It seems there are so many experienced and wise souls in here that you might be able to put my mind at rest!
My first baby is due by elective CS in just over 2 weeks (it's big and currently footling breech, and I'm only 5'2"). I'm gutted - wanted a nice normal natural delivery, but have decided I'm not the sort of person who likes or deals well with risk so will go with the advice of consultant to have a section.
Thing is, I won't really get the chance to ask questions until the day before the op, and I'm a bit worried they're going to pack me full of opioids during the surgery and I won't be 'with it' enough to BF baby. Skin to skin and early opportunities to BF are really important to me and a CS would make it hard enough without being up to my eyeballs in morphine. Anaesthetic will be spinal unless any probs require a GA. The midwife at the hospital said "Oh, CS babies don't usually want to feed for 24hrs or so anyway, don't worry about it" but I'd like to at least offer the opportunity to the poor thing, which is going to be big and presumably hungry!
Also, as a vet it's nice that the staff talk to me on my level - I've performed plenty CS myself after all! - but I also worry that they're going to assume I know about things that I don't ... a hospital setting is very different to a sh*tty cowshed with no lights and ropes to stop the patient kicking me!
Basically I think I'm just in a panic - and knowledge is power - so any experiences/words of wisdom would be really welcome.