Babies: 0 - 3 Months
c-section and breastfeeding
I am having a section on tuesday!!!! AT 37 weeks due to a complete placenta previa. I have a few questions.....
1) when will i get to BF ? I am worried since I am having LO 3 weeks early and having a section it will take time for my body to realize i am not pregnant any more .
2) does the spinal hurt or.. the numbing stuff they give u first. I am looking for a scale of 1-10 type thing of what was the hardest part during or after. I KNOW i have to much time to think about all of this, I have NEVER been in the hospital before.
Thanks
This discussion has been closed.
Re: c-section and breastfeeding
I started bfing about 2.5 hours afterward, he latched right on and has done great.
I would give the spinal a 5 on scale of 1 to 10, definately not awful, but stung a little and was uncomfortable while I was getting it. Don't fret about it though, try to channel your anxiety into excitement and you won't notice as much!
1. I was able to breastfeed 4 hours later, but that was because we wanted our immediate family to meet him. Birth 6:30, out of recovery and in the room around 8-8:30. So, if no one is there, you should be able to try in about 2 or 2 1/2 hours. He latched perfectly from the beginning and my milk came in 3 days. It can take up to 5, so be patient and let him feed as often as he wants (and at least every 2-3 hours). That will stim. milk.
2. I don't recall that it hurt at all, but I was still having really strong contractions so I was probably more focused on that pain.
You probably will not get to bf until after they check the baby and maybe not until you can move your feet. You can always talk to you dr and let them know that you want to start bfing as soon as possible. Also mention it to the nurses once you are there. You will be able to bf though-no worries! if you are concerned about your milk coming in i would also recommend pumping in the hospital-i think it helped me.
For me the spinal was nothing-but i was having some really uncomfortable contractions. I don't remember much from that part.
The one thing i HIGHLY recommend is getting up to walk ASAP. Like as soon as you can move your legs start asking to get up and don't take no for an answer. And get up and walk around the unit once or twice everyday. It WILL make your recovery easier and make you less sore. Good luck!
You should be able to breastfeed right away once you are in recovery. The nurses should help you get your LO latched on. Then you might do it again when you are moved to PP, do not remember. Our LO was born at 811 and I was back in our room by 9pm with breastfeeding beginning within 20 minutes of being in the room.
The epi feels like a bee sting.
I am so sorry you are dealing with previa - it totally sucks. I had a section for previa (and major bleeding) at 32 w 4d, and my daughter's still in the NICU.
Given your LO's gestational age, it is very likely that you will be able to put him or her to the breast pretty much immediately. It will take a few days for your milk to come in (it takes a few days no matter how you give birth), but you'll have colostrum in the meantime, and the baby can get by on that for now.
If the baby has to go to the NICU, they'll hook you up with a breast pump. It will *still* take a few days for your milk to come in, but it's likely you can go visit the baby, snuggle, and try some nursing even if the babe is in the NICU.
I found that the numbing stuff for the spinal hurt like a bee sting, but it was over fast. They insisted on establishing two IV lines for me (they're likely to do this to you too, because previa means they may have to do emergency transfusions), but they gave me lidocaine before putting those lines in. I suck with needles, and if you hate them too, I strongly recommend you ask them to numb you before they hook up the IVs.
I found my c-section oddly comfortable, once the anesthesia kicked in. It was strange, but not painful, and it was over pretty fast. They were able to remove most of the IVs and stuff within a few hours. They were generous with the painkillers afterwards.
For me, the hardest part was that, because my daughter was born so early, they had to take her away. I wanted to spend all night staring at my daughter, snuggling her and loving her, and I was flat on my back on one floor and she was in the NICU on another. The first few days were really hard and awful. I am hoping that you won't have to go through that part.
Other than that, worst thing, hands down, was gas pain. Ask them for simethicone, or something else for gas, because it hurts worse than anything.
Gas pain? In your abdomen or elsewhere? Does it feel like stomach cramps? How can this be prevented?
1. they brought her right to me after her bath, and we did the BF thing for about 45 minutes. don't worry, your body will know that you've given birth.
2. it took my anesthesiologist an hour and many tries to finally get my epi cath in correctly (i have scoliosis). this required many pokes, both with the numbing needle and the cath, but it was not bad at all.
don't fret! you'll do great. good luck!
My situation wasn't the norm since I had to have general anesthesia for my c-section and I had pre-eclampsia, so the magnesium sulfate drip knocked me out the whole day afterwards.
However, our hospital had fantastic lactation consultants. They had me attempt at breastfeeding the day he was born (even though I was literally falling asleep while the consultant was trying to get my ds latched on). Sadly, it's hard for me to remember that time in the hospital. Those drugs really made me loopy! But, I was attempting breastfeed and pumping while in the hospital. My milk came in within 48 hours. DH was finger feeding him while I was pumping. We only had to supplement with formula for 1 day.
My milk came in and then some. By the end of the hospital stay, I was having milk put in the fridge for later use.
I had my baby at 37 weeks as well. I was worried about my milk not coming in and having problems with my supply. Fortunately, I never had any problems with my milk. I had plenty of other issues with latching, tongue tie, foremilk/hindmilk imbalance, etc. But I never had any issues with having enough milk.
Good luck! Sorry, I can't help you with the spinal since I had anesthesia. But in general, I can say that my c-section fears were worse than the reality. My recovery and pain was really not that bad.
The gas pain comes with the c-section. I think it has to do with all the air getting in your system while you're under the knife. It is also challenging to pass the gas because you're so sore and you have the incision. The only thing to do is what the pp said. There are these simethicone (sp?) tablets they give you to help you pass gass. And let me tell you, I have never felt so much relief in passing gas in my entire life. It just feels like a lot of built op pressure. Having your first bowel movement is a challenge too. They give you stool softeners to help with that.
1) I breastfed as soon as I returned to the room. I was 41 weeks though but they say that should not matter. Your body knows that you just had a baby and reacts accordingly.
2) Epi hurt about a 1.5. I think it hurts worse to get blood drawn and it hurts way worse to have a backache.
I think when you can BF might depend on your situation and your hospital. I was able to do so within 20 minutes, when I was in the recovery room, even though my meds still hadn't worn off.
I didn't have a spinal. I had an epidural, and I didn't feel the needle at all because of the numbing agent.
I can't really answer the first question because DS was in the NICU with breathing and feeding issues so we didn't get to try to BF until he was about 2 weeks old.
As far as the spinal goes, the numbing shot they gave me first felt like 2 bee stings. After that, I felt nothing. It honestly was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I ended up throwing up several times because the spinal made my blood pressure drop really low. Throwing up without being able to feel anything is extremely bizarre. They ended up having to give me medicine to raise my blood pressure and that worked right away.
The only other c/s advice I have is take the pain meds and stool softeners any time you can. Don't wait for the pain to take them, it will be harder to get rid of pain than to prevent it. Also, get up and walk as soon as you're allowed. It will hurt, but if you wait it will hurt even more.
GL!