Will having an ELCS mean I won't be able to breastfeed?

[kissyfur]

I'm currently 27 weeks PG and have been advised by my consultant that they feel it would be best for me to have my baby by ELCS. Reason for this is I had an EMCS last time and have a heart condition and hypothyroidism. But I am concerned after reading a few of the breastfeeding threads on here that this will mean my chances of successfully breastfeeding will be pretty low? I did bf my DD for 14 months but I had been induced and had 2 days of contractions before I was given an EMCS. I did struggle to get established in the early days though but I think that's pretty standard?! Will the fact that I won't have any contractions this time around mean I can't BF?

Would I be crazy to attempt a VBAC just so I can BF?

Any advice gratefully received, thanks

I breastfed DD1 after an ELCS but it was difficult and only managed 5 months. But it it doable.

Sorry to link to a thread, but this is also being discussed on childbirth with some good advice link

I had an emcs after waters had gone but with no contractions and fed dd for two years. I am booked in for elcs in 3 weeks and aim to breastfeed, hopefully not for 2 years this time round.

"Will the fact that I won't have any contractions this time around mean I can't BF?"

I don't think so. I breastfed easily after an ELCS. It hadn't crossed my mind that I wouldn't be able to, so perhaps blind optimism helped!

Hi. I had ELCS With DD2. Had no problems establishing breastfeeding her. In fact i'm still feeding her now and she's 2 and a half! See what support is available to you locally and hopefully you'll have no problems either. Good luck.

Hi, my ds was born by ELCS 19 months ago. I bfed for 14 months, the only problem we encountered was caused because he had a tongue tie but that was sorted out within a week. Can't see any problems BFing that would be caused by ELCS. (you'll need a pillow though cos its a bit gnarly having the baby rest on your scar while BFing!)

Thanks for your replies and for the link blacktea sounds like I don't need to worry too much!

A couple of my friends had ELCS's and did find it much harder to breastfeed at first. Some of them got there in the end some of them didn't. Just get as much information and support as possible but don't beat yourself up if you can't, it is a stressful enough time as it is. Good luck.

I had an emcs and two elcs. Bf all three times for 9/10 months. Didn't have any more problems establishing feeding than my vb friends.

Kissy after c section you may find it easier to whop a boob out than actually get up off sofa to sterilze and make a bottle up :)

I had 4 sections and breast fed them all, no problems.
I had skin to skin in recovery which was lovely

Cs of any kind doesn't impact on ability to bf at all. Management post section can make a difference, section mums may have more help round, more separation from baby etc. Using the help, if around, to pass you baby, still enjoying skin to skin, feeding lying down will all help.

It's a myth, sadly often quoted by hcps that sections impact on bf.

Making sure your thyroid meds are at the right levels will help too but really you should have no problems. Having fed before you may well find your milk in more quickly and easily this time round.

Meant to say contractions are irrelevant it is the separation of the placenta that causes milk to become more abundant.

I did it, ELCS for breech with my first and we bf til 7 months (back to work hence the stop) so yes, u will be able to do it. Make sure you tell the staff ur keen aswell so they don't offer a bottle on the off chance
Good luck

I had a CS with DS and fed for 14 months. I'm 30 weeks pregnant now and having another CS and plan to breastfeed DD. I didn't have any problems with DS other than the first few weeks, which turned out to be thrush. Once that was sorted I had no problems and only stopped for medical reasons.

Good luck!

I had an ELCS and no problems afterwards. I just ensured lots of skin to skin and offering at the first peep so no different to after a vaginal delivery. In fact the most difficult thing was changing nappies at night for the first 2 nights. Breastfeeding in comparison was a cinch. If you haven't been shown before then being shown how to feed lying down would be v useful.

Oh and I didn't find it uncomfortable to have baby resting on the scar either.

Actually, there is a small impact from an ELCS (EMCS is a different story) - it can delay your milk coming in. But as long as you feed often in the early days, and given you have breastfed before, which tends to help with supply, you should be fine.

It might be worth asking your consultant if you could have an EMCS once you go into labour/your waters break etc etc. That way, you'd get the hormonal benefits of labour, and know your baby is entirely ready to come out, both which can help make breastfeeding easier.

Oh, I should have said - the delay is, on average one day. So an ELCS doesn't make that much of a difference.

I breastfed ds for 6mnths after a section and dd a year after and ELCS, dd latched straight on a fed perfectly and issue free from day one!

My sister had an EMCS and is still BFing her DD after 23 months.

I found it much easier than after the horrendous 3 day forecep nightmare that was DD1's birth. With DD2 they placed on me straight away and once cleaned up we had hours of skin to skim in recovery and side room

I don't think having an ELCS should decrease your chances of successfully breastfeeding :) I had an ELCS with my twins, and I'm still successfully breastfeeding them at 22 months old :) We got off to a pretty rocky start because I didn't feed them for over 12 hours at the beginning (I didn't think to try and midwives didn't suggest it!) but I don't think my CS had any bearing on my breastfeeding at all.

Good luck for your CS, good luck withthe breastfeeding, and have fun with your little one :)

Thanks very much everyone for your posts. Feel a lot more confident about it now

I had a c section and managed to breastfeeding successfully although later stopped for other reasons. The midwives were bill. I just pressed the buzzer when I wanted to latch DS on & they wold pass thin to me and help me latch him in. They were very keen to help me establish BF
I would highly recommend a oughtn't shaped feeding pillow such as a widgey. This made things so much more comfortable.

*brill not Bill!