Breastfeeding after C Section

[StoryOfMyLife]

Does anyone have any tips or experiences when establishing breastfeeding after a section.

I'll be having a planned section. I had a section last time but had real problems establishing breastfeeding and ended up exclusively pumping for over a year!

I want to try and gather as much info this time so I don't end up attached to a breast pump again!

What was the difficulty with establishing feeding? If it was lifting/positioning, I recommend a v cushion and/or lots of pillows. They have been very helpful with bf after my 2 sections. Good luck!

Also, did you try the rugby ball hold? My babies and I found that more comfortable for the left boob, the right one was better with a front hold for some reason!

I found it really hard to give the first feed after my EMCS and DS had to have a formula feed whilst they got my pain under control. After that I just kept him on me skin to skin almost constantly and went through all BF positions until I found one that worked. I was lucky in that DS took to it like a pro despite the shaky start. Good luck!

You can still do skin to skin as soon as you can, I had ds tucked inside my gown when I was wheeled back to the ward, he stayed there for hours.
And yes, a decent big v-pillow with extra pillows so you don't have to hold the baby up at all, just snuggle them into the right position on the pillows.
Allow plenty of time to sit with your baby and do as little as possible so you can do skin to skin and feed the baby as and when he/she wants to.

Thank you.

Last time dd was sleepy, unwilling/unable to latch and the hospital advised a bottle of formula at about 10 hours old, I was hand expressing colostrum but the midwife felt she needed more.

Thankfully I was taught how to express.

I used to try latching before every bottle of expressed milk but by about 8 weeks she refused the breast every time.

I'm determined this time to be better prepared.

My colostrum was there waiting for baby, but he had tongue tie and jaundice and just didn't want to latch, and then when he did he couldn't get anything out. The breastfeeding consultant was amazing, very hands on and taught me how to listen and look at the signs that baby was actually eating not just sucking.
We did skin to skin the majority of our stay and when I went home 2 days later he latched on as soon as I slumped on to the sofa and stayed there more or less for 2 years.

The rocky start made me a bit paranoid though, especially as he was jaundiced but he started gaining weight after two weeks so all was well in the end.

I think you'll probably be more prepared this time and might be more relaxed. You should ask your consultant about their policy on skin to skin straight after birth. Some hospitals/individual consultants give baby straight to mum as with vaginal birth while waiting for placenta so that immediate connection has helped them establish feeding straight away.

My hospital wouldn't allow it though, boo!

Was your first a planned or emcs? I ask because I was told its traumatic birth rather than mode that makes a difference to bf, along with each individual baby being different.

I recently had a planned cs for DC2.

I had a much easier time getting bf going with DD, my planned cs baby, than with DS, who was a traumatic vaginal birth.

With DD the only problem I had was I had to use rugby ball hold for the first 24hrs, as tummy a bit sore. She latched well, fed every 4hrs for first 24hrs and every 2hrs next day.

DS, on the other hand, was a very traumatic vaginal birth. He was really sleepy, wouldn't feed and had a lazy suck when he did latch.

I'm 7 weeks post ELCS with ds2. BFing completely fell apart with DS1 after a traumatic labour, EMCS and NNU stay for him. I was desperate for a different BFing experience this time and so far, so good. The things I did were to harvest colostrum antenatally (ask your mw about this, I was given a pack of syringes and advice from mine), skin to skin as soon as possible - for me this was in recovery as I wasn't allowed it in theatre, and being really proactive about seeking advice if things were getting tricky. However a lot of our success was down to Ds2 - he was a proactive latcher and voracious feeder from the start. He had a slow weight gain while my milk came in but I was able to express for the required top ups. All in all, a very healing and cathartic experience so far. One thing I would say is try to be prepared for both it going well and it failing - don't set yourself up for bitter disappointment if it doesn't work again. Good luck!!

Thanks so much for all the replies, very helpful.

My last section was a planned section as well.

There were lots of other issues as well, my little girl has an intolerence to cows milk and wasn't diagnosed until she was 8 weeks so I know it's not just the section but all these tips and advice has been great.

I've fed after two sections. I found it ok after the emcs but milk took ages to come in following elcs. My reasoning is that the first time labour must have triggered the necessary hormones to make milk for baby but not so with the planned. Fenugreek helped boost my supply.

Good luck!

I bf after a emcs as well as a planned section. Baby #1 took about 8 weeks to get the hang of bf without nipple issues etc. after my planned cs, I had no issues whatsoever. Skin to skin straight after birth, ideally whilst still in theatre, if not then at the very latest in recovery, is highly recommended (make sure it's in your birth plan) after that pop baby on your breast as often as possible in the first couple of weeks. You need someone else to help with household chores too as establishing bf takes time, rest and lots and lots of lovely skin to skin no not envious at all. Having a cs, and looking after a toddler can be very difficult, I hope you have people to help you.

Good luck

Mild the hormones are triggered by the delivery of the placenta, regardless of mode of delivery. Its then helped along by baby suckling. My milk was in much faster after planned cs than vaginal birth. I put the difference down to a)trauma in vaginal birth and b)planned cs baby suckling so well vs vaginal birth baby being so sleepy and lazy when he did latch.

Just to say I bf immediately after an emergency Cs and all was fine no different so you may find it unproblematic.

I've had two ELCS. DC1 was a sleepy baby and I'd lost a lot of blood, BF never happened for us. DC2 was a champion on the boob from the start. I was much more well and able to have skin to skin in theatre, and when we got home I did NOTHING but sit on the sofa and feed while DH fetched me snacks and drinks and looked after DC1 for three weeks.

Am still BF DC2 as I type, actually, and she's 11 months! Have loved it this time around.

I had vaginal birth with my first and elcs with my second had exactly the same problems with babies latching on but persevered and breastfed both for a year, don't be scared to combination feed if necessary sometimes they need strength to latch on but keep trying and in different positions, a nursing pillow was a god send I expressed between feeds to get milk up until we established a good routine (well I spend most of my time with a child hanging from a boob as they fed on demand but ditched the bottles as soon as they were happy with what I was giving). x x