Need an op tomorrow under general but EBF and no expressed milk

[turquoisediamond]

Hi,

I gave birth three weeks ago and it's been nothing but complications since.

In a nutshell:
48 hour labour for to 9cm
C section due to failure to progress
Got Paralytic ileus (my bowels stopped working post surgery) was hospitalised for a week. Vomiting green bile, tubes down my nose, cannulas, antibiotics, suppositories, laxatives, scans etc

Got home and have had horrendous tummy cramps for 3 weeks. Assumed to do with the bowel issue but would resolve itself eventually.

Last Thursday a massive bit of placenta fell out and I went to A&E. They sent me for a scan today.

Turns out I have retained placenta - why they didn't get it all out in a c section I don't know.

Options:

1. Do nothing (but high chance of infection and unlikely it will come away as it hasn’t in 3 1/2 weeks
2. Take medication to get rid of it. Again they said it might not work so I still need surgery anyway. She said I’ll bleed quite heavily
3. Surgery. I just felt like she was saying surgery is my best bet.

I've agreed to surgery and I need to go under general. They want me in at 7am tomorrow. If no other emergencies and they get to me in the morning I'll likely be out by 4pm.

The issue is I'm exclusively breastfeeding and have not expressed yet. I can't leave my baby from 7-4. I've said I can't do tomorrow so they've moved to Thursday. Any advice on how I can express enough milk?

I'm thinking I'll just demand that I keep my
Baby with me until I go in to theatre and try to express as much as I can tonight and tomorrow.

It's an operation for post natal mothers but they seemed completely clueless about breastfeeding. Just kept suggesting formula which I really don't want to give.

Any ideas or advice welcome?

I'm so scared of more complications. 1% chance they'll damage my cervix and 5% they'll perforate my womb.

Anyone else had placenta left after a c section?
Anyone else had this procedure?
Any advice on what to do about breastfeeding my baby?

I have done breastfeeding peer support. And when mothers present with a problem with their milk supply sometimes the cause has been retained placenta. It is not always the case. But it's all related to your hormones. If your milk supply is fine then that's great. But the longer the placenta is in, I'd say that's not good for milk supply.
Don't delay in getting it out.
We are so lucky to have decent formula available for precisely this situation.

Honestly if you have not expressed enough milk and the milk bank is not available then you have two options.
Baby waits for you to wake up, or baby has formula.

You sound like you have had a tough time, so look after yourself, don't be too tough on yourself. Take it a day at a time

Todays the day. Managed to express 2 feeds (120ml x2) and I'll keep the baby with me till I go to theatre so fingers crossed.

Good luck OP! I'm sure it'll all be ok, and you'll have your babe back in your arms in no time.

I did that many years ago. The baby unfortunately had to take a bottle for 24 (? Memory? ) hours, but the hospital found me an electric pump (a beast of a machine in those days) and I managed to keep up supply and get back to it ok.

Op went well - no complications and think they got it all out - hooray!

Baby drank the two big feeds. I was gone from about 10.30am - 2pm. When I came out of recovery he was just starting to cry and I was able to BF straight away and he's been with me since.

No formula needed - the best outcome for us both.

The only difficult think is I'm on a gyny ward as it's the same procedure for mums that miscarry and need that removed surgically. As I'm more than 10 days post partum I can't be on post labour ward. So I feel really guilty having a newborn with me and they don't really want him here but have reluctantly allowed it as I'm BF.

Glad it all went well OP; fair play to you, that's really tough.

Don't feel guilty. You have to have your baby there.

It's really tough for the women going through losses - but I remember being on a ward having complications from a MMC & around me were pregnant women. It wasn't great but it wasn't their fault.

Hope you recover well - and I hope you ask questions of the original team caring for you, that didn't realise sooner about the retained placenta.

Please don't feel guilty. Your baba needs feeding! And glad you didn't need to use formula 😊

Hope you recover well x

So glad it went ok without giving formula. And it’s not your fault they’ve put you on that ward! Though I appreciate it must be tough all round - is there any chance they might find you a side room?

Glad all went well for you, and baby! Sounds tough on that ward, but it’s an issue of the wards own making - why can’t they put you back on post labour ward if it’s upsetting other women on your current ward? If they can’t, it’s not your issue and I’m sure you’re being as sensitive as you can. If you feel uncomfortable though, do raise it with the ward again about moving you to the post labour or to a side room.

You poor thing, so glad it went smoothly.

Please don't be stressing about the other patients, that's not your fault. I had that surgery for a miscarriage but also had a young toddler at home - I would have wanted you to have your baby with you and would have felt for you going through all that with a newborn. Obviously not every woman will be in that situation, but even those who find it painful will likely not begrudge you as an individual.