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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

breastfed babies in hospital wards

26 replies

MamaMaiasaura · 28/03/2008 23:07

Have to go in for day surgery on Tuesday and exclusively bfing 3 month old. Been told he isnt allowed on ward due to some women having experienced m/c's as gynae. Have a local anethestic as was concerned about GA affecting bfing. Am very frightened as this is likely to be a very apinful procedure and dont want it to interfere with feeding. Does anyone know if i could have GA and have ds in with me?

OP posts:

sushistar · 28/03/2008 23:09

That seems a very strange reason for them to refuse to let you take ds with you? That othr patients might be upset?

morocco · 28/03/2008 23:11

if you are told it is not possible to have a side room and have ds in with you (which it should be possible to do ) then try speaking to the consultant midwife/head of midwifery/bf counsellor at the hosp who should then be able to speak to the other ward and talk them into it, particularly if your hosp is/or is applying for, baby friendly status
sorry, don't know the g/a and effect on bf stuff though

TheBlonde · 28/03/2008 23:13

I had a GA when DS was 8mths
I didn't have him in with me but the anaesthetist was happy for him to come in to be fed
Can they not put you on another ward or in a private room to recover?

LaylaandSethsmum · 28/03/2008 23:14

If there are side rooms available then they should try to make one of these available to you so that you can have DS with you, from a feeding pov a local would be better as there is much less passed into the milk and you will feel more able to feed him. Is this something that could be postponed?

StarlightMcKenzie · 28/03/2008 23:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

MamaMaiasaura · 28/03/2008 23:15

Never thought to ask for a side room, I will call them on monday and see if this is possible. I will also speak about having a GA or at least a spinal block as i am now very scared. Btw this is a maternity hospital unit so i was very surprised at their attitude re bfeeding.

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SlightlyMadSweet · 28/03/2008 23:16

Actually I can see the point og not having him on a gynea ward if there are m/c patients there. It is a situation kind of similar to Expats where she would have been expected to have m/c treatment on a labour/post natal ward. What is the set up[ at the hospital? Could you have pre & post ob care on a maternity ward? AT my hosp the gynea wards and maternity wards are seperate floors in same building and some Drs go to both. NOt sure if it would be possible but worth asking?

What kind of local are you having? An epidural should completely block pain - and I am guessing that if it is gynea could be suitable.

I am guessing that if you have a GA you won't be able to feed DS for a while as you would be groggy for much longer - and the drugs would be pretty potent (at a guess) and may transfer to bm???

Original poster

MamaMaiasaura · 28/03/2008 23:17

Has already been postponed once as they had norovirus.. I didnt want to go in as i was concerned about catching it and giving it to baby. IS true i didnt want to make a fuss but this thread is giving me confidence to try and sort it out.

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JodieG1 · 28/03/2008 23:18

As I said on your other thread, I think they should be more helpful to you. They shouldn't expect you to be away from your baby when you're bf.

I've had 5 mc's and I wouldn't expect a bf mother to be kept away from her baby just in case it upset me. It's unreasonable.

LaylaandSethsmum · 28/03/2008 23:18

A complaint??I would give them a chance to sort this out first before complaining! Most places will sort something out for you if it is something important to you and if they are able to.

Original poster

MamaMaiasaura · 28/03/2008 23:19

slighlty - think there were just planning on injecting perinieum area with local aneasthetic and then repairing.

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pooka · 28/03/2008 23:21

Awen, I'm so so sorry if I've worried you.
I'm sure you'll be fine.
I was in a day surgery ward, with women having D&Cs after missed miscarriages, as well as other gynaecological ops going on. I can kind of see why it might be upsetting for the other patients, but I do think that if you ask the hospital, they may be able to make provisions for you. They certainly should, particularly if they are baby friendly.

Original poster

MamaMaiasaura · 28/03/2008 23:22

pooka - same kind of ward i will be going into if i go in now. Am calling on Monday to see if they can make other arrangements.

OP posts:

pooka · 28/03/2008 23:23

www.kellymom.com/health/illness/mom-surgery.html

This is what Kellymom says about surgery and breastfeeding.

Ceolas · 28/03/2008 23:27

I can see both sides, but I'm sure they'll be able to make some sort of provision for you and ds.

Good luck

SlightlyMadSweet · 28/03/2008 23:27

Sorry Awen wasn't clear on what sort of op...(have only just seen your other thread) I guess you just need to talk to your consultant.

If it was me I think I would be thinking about a spinal (but I am a wuss) ...but that will prolong your stay which is part of issue you have.

Original poster

MamaMaiasaura · 28/03/2008 23:30

Right, does this sound reasonable (already have asked for ds to be in with me before and was told firmly not possible) that i call them again and ask if they can have me on another ward/side room. If they say no I will ask to speak to the bfconsellor at the hosp like morroco suggested. Am paranoid they will be extra mean to me for being a pain.

OP posts:

solo · 28/03/2008 23:36

I'm sure if they really wanted to be helpful, they could put you somewhere that grieving women wouldn't see or hear your lo. Having had two Mc's, I can totally see the reasons for not wanting your baby to be ' visible' to them...it wouldn't be an insensitivity on your part, but it could potentially be a really painful experience for the would've been mums and I'm sure no one would want to inflict that on anyone.
Of course you can't stop these ladies from seeing babies on the bus or anywhere else come to that, but imagine losing a much wanted and loved baby during pregnancy and immediately afterwards seeing and or hearing another mums baby...now that would be insensitive on the hospitals part.

susiecutiebananas · 28/03/2008 23:38

As a nurse, I have never come across a patient who has come into hospital and had their baby with them to feed them, on a general / surgical ward.

The only time, which is entirel different, was when I worked in maternity, and a woman had to come back in for an ERPC, at about 4 weeks post natally. She was allowed to be admitted to our postnatal ward, into a side room, with no contact allowed with the other babies, for infection control reasons. Her husband was with the baby when she went to theatre and looked after him until she was able to later that day. It was the Gyne consultant that arranged it.

Perhaps you could request something similar? That you be admitted into a post natal area, so you can have you baby with you.

HTH? Good luck

pooka · 28/03/2008 23:40

Awen, better to find out whether they can accommodate your reasonable needs than to have unnecessary pain/discomfort.
If I could turn back the clock, I would have asked firmly for alternative anaesthetic rather than just accepting that it was either local and breastfeeding or GA and bottles for 48 hours (which is what I was told by the consultant ).
I had a cancellation appointment and so no time to bank milk, plus dd would not take a bottle.
Grr.
I am trying so hard not to sound negative about the procedure, so will tell you why I think I found it hard:

Consultant not very nice/sympatico
Was the ONLY patient out of about 20 having day surgery that didn't have a GA, made me feel like I was being a martyr and that I was unreasonable
Had, after having dd, a very very low tolerance for all such poking and prodding, ranging from dentistry, to smears and internal exams.
DH couldn't get out of work, so dd was with my mother, I was anxious about that, and cross with dh for swanning off to work the next day when I felt rather sore.

Original poster

MamaMaiasaura · 28/03/2008 23:48

solo - i completely see where you are coming from which is why i was going ahead with it all but now i am so worried firstly about the amount of pain that i want to see if i can have that sorted which might mean i am not in day gynae. Also going ot enquire about a side too, too as this could be a good solution. I am so scared about this procedure and at the moment i am going to have to sit in the wiating area pre op to feed baby.

Susie - am a nurse here too and i havent come across babies in hosp with mums either but i am MH. I would have thought in a maternity and gynea unit they would be geared up for it tho?

OP posts:

Original poster

MamaMaiasaura · 28/03/2008 23:48

Pooka - thanks HOw long did it take to heal post op? THey are cutting me and stitching open.

OP posts:

pooka · 29/03/2008 00:00

What I had was an episiotomy and a restitch. My original stitches after I tore when delivering dd were far too tight, so they made an incision and then stitched up in order to make my opening wider.
Was done in theatre, with consultant and the nursing team. Was one of a number of patients being operated on in day surgery.
Afterwards it did hurt. I also felt pretty wobbly. The stitches healed within about 7 - 10 days. And they healed very very well, such that when I subsequently had ds, tearing was minimal and scarring is limited.
While I may sound negative, that has to be tempered with the benefits that a good surgical job had for me, for dh, and my sex life.
If I could go back and do it again, I would. But I would ask for more effective anaesthetic and I would prefer to be unconscious.
How often does your baby feed at the moment? WHo will be looking after him while you're in the ward?
When I had mine, I was in the unit from about 9am until about 3pm. Was a long line of patients being seen. Was not allowed to eat, although I did question this as was having a local anaesthetic. But I found my hospital to be pretty inflexible. That is not to say that yours would be too. Is worth ringing to see what they can do.
Hope all goes well.

suedonim · 29/03/2008 00:04

I took ds2 into hospital with me when I had a d&c under GA for retained products 3wks postnatal. We were in a side ward. This was 28yrs ago, so having a baby in hospital is hardly a new practice! Best wishes.

Original poster

MamaMaiasaura · 29/03/2008 16:18

pooka - thanks for that. Hope to be first on the list and wil be bringing food in with me . Ds feeding every 3 hours although it varies and can be 1.5 to 2 hourly or go to 4 hours (overnight been 8 hours!). My view is that i want to be available to him to feed when he needs it. I also think it is likely to be very uncomfortable to sit and feed so will need to be able to lie on bed.

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