if different anaesthesia for different ops.

OP posts:

Original poster

PavlovtheCat · 23/09/2010 20:05

ineedsomesleep yes, agony is right, and very leaky

OP posts:

ShowOfHands · 23/09/2010 20:06

I was told it was fine as soon as I wanted to. Waking up and feeling normal again is it leaving your system. I bfed about 4hrs post-op.

nameymcnamechange · 23/09/2010 20:06

My dd was born under GA and had to go to SCBU for a few hours, but I certainly fed her within 12 hours of having her.

CMOTdibbler · 23/09/2010 20:07

As soon as you are awake enough to hold him safely, you can bf. If you had any of the ga drugs in your system, then you'd still be asleep - they are metabolised very quickly, and leave your milk at the same rate

Original poster

PavlovtheCat · 23/09/2010 20:14

brilliant!!! DS no longer has a feed from me between 6/7am and 2pm, so likely then that he will only miss that feed at most, unless i get bumped down the list which is possible! I am in for booking at 7am and told that I am on the first thing list, so plan is that I will be out by lunch time, but that is being optimistic really. I would say home by 4pm is, so he won't be fed by me til 6pm then, although he might want a comfort feed as soon as he sees me.

OP posts:

dietcokeandwine · 23/09/2010 22:56

I had an emergency op requiring a GA when DS1 was 5 weeks old, and I certainly breastfed him well before 24 hours post op! The hospital were great, and allowed DH to bring DS1 in for a feed at around 7am in the morning, I went down to theatre about 9, was up on the ward by around lunchtime I think and then fed him again at about 2pm. He was absolutely fine so I am sure what CMOTdribbler says is correct.

Hope the op goes well.

GruffaloMama · 24/09/2010 06:15

Hi - hope op goes well. I agree - talk to anaesthestist. Mine was brill. Said that so long as I was fit to hold my DS (op was on my arm) I was okay to feed. He did check what post-op painkillers I was given though - that might be worth checking as some are less good for BFing).

Also, if they know you're breastfeeding it's often a reason to get you done earlier in the day as it means you can get out earlier and go back to feeding your DS. Good luck with op.

Original poster

PavlovtheCat · 24/09/2010 18:58

thanks for all the advice. gruffalo alas i have today been told that I will not be going in for procedure til at least 3pm, as I am last on the list. But they have said I can have DS brought in to spend some time in the horrid hours of waiting, and feed him before i go down.

Then, home time at perhaps 8pm so should be able to feed him for his next bf at 5am or so. Unless they balls it up completely and I have to stay in which is possible if i am in much later than 3pm

OP posts:

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