Breastfeeding and c-section - advice/reassurance needed please!

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I am booked in for a c-section on Thursday of this week due to placenta previa. Various people have commented that as I will not be giving birth naturally I will probably struggle to breastfeed my baby as the relevant hormones won't have been triggered by the surgery

Any tips about how to increase the chances of being able to breastfeed or even some success stories to help reassure me would be great - the anxiety about surgery is enough for me on its own.

Thanks in advance

Have had 4 sections and managed to breast feed them all. I had skin to skin in recovery and midwife helped put baby on breast.
When I got home I found lying on the bed was a great position to feed in.
Is this your first baby? good luck on Thursday

ABSOLUTE BOLLOCKS to say "you will probably struggle" and I am cross at those people. I don't even think it's physiologically true. My consultant said it was the removal of the placenta that kicked off the hormones.

Have had 2 sections - one at 37 weeks and one at 38 weeks. My milk came in just as normal both times. BFed my first for 9 months and still BFing my second now at 8 months.

Whoever is saying this to you in this way is scaremongering and does not have your best interests at heart. Be on the lookout for any problems, yes. But do that whatever your method of delivery. But the very last thing you need right now is pointless, useless, disempowering shitty advice like that.

Give them my number. I'll learn 'em

3 traumatic sections 3 large babies (9lb 9oz to 10lb 10oz) all three successfully breastfed.

No special tricks required - get your self comfy, plenty cushions and expect to feed very frequently. You need to do this to get your milk to come in. If it is all getting too much for you and you have fed loads then 30/40 ml from a syringe or cup doesn't mean the end of breastfeeding. It just means you might get 2 or 3 hours sleep.

I found things easier when home as DH was able to do the nappies/lifting from crib etc. whilst I got comfy.

But honestly you can succesfully feed post c-section and the same general guidance applies. Feed often, make sure you are comfy and the latch is good. Drink and eat plenty. And enjoy your new baby.

Good luck.

second what others have said. Also when back in the ward ask for a bed side sot that clips on to the side of your bed, it really helps cos you can be much more independent in picking your baby up to feed. I found having to get out of bed and stand up and lean over the cot to get ds was really painful!

I had an elcs section and exclusively breastfed. My milk came in four days after the cs. It was copious for months so supply never an issue. I did have problems getting a good position because of the cs and no help from antenatal staff at hospital and ended up with nipples in tatters. My advice would be to ask for as much help as you need in hospital and keep asking.

Agree with the others - don't worry! I've got 3 DS's, first one was a very traumatic forceps birth and it took a week to get him bfing, then carried on for 9 months. DS2 and DS3 were both ELCS anf fed brilliantly from day one, much easier, they didn't have a bruised head like poor DS1!

Had skin to skin in recovery about 20 minutes after birth, no room on my chest in theatre but DH had a lovely cuddle right next to me while I was stitched up. Baby started feeding in recovery both times.

A v-shaped pillow can be very useful both in hospital and at home.
Good luck!

I had EMCS under GA 6 weeks ago and when I came round discovered DD was in special care. I used a breast pump initially and she was given the colostrum I expressed via syringe. Had a go at breastfeeding about 12 hours after the birth (she'd had formula via cup by this point). She came onto the ward with me about 3 hours after that and have breastfed her ever since.
Having a caesarean does definitely not mean you will not be able to breastfeed.
Good luck x

Sorry that last post was a bit abrupt- you CAN breastfeed after a cs, just make sure you get help with positioning if you need it.

I had an emergency c-section and I'm still breastfeeding at 7 months. The only 'problem' I had was for the first night in hospital I couldn't manage to lift my baby out of the crib and onto the bed as I couldn't sit up, but the midwives were happy to help. My advice would be not to be shy about ringing for a midwife when in doubt. They were good at helping me get him latched on lying down too.

I just wanted to echo what everyone else has said that it really is possible to breastfeed after a section (have has 2 sons and breastfed both for over a year). The one thing I would say is to give yourself time to recover and try to do as little else as possible - I tried to rush back into cooking, cleaning etc too quickly and that really didn't help!

Also when in hospital don't be afraid to ring for help as much as you need - thats what they're there for!

I had a crash c-section under gs but have had no real problems breastfeeding. My milk didn't come in properly until day 4 but I don't think this is uncommon even with a natural birth. I breastfed DD in recovery and then had 3 hours skin-to-skin which helped get things off to a good start.

As others have said, it does help to have someone to lift the baby for you during the first few days when you may be a bit sore. Good luck with everything, I'm sure it will all be fine :)

I had a EMCS under GA so no skin to skin until 45 mins after the operation and on ward to discover DD had been given formula because she 'needed' it.
Still BF at 5 months.

I had cs in may & BF in recovery still FBing

I had a section 10 weeks ago and am still BFing and hoping to continue for many months. I would advise getting help with latching and positioning at every feed until you feel confident. Be pushy if you have to. Even better brief your partner/mum/whoever will be supporting you in hospital to be pushy on your behalf. I wish I had been more of a PITA! Also feed more often than you think you need to as if the baby loses a lit of weight you may end up topping up with formula in order to speed weight gain. This isn't the end of the world but it is a faff. Also if your heart is set on EBFing it is very dispiriting. (The odd FF to get a break is different but topping up every feed - ugh!)

You will probably need to use pillows to support the baby at first but I found the whole thing much easier when I could ditch them. I now feed using biological nurturing - baby latches on herself which I find so much easier.

Good luck and ignore the naysayers.

I had an EMCS under GA and I have to admit that for me it was a bit of a struggle at first. One midwife insisted on giving my ds formula straight away and that really knocked my confidence. Fortunately most of the other midwives were great and were happy to help when they had a few spare minutes. There was a BF volunteer in the hospital who was also great. Learning to hand express the colostrum is very helpful if there are any problems with latching on.

I had to persevere with it and it wasn't till after we got home and could relax that it really felt right. Anyway, we got there in the end! Happily BFing now 4 months on.

There?s no reason why you should encounter problems but if you do, ask for help.

I had an emcs with complications which led to a lot of blood loss. Initially i fed laid down and had to get the midwives to help latch her on, i also had to ask them to pass her to me from the cot as i couldn't stand let alone lift at first. As my body focussed on healing me first it took a little longer for my milk to come in, probably a couple of days longer. I'll be honest it was a difficult time, i was still in some pain from the cs and had a hungry baby who wanted to feed constantly. I did give her a cup of formula with the midwives help just to allow me a bit of sleep, but i tried expressing some so the midwives could give it to her first but i couldn't get enough to satisfy her. The midwives said she didn't need the formula but were happy for me to give it to her. I continued to persevere with the feeding and went on to feed her sucessfully for 10 months with no other cups of formula needed in the early days. I think you need to be prepared that it may be more of a challenge but i'm sure it's not always a walk in the park after a natural delivery :)

Hi
I had two CS ops - first one an emergency one (but not a rush job) and the second one planned. I was petrified of having a CS, was gutted and really didn't want one (as I'd been hoping for an all natural water-birth). But it had to be and to be really honest it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be.
Don't get me wrong, it is a major operation and it takes time to heal from it and you can't lift things (including baby out of the cot) for the first week or so, but the operation itself is straightforward.
Make sure you have the screen lowered so you can see everything that is going on (from their wrists upwards!) then you can see the surgeons working (but not the cutting etc) and your baby being lifted out. This was marvelous. Make sure you get skin to skin as soon as possible after they have sewn you up - usually in the recovery room.

I'd recommend getting one of those triangle shaped cushions to prop yourself up and try putting the baby on a pillow to bring them up to breast height. (I didn't need to do any of the rugby-hold weird positions you see in the books). Get any help you can with the latch as this is sometimes tricky. It can hurt a bit at first but with perseverence that will stop and it should be a wonderful natural bonding experience.

I BF exclusively to 6 months with both mine so the CS had no impact on that and I cannot see why you would have a problem either.

If you want to talk about it with me then I'm happy to chat - you can PM me.

Good luck and here's to everything going well for you.

Twins in special care for 3 weeks after csect, didn't put them on the breast until 5 days old, still feeding at 21 months.

All the very best to you.

Obviously precise hormonal sequence is different for emergency vs. planned c/s, but once the placenta is out you will have all the hormones you need to enable you to breastfeed. It might take slightly longer for your milk to come in (I'm not sure of the current research on this, but there's at least anecdotal suggestion that it might) but babies are fine on colostrum for several days anyway and your breasts produce that towards the end of pregnancy whether you go into labour naturally or not.

Absolute rot to say you will "probably struggle". Expect to be feeding a lot to get your milk to come in (but that advice applies to any new mother), make a point of getting a good latch from the start to avoid nipple damage if possible (ditto) and get as much skin-to-skin time as you can (ditto).

Some positions may be more comfortable than others after a c-section (unfortunately I've breastfed two VBAC babies since my c-section baby so I can no longer remember which they were ) and you'll have more trouble getting up and shifting position than normal so it's even more important to have a DH/mother/other supportive person making sure you are well-supplied with drinks (I always get incredibly thirsty when breastfeeding in the early weeks) and lots of cake healthy snacks.

I had an ELSC, bfed with no problems and still bfing at 5.5 months. I gave birth on a Monday, milk came through on the Wednesday, first two days MWs or OH had to give me the baby as I couldn't lift her out of the cot but after that it was fine. I fed in the cradle position which was a bit painful after a while for the first week so I would switch to lying down.

You will be fine and you will bf no problem!

I had emergency CS and agree with all the comments here! My milk was delayed and only came in on the 7th day but once I was home and DH was round to feed me chocolate around the clock help it was easier. Physically, I think I healed pretty quick and actually managed to lift DS and get in/out of bed to pick him from Moses basket straight off. I just resigned myself to a week of round the clock feeding and skin to skin till my milk arrived and then we were off! I used a sort of rugby ball hold in early days - sorry, don't know the terminology! Meant he was lying on a pillow at my side, rather than on my jelly belly scar. Good luck!

ds (crash section) fed in recovery on one boob but then really failed to latch on for a day. When he got it there was no stopping him, milk came in on 3rd day fed for 13 months
dd (elective section) skin to skin while being stiched up - this is what you should ask for because it is lovely even leaving aside its effect on feeding. Fed in recovery, milk came in on 3rd day again and although i had oversupply problems dd thrived. Still feeding (every week or so) now at 2.10

I agree with everyone else - it's perfectly possible, like Bonzo I ended up with emcs after hoping for water birth. I'd recommend a nursing cushion as it'll keep the weight of baby off your scar. I had mine with me in hospital and hadn't realised how extra useful it would be with a c-section. All the midwives loved it too: this is what I have. Still using it now to sit DD up against.

Good luck.

Hopefully you're feeling a lot more relaxed about it now with everyone's comments, but thought I'd add my experience. Had text book birth with DD1 (at 36+2), she was tongue tied so didn't feed properly for 3 days, but no subsequent problems feeding - fed until 17 months.

DD2 born by emergency section for breech, again tongue tied but fed from day 3 after getting it snipped - still feeding her now at nearly 8 months.

Luckily no-one ever said anything like this to me so it never even occurred me to that I would struggle to breastfeed - didn't notice any difference between my girls.

In terms of the op - I was absolutely petrified (with a capital P) in the lead up to the section, was in tears trying every possible way to get DD to turn, but I have to say that it was an absolutely amazing experience and would say to anyone now who has a section to focus on the positives, trust me there are many! Try to enjoy it and ask for skin-to-skin as soon as possible afterwards - I was lucky to have it in theater - some do.

Good luck!!