No milk for breastfeeding

[haidri]

Hi lovelies, my first born is just five days old.

I had a quite a traumatic birth which included a blood transfusion due to heavy blood loss & plenty of IV through labour too.

When I gave birth, I was unconscious for around 9-10hrs & therefore my partner had to bottle feed her first thing as I had no colostrum [apparently it’s due to how bad the birth is???]

I’ve now experienced severe engorgement yet my milk just won’t come through despite me doing the compresses, showering & even pumping 🤦🏻‍♀️

Any advice for a FTM? 😭

@Kinex yes we tried nipple shields but because they became so flat due to swelling, I'm ordering a small size. I hope it helps.. so far she's latched straight on & sucking via nipple shield probably because there's still little engorgement left in breasts 🤦🏻‍♀️

Was just about to say try a nipple shield…I used them for a year as I have flat nipples and tended to be very engorged at the start. they will also give you a bit of peace of mind as you will probably be able to see drops of milk left behind in them so you will know that baby is getting some milk.

I have personally found that I don’t get a drop when I pump as i can’t achieve let down, let down only happens for me when the baby is on the breast. However sometimes if I was very engorged or just needed to pump a bit for baby I would nurse my baby in one side and pump on the other side. That might help to get you comfortable a bit quicker.

If that wasn’t possible I would put the pump on and stroke down my breast with an electric toothbrush, the vibration helps to stimulate the let down but not nearly as well as baby.
Congratulations on your baby and wishing you all the best.

Update: today is day 12 & I've still got drops of colostrum. When I pump, it takes almost 40mins to get drops out...

I think this is coming to the end of a breastfeeding battle.

@haidri, firstly, congratulations on your little one and for trying so hard with bf. Traumatic births with significant blood loss can definitely impact this. I know you have said that you saw one of the infant feeding team but are any of them actually lactation consultants? I'm an experienced midwife and it sounds like you have had some questionable advice.

Have you ever had any surgery on your breasts? This can massively impact things.

Nipple shields should never be used until your milk has actually come in. Using them with colostrum doesn't work as you don't produce enough. Babies also don't usually stimulate the breast sufficiently with a shield so they can delay milk coming in and reduce supply. They should only be used as a last resort with damaged/flat nipples.

Are your breasts still engorged? Are they hard/shiny etc? If so, you actually need cold compresses to reduce the swelling in the breast tissue. Warm compresses work when breasts are full but engorged ones need cold.

If you are keen to continue trying then you can see a GP and see if you can get a script for Domperidone which can stimulate supply. If you are ready to say enough then I think you should be pretty proud that you have given it this much effort. It isn't easy caring for a newborn after a difficult birth whilst having to express alllll the time.

@FreedomforWA thank you for such a detailed response.

I haven't had any surgery done to my breasts, but my instinct tells me that because I've always had a slim figure and anaemia throughout the pregnancy — perhaps I'm not a "milk person" in terms of feeding.

Throughout the pregnancy I did feel my breasts definitely getting fuller, and specially towards the end of the pregnancy! The engorgement has reduced significantly, but now the colostrum doesn't even want to come out.

I've no idea what's happening, but at day 12 I swear I should at least see a progress from colostrum let alone supply 🤦🏻‍♀️

I did think to myself that after 5 days in hospital & recovering from blood transfusions maybe it's just delayed lactation and my colostrum will come and progress but just at a later phase..

But after the lactation consultation & her infant feeding team of experts came everyday at a rotational basis, even they cannot figure out what's happening.

They're wondering why I was so engorged and then suddenly now I'm empty?

Are you using the correct size flanges on the pump?

@seaborgium yup