Getting breastfeeding established after elective c-section

[2cats2many]

It's looking increasingly likely that I'm going to end up having a planned c-section.

If I don't go into labour, is it going to make getting breastfeeding established harder?

I'd really appreciate anyone's personal experiences/ advice.

Thanks.

Thanks for the response.

Did it take longer for your milk to come in after your c-section?

I've had 2 sections, one planned and one not. Both times my milk has taken about 4 days to come in. In neither case has it been a real problem but with ds he seemed to be starving and kept trying to feed, so I was quite sore and very tired. Get the lnsinoh (sp) ready!

2cats The main danger is that you may not be able to put your lo to the breast every two hours (including during the night) in the early days which is what is needed.

With less stimulation you'll get a delay in the milk coming in, which could undermine your confidence. Just one bottle of formula at this time can signal an end to bfing, although there are those who have managed it not to!

hth

I had a planned (I prefer that to elective!) section at 39+5 and breastfeeding was established with no more than the usual minor glitches.

Some say the milk takes a day longer to come in but as you are producing colostrum in the meantime it's neither here nor there. And you get a big shot of oxytocin at the delivery so you're getting some of the hormone fix

The best advice I can offer is to educate yourself on breastfeeding as well as possible. A really good booklet is available here. If you are well-informed then you will be better able to assert yourself and ask for things to be done your way.

I was given the opportunity to question my assigned midwife on the morning of the op, and I would make sure you ask for this chance - things I asked for clarification on included the baby not being given any formula without my consent, the baby being put onto my chest as soon as possible, help to offer a first breastfeed within an hour.

It's important that you realise you won't be very mobile for the days after the birth and while you are in hospital you must make sure you can reach a buzzer and you must not be afraid to ring it so you can have help to lift your baby up. It took the MWs 2 minutes to nip into my room at night and pass me my baby. Next time I have a baby, if it's a section I will ask them to help me cosleep. As it was they made a little nest on the side of the bed so we could be close while I wasn't feeding. I took a v-shaped cushion into hospital and was glad of it.

I think if you understand the process of normal BFing well, and are not afraid to stand up for yourself, you will be fine. I know that makes it sound like MWs are all formula-wielding maniacs, which really isn't the case, but there are a couple out there so you need to be prepared just in case!

Sorry, that link is to a PDF download of a booklet called "Off to a good start: all you need to know about breastfeeding your baby".

Sorry, that link is to a PDF download of a booklet called "Off to a good start: all you need to know about breastfeeding your baby".

Thanks for responses everyone.

My first baby was born via an emergency c-section and my milk came in after 3 days. I found it quite hard to establish breastfeeding, because she was so drowzy she wouldn't suck for days. I had to hand express colostrum for the first 3 days.

I was hoping to have a VBAC this time, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. I was really worried that a planned c-section (I agree IateDavina- if I had a choice, I wouldn't choose the op) it was going to make breastfeeding harder than last time, but it sounds like it shouldn;t put too much of a kybosh on it.

I've breastfed two after CS - agree about the difficulties of getting up to lift/feed when you're in hospital. It was taking me about five minutes to sit up/swing legs/walk/lift baby/get back to bed/sit down etc...I remember the m/ws were a bit sniffy about co-sleeping, but I couldn't think of what else to do...took ages for them to arrive if I buzzed for help. Both mine ended up sleeping in my lap/between open knees on the cover. It was fine, though, but agree that going back to a bf class would be a good idea - really felt as if I'd never done it before even though I'd fed DS1 until he was 1.

2cats - I think I'm correct in saying that with your first section your baby was probably drowsy because drugs administered to you had entered her system but with an elective, because you only have the drugs shortly before the baby is delivered, they don't have the same negative effect on the baby. Also, may have been something you had during the first labour that you wont even have at all with an elective that caused the drowsiness.

So if that is your main concern I would say don't worry. I had my DS by elective CS and he was very alert and trying to suck straight away. He latched on no problem and is still going strong 7 months later.

Best of luck

Had 4 CS (1 emergency and 3 planned) and breastfed all four. It is harder to get up and make yourself comfortable enough to BF, so be insistent on getting some help. My DH was around as much as he possibly could be so I didn't have to do anything much else except sleep and breastfeed - but the nights were hard because he wasn't there. The easiest thing then was to co-sleep so I didn't have to lift them out - but then positioning was harder.

I breastfed after an elective c-section. Baby was laid on my chest immediately after birth and I started breastfeeding soon after. Baby latched on with no problems. Think it took 3 days for the milk to come in (felt like a porn star then. LOL) but baby was ok with colostrum meantime. Still breastfeeding exclusively 5 months later.

Hi, I've had both an emergency section after a very long labour and an elective section. My milk came in after 2 days both times and I had no problems establishing bf. Tell the midwives you want to bf and they should help you to hold the baby skin to skin and start feeding as soon as you are out of theatre. I found the best feeding positions were either sitting up straight in bed and lying the baby across my lap on two pillows (make sure you have extra pillows with you in hospital) or lying down on my side. If you can't get out of bed to lift the baby (although in my experience that was not an issue after the elective - I was up, showered etc after 6 hours) you can always buzz for assistance

Thanks ladies. That's all really helpful and reassuring.

I had an emergency section and although it took us a little while to get BF going really smoothly, I don't think any of the real problems were linked to the CS. Didn't get to have skin-to-skin with him or try feeding until quite a while after the birth, but he was quite sleepy and uninterested for the first day or so anyway but that didn't stop him later on! The only thing that was harder was as others have said, lifting DS out of his basket and sitting up for feeding, both of which were a bit painful for a while. Positioning him after that was fine but I had one of those v-shaped cushions which was very helpful. While in hospital you can use the up-and-down button on the bed to help with sitting up, or buzz for help if you need to; once we got home, DH was great and would get up in the night to pick up DS for me and then put him back in his basket after the feed, which was hugely helpful! So get your other half on point for when you get home!