Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

Flip

Original poster

does breast milk come automatically with elective c-section...?

23 replies

LadyLotty · 28/05/2009 15:41

i'm having elective c-section as the baby is breech. so far so good -- am in my 39th week and I've experienced no contractions, no complications. The OB has said the operation is going to take 30-40 minutes. but I'm wondering, how does my body know that your baby has just being dragged out and will it then just quickly produce some milk to feed the tiny one? Thanks for any insights!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

2cats2many · 28/05/2009 15:42

I think its the removal of the placenta that gets the milk going.

yama · 28/05/2009 15:45

You know, I never thought about that.

I had an elective section and was breastfeeding within 20 minutes of being out of theatre.

Cup of tea, sandwich, some maltesers and then midwife suggested I try a feed.

Was fine.

messymissy · 28/05/2009 15:50

Mine was not elective but I was not far into labour. I was told my milk would come in slower due to the c section. Closotrum (sorry about the spelling) comes first and its the baby suckling often that brings the milk. They had me expressing too to speed things up. My baby was put to my breast for a feed after about and hour (takes a while to patch you up) and she was suckling ok - amazing. The midwives advised just to keep at it, keep letting the baby suckle and DON'T be tempted to give formula in the first few days as it will set you back.

good luck!

pipsy76 · 28/05/2009 16:10

I had a lovely elective experience 11 weeks ago. I had skin to skin in theatre and kept DS2 on me skin to skin all the first night. I let him suckle as much as he wanted (constantly!)and milk came in on day 3. Good luck, you will be fine!

LeninGrad · 28/05/2009 16:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sycamoretreeisvile · 28/05/2009 16:25

Hello - I had experience of both crash and elective c-section.

With crash the bfing was very difficult - so much trauma I went into some sort of paralysis and could move or speak

Happily with the elective things were much better. I got DS on the boob within 20 mins and all was good.

Make sure you have someone there to support weight of the baby as you'll have the BP cuff on, inflating and deflating on your arm for a while after you've given birth, and it is hard to hold your baby whilst it's inflating.

Tell your DP now that your priority is to get your baby on your boob within the "golden hour" - but ideally within half and hour. You may forget - I know it sounds mad but you might!

I actually forgot to feed DD at all for the first 6 hours. I know that sounds crazy I'd been in hospital for a week being induced and we were both pumped full of so many drugs by the time she arrived she just slept and I just stared like a zombie at the hospital walls.

LeninGrad · 28/05/2009 16:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

auntyspan · 28/05/2009 16:31

I've had two sections, an emergency with DD1 and elective with DD2. Even though I had laboured with DD1 my milk took 5 days to come in. With DD2 it was flooding out on day 3. I had skin to skin within 5 minutes of DD2 being born, and had her on the breast within 20 minutes. I'm sure that had something to do with it coming in faster.
HTH x

LovelyTinOfSpam · 28/05/2009 16:46

I had an emcs and was BF in the recovery room, no problems.

your body just sort of knows, damn clever thing that it is

Lulumama · 28/05/2009 16:53

the removla of the placenta triggers teh hormones to produce milk

remember though, refardless of mode of deloivery your milk won;t come in for a few days anyway. you will jsut be prodcuing tiny amoutns of colostrum

you will be able to breastfeed or at least put baby to the breats for skin to skin in recovery,.

oodlesofpoodles · 28/05/2009 16:54

I had an emcs without going into labour. I didn't see ds until the next day. He was tube fed in scbu for 6 days and had a dummy. After 6 days he latched on really easily. I expressed every 3-4 hours to gt the supply going. For some reason he has taken to it much better than ds1 and dd who were vaginal deliverys with skin to skin etc.

OonaghBhuna · 28/05/2009 17:22

First one was crash-took milk......8days.....second was elective BF 20mins later milk fully in the following day. On average it takes 3 days for milk to come in whether its vaginal or section I think.....

Sycamoretreeisvile · 28/05/2009 17:42

Wish I had known how late milk can come in after a crash section...

I gave up after 4 days of hell. I thought it was my fault and fell in a heap onto a pile of avent bottles.

Happily, much better story with DS.

Meglet · 28/05/2009 23:12

my milk came in within 3 days of my em cs and planned cs. bf was much easier after my planned cs, but as it was my second baby i had a rough idea what i was doing.

sadminster · 29/05/2009 08:39

Milk came in three days after each of my sections (I've had three now), I fed the baby within 20 minutes of birth each time.

babyignoramus · 29/05/2009 16:21

Mine didn't come in until DS was 7 days old after em section. We ended up giving him formula because by the time he was four days old he was screaming his head off with hunger. Dread to think what it would have been like if we'd made him wait.

That may have been unrelated to the section though as I've met others who went through the same thing and had no problems at all.

spicemonster · 29/05/2009 16:24

I had an elective at 5pm, put baby to the breast within 20 mins and my milk had come in by the following morning.

Lib76 · 29/05/2009 20:28

hi had emergency c section under GA and BF no problems. It is true that it's the removal of the placenta that triggers the colostrum. good luck.

whomovedmychocolate · 29/05/2009 20:38

I have had an EMCS and an Elective CS and with both the milk was free flowing immediately and during the actual ops!

McDreamy · 29/05/2009 20:40

I was producing colostrum before I had my sections. You may find you are too. As others have said it's the removal of the placenta which triggers the hormone changes that makes your body produce bm.

Up until now the presence of the placenta producing hormones has suppressed the production of breastmilk. Once removed breastmilk is made regardless of the mode of delivery.

Your body is so clever!

me23 · 29/05/2009 20:49

it is the plancenta that triggers milk production your body will already have veen producing colostrum from week 16, with a section your full milk engorgment normally happens a bit later than with a normal birth so where woman normally have engorgemtn on day 3 it come sometimes taake up to 5 days with a section regardless of em or elective, however you do not need to give formally at ALL! colostrum is all your baby needs as its stomach is the size of a marble! just keep putting baby skin to skin at at the breast as much as possible and this will encourage milk production.

OatcakeCravings · 03/06/2009 12:20

I'm still waiting for my milk to come in - my DS is one!

massivebump · 06/06/2009 16:51

Firstly, as many people have already mentioned on here, it's the removal of the placenta which releases hormones signaling to the brain that birth has occured and milk will start to be produced. This however can take several days and everyone is different, the main thing is that colostrum is what your baby needs in the first few days and he/she will only need approx 1/2 teaspoon of this per feed to keep them going. It is rich in antibodies that will have a lifelong benefit for your baby and also a laxative effect to help your baby pass the meconium (first tary poo) easily.

It shouldn't take any longer for milk to arrive with a cs than a vb but it really does vary person to person so don't be put off if your milk doesn't come in for 5 days or so, it's quite normal.

With my first baby I had a traumatic vb and milk came in on day 4. With baby No2 I had a very quick and wonderful home birth and milk came in on day 4.

Hope that helps a bit and sorry for waffling, I do tend go to on a bit

Good luck

Flip