Does your body know you've given birth after c-section?

[Dragonfruity]

When you have a planned c-section, does your body know you've given birth and release the same hormones as if you've had a vaginal birth? And subsequently do your body and mind go through the same processes eg. bonding feelings, milk production etc? Do these processes take longer after c-section?

I can't answer in a scientific, peer-reviewed way....but anecdotally I had my first vaginally (ventouse and forceps) and my second via c-section and I bonded with them both immediately.

Had more problems feeding the VB firstborn, the c-section birth was super-chill and we were both so much more relaxed afterwards.

Yes. It’s the removal of the placenta that triggers the hormonal responses. You will undoubtedly come across people (including many professionals) who say cs inhibits milk production and it’s not true. It may be that other factors do, such as lack of sleep, fear etc. but not simply having a cs. I have had two cs. The first one my milk seemed slow to come in but I was terrified and had no sleep for three days. Once I relaxed and was on my own with dd it was absolutely fine. Second cs I was actually still tandem feeding my 18 month old and bf was an absolute doddle. I did not set out to fed that long, it just happened!

It’s removal of the placenta that triggers milk production rather than birth itself, but it can sometimes be slower to start after a C-section, for some women not all.

They happened as normal for me. I had the after pains, the milk came in as normal, bonding as normal. I think as soon as the baby is born the body knows it’s been born however it happens

Bonding is absolutely the same. The only thing I wish I had paid more strnetik to was vaginal seeding-the idea that secretions from the vaginal tract are taken in by babies during vaginal births and not cs. If I had my time again, I’d smear some in a dc mouth after a cs (sorry if that sounds repulsive!).

Yea absolutely

I had an emergency CS and had a lot of problems post-surgery, including bonding and milk production. But I think I might have had some PTSD...so I can't answer scientifically, only about my personal experience.

Yes, I have had both types of birth. Same response.

Absolutely!! I had prenatal depression and was worried about bonding with my baby. I can’t really describe what happened after my C-section apart from saying my body felt like it was overcome with hormones immediately after he was delivered. Had no problems with my milk coming in either.

I can’t speak for others by I went to 5cm and then had emergency section and I things were really tight (sorry) and my gp did it was because I had gone through labour so my body contracted

not a clue in the world as it was my major priority but all fine after a while

What does this do?!!

I had two CS. If there was any delay in bonding that was because of the shock of having an emergency cs. However once I had calmed down it was all fine. Certainly my body felt very hormonal and my milk did come through as normal. Good luck.

Both of mine were born via csec so I have nothing to compare to - but absolutely no issues bonding. Completely anecdotal of course, but with my first born at 38 weeks via emergency section, milk did take longer to come in than second time round when I went into labour at 39 weeks before ultimately having another section. I feel like the act of going into labour had an impact on how quickly my milk came in second time round, although of course that could not be the case 🤷‍♀️

No not at all, I'm very interested in this actually haha, but need to do more research...

One thing I wouldn't be doing after birth is wiping the contents of my vagina all over my baby.

Obviously they take in fluids naturally during a vaginal birth, but it isn't necessary to show them what they missed out on by not having trip down the birth canal.

The world has gone fucking crackers.

I think milk just tends to come in earlier with each subsequent birth.

My first was a very long spontaneous labour at 41 weeks leading to an emergency caesarean and I had oversupply of milk if anything once it came in but it did take a while to come in.

My second and third were planned caesareans at 38 weeks both times and my milk supply came in quicker each time (second earlier than first, third earlier than second) despite not going into labour at all.

No problem bonding but did have issues with my womb taking much, much longer than it should to contract back to size as it should in the following weeks despite exclusive on demand breastfeeding every time, baby wearing and everything which should help - I had to go back three weeks after my six weeks check every time because my womb wasn't as it should be after six weeks, but was just about getting there by nine weeks post partum...

I can't compare as I've only had planned sections. What I will say though is that my milk came in fine and I bonded immediately with both. If anything, meeting my babies when not exhausted and in pain was a massive positive for me. I couldn't have had better birthing experiences.

Its not to show them what they've missed 🤦 it's to seed their gut microbiome which strengthens the immune system and makes digestive problems less likely, among other things. A diverse gut microbiome has multiple advantages which are still being researched and slowly becoming better understood.

@myslippersarepink it supports baby to build their own microbiome and build baby's immune system & protection against inflammatory diseases. It is quite new research and not yet fully evidence based, but very interesting!

Did my body know I’d given birth? Fuck yes it did.

No issues with milk production or bonding though.

@myslippersarepink one theory is that "friendly" bacteria that live in the mother's vagina are passed to the baby during birth and this has benefits to the baby's health, so some mothers choose to take a swab from the vagina to pass these on to a baby born by c section

The evidence is mixed on whether it's overall beneficial because it could also introduce harmful bacteria, such as group B strep, along with "friendly"

Student midwife here. I have noticed that some things like milk production can sometimes take longer but I think that's likely because after major surgery, your body is exhausted! Your body absolutely knows that you have given birth though and with skin to skin and lots of time with your baby you should have a normal bonding process.

I looked into this a while ago - you would think it does something wouldn’t you, but apparently there’s no actual data that backs up seeding.

Out of interest may I ask why you wish you’d done it?

I had my first vaginally and when the placenta was inside me still I started shouting that he wasn't my baby and they'd swapped him. A few hours later I had got a grip of myself and for a few months I liked him and then I gradually got that bond, he's a teen now and my bestie. My second was by emergency c section under general anesthetic, she wasn't born alive and by the time she was ok and I was OK it had been about 6 hours, bonded with her immediately. Love them both so much, so I don't think it matters how you give birth, your hormones will do what they want regardless

IME, yes. I had a CS with dd and in the recovery room she crawled across me to my chest to breastfeed 😍 My milk came in on day 2 and I bf her until she was 3.