Just found out Breech - can i still breastfeed if CS?

[ShiresCountryBumpkin]

I'm sure this sounds like a really silly question, but I'm feeling a bit crushed at the news. Had my 36 week review this morning and out of the blue they have just realised that the large hard lump at the top of my bump is the baby's head! They have booked me in for an ECV (some sort of hands on manipulation to try & turn baby) next week & if that fails then it will need to be a section. I feel a bit gutted to miss out on the 'normal birth' bit but worse than that is the worry that I wont be able to breast feed, which I was really hoping to do. This is my first though & with no family or close girl friends to ask I could be completely wrong & the milk may still come in normally - any words of wisdom or advice would be very gratefully accepted :)

Having a CS in no way affects your ability to BF, fact (and also my experience). In fact... you'll be in hospital for 2-3 days, and so you should (in theory) be able to get support for all that time to get it established. Good luck.

you can! Lots of skin to skin contact with baby as soon as you are able and you will be fine. Of my friends, all who had a cs breastfed successfully.

Of course. Two c-setcions and BF both, starting from 30 mins after birth in the recovery room.

You will be sore and may need to experiment with most comfortable position re baby latching on.
I had 2 sections and bf both times.

Wanted to add I had an emergency secion with a general anaesthetic with ds 1 and was not in a postion to bf until several hours after the birth, but bf still worked out well.

Both mine were CS. Both BF for 7 - 8 months. I have never known anything different. Not an issue at all. Wish you all the best!

Thank you so much for your replies - feel much better knowing that BF is still an option, and as you say Littlemissgoodenough I may actually receive additional help with this whilst in recovery. Now my only worry is the wrestling that they intend to do with me next week - if today was anything to go by it's going to be a tad uncomfortable!

I managed to BF eventually after my emergency CS. The only thing was the amount of time I was kept in recovery. DH was left literally holding the baby screaming and not knowing what was happening to me.

Great advice from QT

I had a crash section with DS and it still didn't affect breastfeeding - BF until 19 months in fact. Milk comes in because of the placenta being removed - it kicks off the necessary hormonal process - so the mode of birth is irrelevant. Though I found a BFing pillow really helpful afterwards at home, to help with being comfy when feeding due to scar healing.

I'm 35 weeks and had it confirmed by midwife today that this baby is also breech. I have a scan tomorrow to confirm and then they'll book me in for an ECV. So I know what you mean about feeling gutted! Really hope the ECV works, as am so hoping for a vbac.

But, at the end of the day, I know it'll all be fine as long as I have a healthy baby (I have a friend who at 24 weeks is facing prem delivery due to her cervix shortening each week - it really puts my breech "problem" into perspective for me!).

Having said that, DS has just gone down for a nap so I'm off to spend a bit more time crawling around on all fours as am still hoping i get help this baby to figure out which way is down!

of course! i had ELCS as my baby was footling breech, she fed within 20 mins of birth, whilst i was still on the table and then being wheeled back to the ward. and she hasnt stopped since she's now nearly 21 mo. good luck with your baby!!!

There was a lady on my maternity ward who had a CS, and wanted to BF. Her milk didn't show up immediately, apparently because the body hadn't received the right 'signals' yet that the baby was born. However, the midwifes had all variety of tricks to support her and there was no question that she would be able to BF once the milk started.

(it was a long, sleepless night and there is no such thing as privacy on the maternity ward, so I was able to follow it all in great detail)

yy you can breastfeed after a cs. Had an elcs and breastfed exclusively for 12 months. Milk came in on day 5 so a bit later than is normal with a vaginal birth. You need to keep the baby on your boob as much as you can to make sure your body gets the triggers for your milk to come in. And get help with postioning cause that can be difficult after a cs.

Yes you can. I've had 3 cs and last baby had a short spell in SBCU. Breast fed them all.

EMCS here and still feeding at 2 years! My milk took 6 days to come in though.

I BF for 3 years successfully after a c-section BUT I wish someone had told me it can potentially delay your milk coming in. Mine took 8 days. Although I was discharged from hosptal on day 2 with no milk as DDs latch was good and therefore 'BF was established'.

It took me getting v upset about lack of wet nappies and baby's weightloss on day 3.5 before getting help. I was lucky and got great support from breastfeeding counsellors on how to encourage my milk while supplementing in a way that did not interfere with future BF success.

yes you can :)

I've had four (three elective) & have breastfed all of my children for at least 18 months. I had skin to skin in theatre with the electives but all fed well in recovery when they were less than half an hour old.

I've had 3 CS (2 emergency and 1 planned). I've BF all 3, youngest is 16 days and feeding well. Each time has been a little different. The first, I fed in recovery but my milk didn't come in untill day 5. This was really upsetting but had lots of support at hospital and DS was cup fed for a couple of days. This really helped with my guilt and sense I was failing him. He then BF for a yr. DD1 was a month early and too sleepy to feed. Milk again was a little slow at 'coming in' (3 days). DD2 fed form minutes after birth and is still doing well now.

When you don't labour it can take a while for your milk to come in. Be prepared to persevere, take lansinoh cream with you as you need to keep offering feeds, even if your milk isn't there and In my experience I've had very sore nipples. Don't give in to pressure to FF if you want to BF. A young girl opposite me got very upset that she couldn't BF by day 3 and a very helpful MW said if she wanted to go home she'd have to begin FF. They wont send you home till you're ready and you're better off in hospital, with support untill your milks in IMO

My mum did it back in the day when they had GA and she had giant calipers holding her stomach together.

I also had trouble with milk coming in and I had a VB so sometimes it just happens.

You will have to use a different position to the standard sitting up cross cradle or cradle that they teach, rugby ball with baby tucked under your arm or lying on your side are good ones to try. Also if you are a FTm you may find your milk takes a little longer to come in fully. Other than that no reason at all why you shouldn't

Get someone to show you how to feed lying down, I found that I couldn't sit up enough to feed him as if you stay bent in the middle too long the scar gets tight and it hurts like hell to straighten up again (I also got told off for sitting up too much).
I also kept my baby with me in my bed (rails up) a lot so I didn't have to get up to fetch him all the time, and we got loads of cuddles (although one MW didn't like this, others encouraged it).
Your milk may take a bit longer to come in, but as long as baby keeps suckling for colostrum, that doesn't matter, just don't panic if you don't get milk until day 4.

I've had two cs and breastfed after both, my milk did take a little while to come in. I also found that my colostrum wasn't satisfying dd but was adamant I didn't want to use a bottle. A lovely midwife suggested using a cup on the first night in hospital. She gave dd little sips until she had enough then we both slept for a few hours and when we both woke she was happy to go straight back to the breast. I also saw the breast feeding counsellor in the hospital as I was finding it quite sore and she showed me a different feeding position (the rugby ball one!) which worked fantastically for me.

ShiresCountryBumpkin your post sounds just like mine last week! Bubs was breech at 37 weeks, EVC didn't work for us (but loads of positive stories on here) this is my first too and I was stressing over having a CS. Bubs arrived early (38 weeks) on Sunday - waters broke at 7pm, at hospital for 8.30pm, bubs was here by 11.30pm! The CS was so much better than I was expecting. The spinal was a little uncomfortable but there was no pain, DH was able to cut the cord and brought bubs to me within minutes. I was able to BF in recovery and bubs was with me throughout.

Establishing BF on the ward was a bit tricky for us but we persevered. The midwives were fantastic at helping me express when bubs wouldn't latch on and there was additional support from BF specialists. We finally got there on Tuesday morning and were home by Tuesday afternoon - less than 48hrs (but you don't get kicked out if you are not ready). Milk came in a couple of days later. Just remember that BF is a learning curve for both of you and don't get stressed if it doesn't happen right away. You will get all of the support you need and the midwives will make sure that bubs gets all the nourishment he/she needs.

I was also worried about reduced mobility after the op but this has not been an issue. There has been no pain, just some tight feelings, and I actually feel a million times more comfortable and mobile than when I was pregnant. I was up and about by 4pm on Monday (seemed to be the norm) and have not felt restricted at all. I am able to do everything with bubs that I would want to, maybe just have to take things a little slower.

Last thing, as for feeling sad at missing out on the 'normal' birth experience, trust me, once you see your baby for the first time you won't care how he/she got there.

Good luck with everything.

I had an ELCS for my first baby because he was breech, and it was a wonderful positive birth experience. So much so that I had another ELCS with my second. Milk is triggered when the placenta is detached - the body doesn't really care whether it exits traditionally or via the sunroof, and as someone else pointed out you are far more likely to have difficulties afterwards if you endured a traumatic exhausting labour and the an ECS. Getting up and having a shuffle about as soon as possible afterwards (I had CS at 10pm and was up at midday the next day having a shower) definitely speeds up the healing process, and say YES to whatever drugs are on offer afterwards...there are no prizes for being a hero, and you'll be more likely to get moving if you don't feel the aches and twinges.

No idea what would make you link cs and not being able to bf!

Ds bf for 2 years following my ecs. It did take me a few days to feel it was working (I think I wrongly expected a flood of milk in the first day or two) but then it was fine. Good luck!