Breastfeeding after ELCS?

[2ndtimeroundmama]

Is this possible?

had ELCS with my 3yo DS. I instantly formula fed didn’t try BF as I was too scared about not being able to. But I felt like my milk didn’t come in until around 3 day PP?

is it possible to BF your baby after ELCS? As I’m just worried my milk won’t come in in time!

anyone had experiences with this
my next ELCS is for DD next month and I’d hope I can BF

I had an emergency c-section and have breastfed my baby successfully. The only issue in retrospect was that my latch at the beginning clearly hadn’t been right as I ended up with quite a bad crack (pain masked by lots of drugs). However, if I have an ELCS (likely to if I have another baby) I will be on to this and get advice asap to try to avoid it. It is possible!

I breastfed DC3 after an EMCS. He was still breastfeeding well into toddlerhood.
I had a breastfeeding cushion to begin with, which I found very helpful with keeping DC3’s weight off the CS scar.

It does take a few days for the milk to come in regardless of how you give birth, that’s normal. Before the milk comes in properly, you have colostrum, which is a highly concentrated form of breast milk and very nutritious.

I didn’t have a C-section but it did take 3/4 days for my milk to come in with both babies due to blood loss, I mix fed to begin with and then with DS1 moved to bf and stayed mixed feeding with DS2.

Your milk doesn’t normally come in till 3-4 days after however you give birth. The first few days the baby will get very small amounts of colostrum and feed a lot. The feeding then tells your body to get on with making more milk which is when you suddenly get engorged and aware of your milk.

Hello! I EBF after both EMCS four years ago – milk came in day 3. Last month I had an ELCS and milk came in day 2: baby barely fed in first 24 hours, perhaps two to three latches. Woke him up a bit for the next 24 hours to prompt feeds and it arrived with a bang the next afternoon.

Make sure tongue tie is checked at birth and snipped asap; take plenty of vitamins and hydrate like a maniac; flapjacks are good for the extra calories you’ll need but oats also support milk production; and the number one thing – feed as often as possible! Feed feed feed to prompt milk production.

Also Lansinoh for nipples and silver nipple cups for healing; a nipple shield can be handy in the early days to help tiny mouths latch on to sore or engorged boobs. Good luck!

Yes very possible. I've done it twice. But I do think it's harder. According to a lactation consultant I spoke to, it's the removal of the placenta that triggers milk production. She said there's no difference between births. But that wasn't my experience.

Persevere through those very hard first days and weeks. It's hard when you're so sore, but it will get easier quickly. Good luck!

I had no issues; I think my milk still took 3 days to come in properly but the colostrum was plenty before then and I think that’s normal

I had a EMCS and breastfed fine. Just finished and she's nearly 2.5!

I was extremely lucky, I exclusively breast fed after elective c section. no problems, no pain everything went perfectly. it is absolutely possible but may come with the normal breast feeding difficulties that I did not have to overcome

Express colostrum from 37 weeks. I’m now 18 months into breastfeeding after an EMCS, the frozen colostrum defo helped take the pressure off after and also let me hand express to top of feeds and relieve sore boobs. It’s the best thing ever and I’m so grateful we get to feed still!

Day 3 for your milk to come in is totally normal however you give birth, vaginal or c-section. The average is days 2-5 and colostrum is all they need for those first few days, they don’t need milk right away, if they did we’d have evolved to do that. There’s no reason having a section would prevent you from breastfeeding.

Thank you! I was going to ask should I maybe pump? would that get my milk coming in sooner??

I’ve tried colostrum but I don’t know how to harvest it which is why I’m worrying about my milk becuSe I’m struggling to harvest that (I’m 37 weeks nearly 38 so midwife said it’s ok to try this)

I had four caesareans and breastfed all my children for years.
Your milk still comes in. I am not sure what made you think it wouldn't.

Just put your baby to the breast frequently. That's all you need to do.
I never expressed.
Well, not till weeks later, when I needed to leave milk with my mum when she babysat.
Nearly there, OP! I promise you it's easier than you think.

Don’t pump: use the baby to get your milk coming in! Then any colostrum that comes out goes into the baby. You don’t need your milk to come in sooner – it’s designed to come in around day 3/4.

I never bothered harvesting or hand expressing or any of that jazz: just stuck the baby on my boob as often as possible. I was lucky to be fully supported by midwives and the infant feeding team at the hospital, no staffing issues and plenty of assistance in perfecting the latch, trying different holds, experimenting with a shield, etc. They wouldn’t discharge until the baby had had a good feed and they were confident feeding was going well enough that I could fly solo.

If you want to breastfeed I really suggest looking to find your local breastfeeding support group. You can go along before birth to ask these questions. You'll also know where to go if you need help.

The NCT website also has lots of evidence based information to help you. Their infant feeding line is open every day.

You produce colostrum first and this is all baby needs. It's normal for baby to drop a little bit of weight initially.

You can harvest it before but don't have to. This is quite a new thing for all mothers to be told about.

When baby arrives put them to breast every time they stir / show feeding cues. That will stimulate the change from colostrum to milk. It's normal for milk to take 3-5 days to come in. Your baby just needs to feed at the breast and have colostrum in that time.

Baby will cluster feed during the early weeks. That means they will feed, seem full and then ask for more milk shortly after. It's baby's way of getting your supply to match their need.

I had a c section and no problem bf'ing. Why did you think you wouldn't be able to?

Baby will have the colostrum until your milk comes in.

I bf after an elective. All fine! I didn't pump prior at all. She did lose a bit too much weight at first but I was engorged so I think it was some other variables rather than that!

Two EMCS here and BF both successfully. I put babies to the breast straightaway. One was drowsy and wouldn't suckle straight away and the other one took to it like a duck to water. Biggest advice, stay calm and don't stress about feeding. Do lots of skin-to-skin with the baby and take it from there.

Forgot to add: although the actual milk doesn't really kick in until day 2/3, there's plenty of colostrum to keep the babies going until then. I've just finished BF- a total of 5 years. Never want to BF again!

I've done it twice with no problems. It can take abit longer for your milk to come in, but it should still do so. Just keep feeding. Never pumped.

That it doesn't for everyone? Mine never came in at all -- obviously, it's not possible to tell if this was related to giving birth by ELCS, as I only have one child so never gave birth vaginally, but my supply never came in, despite all possible advice from all sources, pumping, supplemental nursing system, blood tests, lactation consultant etc.