Breastfeeding after a C-section
Do any of you ladies have advice for how to breastfeed successfully after a C-section? My hospital has a 2 hour separation policy between mom and baby following a scheduled C-section. Will that interfere with things?
The last time I had a CS I wound up being unsuccessful with breastfeeding. I attribute that to several things:
- I was uneducated and there was no lactation consultant available the day I gave birth. So I think I waited too long. I neither pumped nor tried to latch the baby until the first day.
-I struggled with pain from my incision and had a lot of trouble getting positioned comfortably.
-nipple soreness and raw nipples from poor latch.
-not knowing understanding that i was supposed to keep pumping/trying to feed every 2 hours. As a result my milk supply diminished.
I really want to be proactive this time and would like all the advice I can get regarding how to be successful this time.
Re: Breastfeeding after a C-section
What? Why?
This! That's horrible! But it shouldn't effect your BFing at all.
1. You were uneducated before. Read every book you can get your hands on. Take a breastfeeding class. Ask friends and family who were successful with breastfeeding. If you don't know anyone IRL, go to the Breastfeeding board here. There are hundreds of women who would love to give you advice/support.
2. Try to get a latch as soon as you get your hands on your baby. Strip him/her down and put them inside your hospital gown for skin-to-skin contact.
3. Relax. Being tense and stressed isn't going to help, so just get comfortable and bring your baby to your breast.
4. BF on demand. Don't wait a certain amount of time between feedings. If your baby is hungry, feed it. Doesn't matter if it has only been 30 minutes since the last one. On the other end, I didn't let 3-4 hours pass between feedings in the hospital either.
5. Make use of pillows to get comfortable. I found it easier to sit up as straight as I could in the hospital bed and prop myself with as many pillows as they could bring me. Do whatever it takes. Bring your Boppy/Breastfriend from home. Also, stay on top of your pain. Don't wait to take the meds until you are already hurting. If you let the nurses know you are bfing, they'll give you meds that are safe for the baby.
6. For the soreness, use Lansinoh Lanolin. Use it before you get sore. Just rub a pea size dot on each nipple after each feeding and put a nipple pad in your bra to protect it from staining. You don't need to wash it off before the next feeding. You can get it at Walmart, Target, any drugstore, etc. The hospital will have some for you if you request it, but they'll charge you 3X as much. https://www.amazon.com/Lansinoh-Lanolin-Breastfeeding-Mothers-Grams/dp/B005MI648C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1350436040&sr=8-2&keywords=lansinoh
7. RELAX again. Don't go into this thinking you might fail. Think positively. If you have any questions, get that lactation consultant in there. Call her as many times as you need. That's what they are there for. Ask for help.
8. This is a personal preference - I didn't use any pacifiers with my girls. I also didn't start them on a bottle of breastmilk until they were older than 2 months. However, I'm a SAHM and realize that not everyone can hold off on using a bottle for that long.
FWIW, I breastfed both my girls until they were 14 months. Feel free to post any questions you have here, but also go check out the BF board.
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I had a vaginal delivery with DS, but could not hold him right away due to complications. The LC did not come until almost 48 hrs after delivery, which was the first time I was able to latch him. I did go on to BF him for almost a year.
I also could not hold DD right away. I think it was maybe 1-2 hrs after delivery (c/s). She latched right on. I was most comfortable nursing her in the hospital bed, semi-reclined. Sitting in a rocking chair was pretty uncomfortable for a few days.
Get help from the LC. And don't be worried if things don't go perfectly at first. Just keep trying. Good luck!
Hi everyone! Thanks so much for all of your extremely informative replies. For those who?ve asked, indeed, there is a 2 hour separation policy! I was complaining about it to the pediatrician the other day, and he said the 2 hour separation is out of ?consideration to the mom? who needs time to recover from the surgery, and make sure the meds don?t leave her so disoriented that she may ?drop the baby? etc. He seemed to think the separation would not affect breastfeeding.
I posted my questions here as opposed to the breastfeeding board b/c I think moms who have endured C-sections have a special set of challenges what with p dealing with a painful incision, nausea inducing drugs, difficulty moving around, etc. I?d actually tried asking a midwife at my OB?s practice about breastfeeding. She was so angry that I?d decided on a section that she pretty much wrote me off, and practically flung a clipboard at me noting ?here, we have one class tonight?. Of course I couldn?t drop everything that day to go. I really did resent the attitude/rejection I was already enduring for opting for a section. (For the record, I?m having a repeat section b/c my first was breech and I had no choice that time.)
So here are more questions based on your responses:
-Where do I buy the hydrogel pads? What are they exactly and how do I use them? I did use the Linosoh cream last time and honestly it didn?t do much for my soreness/rawness but I appreciate the advice.
-Mrs. Pink, you noted that your baby was jaundiced and put on formula. How did that not lead to nipple confusion? One thing that upset me last time is that the nurses supplemented my baby w/o asking and it led to nipple confusion such that she started biting down on me.
-WHO do I tell/hold accountable for making sure the nurses don?t supplement my baby w/o my permission? Who can I speak to, to possibly negotiate out of the 2 hour separation policy?
-I strongly agree that relaxation was an issue. My husband?s family is huge and they were incredibly intrusive the last time I delivered and it made me pretty tense. I?m trying to figure out how I?m going to cope with that this time (already tense about it!). My husband is too much of a pushover to tell them to lay off a bit and give me/baby some breathing room. If I wasn?t having a scheduled section it would be easier to hold off on telling them. But since it?s scheduled I don?t know if I can get away with that. Any advice on how to deal?
Just an FYI that the last time I delivered near a holiday so the LC was ?on vacation? and not available. I?m worried about the same issue this time, since I?m scheduled to deliver the week of Thanksgiving.
Thanks in advance for your input!
1. Do you have any other available hospital to deliver? The whole "consideration for mom" separation, nurses doing whatever they want with baby and lack of LC support is enough to look at any other available option. I'd schedule with a more supportive hospital even if it meant traveling an hour.
2. You tell anyone and everyone that they are not to feed your child formula or do anything without permission. You do not have to sit back while things are done to your child. You have a say. If they don't ask, bring it up. "By the way, don't do this or this or this without asking me first." It's your child.
3. I am a fan of being honest/upfront with people, but if you and your husband are not comfortable with telling his family to wait until you are ready for visitors, have the nursing staff inform them they cannot come to the room until a certain time/day. You are going to go through another surgery. Why should you be more uncomfortable with them there? It's pretty selfish of them to impose on you like that.
If there are other hospitals in your area, check with them to see if they offer breastfeeding classes. The hospital I delivered at offered them free of charge to anyone. You didn't have to deliver at that hospital. Both DH and I found the class we attended to be very informative.
Will your DH be with LO the whole time? If so, he can be the advocate to make sure that your wishes are followed. As soon as DS was delivered, DH went with him to the other part of the delivery room, so he could take pictures as DS was weighed, cleaned, etc. Then he was handed DS so he could show DS to me. They were sent to hang out in the recovery room while my OB finished stitching me up. As soon as I got to recovery (less than 30 minutes after DS was born), the nurse encouraged me to have skin-to-skin contact and to try nursing. She helped position pillows, so that I would be comfortable, and checked to make sure that DS was properly latched. During my hospital stay, most of the nurses were very helpful and supportive of breastfeeding. An LC stopped by every day, too, just to check on things.
DS has had a pacifier since he was born (our choice). We have also supplemented with formula (at his pediatrician's advice) since he was 5 days old. He hasn't had a problem with nipple confusion. I did refer to him as Jaws for the first week because he was rather aggressive when he would latch. My nipples never really hurt but just ached sometimes in the beginning.
As for visitors, I just did my thing and didn't worry about who was in the room at the time. If they didn't like it, they could leave. Thankfully none of my family or friends felt the need to give me a lot of unsolicited advice.
The nurses might be able to help you kick out visitors if you need assistance. When we went to my room after recovery, the nurses kicked everyone (including DH) out because they had had to ask me some private questions (about whether or not I feel safe in my home---required questions in my area or possibly state) that the nurse who checked me in hadn't gotten to before the surgery. Later on I started vomiting. As we were trying to get it under control, one nurse kept stressing that I should try to rest. She kept looking around the room at my visitors. I think she would have been more than happy to kick all of them out, but I didn't mind having them around. (I think DH would have liked to have been kicked out at that point. He was trying to eat lunch while I was vomiting.
)
I would find another hospital..pronto.
I was upset that my son wasn't given to me immediately (because they were closing me). I can't imagine two hours.
More than likely, you will not be "out of it". Unless you have an unexpected adverse reaction, the beauty of epidural anesthesia is that you have local pain relief. I was able to hold my baby, and I hadn't slept for two nights prior to my c-section, which I think made me feel more "out of it".
I would argue this policy if there is no possible way to get to another hospital. Why can't your partner, family member, or friend, be in the room with you while you hold and nurse your baby? If you seem sleepy, in pain, sick, then they can help.
Beyond that, I had a sign in ds' crib that said "no paci's or bottles" in case we got separated. We weren't - he was with me the whole hospital stay. Paci's are fine after milk supply is established, but in the beginning, some babies suck on them and that can tell your body not to produce milk.
The best tips given to me - let baby be skin to skin as much as possible, have baby suck on you as much as they want. That is the way to tell your body to make milk.
Get some good bras, or my favorite (I am small busted), nursing tanks. I bought some pads but never leaked.
And make sure you have a good LC programmed into your phone, for questions and concerns that will come up.
DS born via unplanned C-section at 40w6d
I have successfully breastfed both of my kids. With my DD I had an emergency c-section in which I was under general for. It was 4+ hours after she was born that I finally got to see her and breastfeed for the first time. I had no issues with it at all.
With my DS, I had a scheduled c-section. He has some breathing issues so while I got to see him right away he did have to go to the NICU. By the time they brought him back to me (DH was with him the entire time) it was about 2 hours after he was born. We did struggle with BFing in the beginning but I do not think it had anything to do with the c-section. He is/was slightly tongue tied and was a super sleepy newborn so I struggled with getting him to eat. Due to him being a big baby we did end up having to use a SNS for one feeding to help get his blood sugar up.
Yea...I quote all of this information. I CANNOT believe they require 2 hours...that is just crazy!!! However, as soon as you get the baby...nurse immediately and make sure the nurses know, no formula and no pacies.
I EBF my son for 9 months and he never took a pacifier either and we didn't introduce a bottle for a few weeks too. However I am a working mom so my son got breastmilk bottles a lot. I pumped 3x a day at work! So I had to get my son ready for the bottle, but he did fine going back and forth. He preferred the breast...trust me!
Also good people to get a hold of is your local LLL (La Leche League). I went to them for help and a women was sitting on my couch the day after I called her helping me right away...for free! You can find a local chapter by getting online.
https://www.llli.org/
Good luck & you can do it! Stay committed and def. educate youself as much as possible. This is def. where the LLL can come in....they are soooo knowledgable and willing to help you out.
Mom to Carter (6), and Calianne (1).
Proud VBAC, natural birth, breastfeeding, cloth diapering momma!
Mom to Carter (6), and Calianne (1).
Proud VBAC, natural birth, breastfeeding, cloth diapering momma!
Isn't it though? The reason for this at my hospital is because of security. Recovery was on the surgical floor which was not set up for newborns. My newborn had to be on the maternity floor and I had to stay on the surgical floor until I could feel them poke my belly button.
I didn't see DD for almost 3 hours and we are still BFing today. It should not hurt your BFing relationship provided you nurse AT LEAST every 2 hours once you get a hold of your baby.
Nurse, nurse, nurse, nurse.
Try the football hold to keep LO off of your incision. A boppy or other BFing pillow can help as well. Use a stool to prop up your feet and keep your lap level as well.
Realize that it will probably hurt, but your nipples should not bleed or be damaged. Insist on an LC, go to LLL meetings, read about how to latch and keep a handout of latching techniques in your hospital bag. You'll forget.
Get your DH to read, learn about latching techniques, different holds, etc so he can help you.
Nurse your baby. If he's crying, if he's happy, if he's wiggling, if you feel like it. Nurse your baby.
Resist pumping for the first 3-4 weeks. I'd wait longer if you aren't going back to work. Just nurse, let your supply regulate and don't stress.
Watch your baby's diaper output to know he's getting enough. That's the only way to know. If he's peeing and pooping then he is eating. If you are told to supplement ask why, how long, what techniques to use and if there is anything you can do instead. No, formula isn't poison, but it's not the only solution to problems either.
Did I mention that when you are in doubt of anything, nurse your baby?
ETA: I am sorry your DH's family was intrusive last time as well. I had to go all Mama Bear a few times and just scream, "Give me my BABY!" I blamed it on the hormones. I don't care. They were afraid of me and I nursed my baby. When I was ready to nurse I would also say, "Hey, a boob is coming out!" I had gotten a bit of flack ahead of time about not making people uncomfortable, so I just warned them in advance. LOL!
And as far as making sure LO gets no formula or anything, send your DH to the nursery with LO. He gets to play referee. That's his job as the fater.
I would challenge the hospital on their policy. I was able to bf in the OR and recovery room. However, there are plenty of women who were successful at bf'ing even after separations for whatever reason. Research and educate yourself before birth, try to feed asap, try to see a lactation consultant asap, use a bf'ing pillow, break the latch if it hurts, don't try to push through the pain. But it sounds like you already learned a lot from last time. Other women may have better advice about bf'ing after a separation.
ETA: read the other responses and there was lots of great advice.
bfp#4 3/19/2014 edd 12/1/2014 please let this be the one!
beta @ 5w0d = 12,026! u/s 4/22/14 @ 8w1d it's twins!
My hospital had a 1 hour policy starting from the end of the csection. I didn't want to be the squeaky wheel, so I went with it, and my LO had low blood sugar after he was born due to not eating soon after birth. They had to do a heel stick to check his blood sugar after every time he nursed the first night. It wasn't a huge deal, but it totally could have been avoided if I stood up for what I believed in.
That being said, over 14 months later, we are still BFing, so it did not affect our longterm breastfeeding success in any way.
My best advice is DO NOT GIVE FORMULA IF YOU WANT TO BREASTFEED! The nurses where I had LO were not educated at all about breastfeeding, and relentlessly encouraged me to give LO a bottle (he was absolutely fine on my BM) Finally, I asked my midwife I she thought I should give a bottle, and she said "Your body made this baby, and your body can feed this baby". Best advice I ever received.
I had a c-section and was BF within 1.5 hours after his birth with no problems. The nurses were very helpful with their explanations and DS latched on really well, thank goodness. I found that football hold was the most convenient for me in the hospital.
For the 2 hour thing, I would talk to the nurses in the recovery room. They should be able to release you once your vitals have been stabilized and have been stable for a certain amount of time and that you've gained complete feeling in your legs. I was in and out in less than an hour.
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I'm BFing my 4th child after a 4th c-section. I've never had real issues BFing any of the kids.
The first 3 I saw after recovery. This one (#4) I was able to BF in recovery. They changed the policy at the hospital.
Having a good LC is key. That will help your latch - which is usually the bulk of the problem.
Drink lots of water!!!!
GL!
I haven't read all of the responses, but wanted to let you know that the 2 hour separation doesn't have to negatively affect your nursing! I was separated from LO for 2 hours with my c-section.. the key is to make sure the hospital staff knows that breastfeeding is important to you, be firm in that! Even if you are only 51% sure that you want to breastfeed, it's important to tell the doctors and nurses that it's very important to you. This way you will be able to attempt nursing (and do skin to skin) as soon as possibly after the 2 hour separation. Try to brush up as much on breastfeeding basics as you can before hand and ask for help if you need it!
Good luck!
Sorry it took me forever to respond (work has been draining me). I am so touched by all the thoughtful, informative responses. I now worry if I may have just had a milk supply issue the first time? I just thought that since I wasn't pumping/nursing as much as I should have, that my milk supply diminished.
Anyway, I plan on reading THIS THREAD over and over again before my C-section and memorizing all the key details! I think I'm also going to try and get on top of things by contacting an LC NOW. Does anyone know how enlisting the services of an LC work? WIll insurance cover it? I guess maybe that's a questions for the BF message board.
Thanks you, thank you, thank you again for each and every one of your responses!!!!
Definitely look into another hospital. One with a two hour seperation policy is NOT breastfeeding (or mom or baby, for that matter) friendly. A baby's suckling instinct is very strong in their first 30 minutes of life. It's their fault their operating room isn't convenient to the maternity ward, not yours. Pulling the security card is a cop out imo. If someone was with you and your baby after delivery they wouldn't need a secured floor. My DD was in the NICU when she was born and never had a security bracelet. When she had to leave the NICU for tests a nurse went with and stayed with her the whole time. Our c/s suite has bassinets in the recovery room where baby goes with mom for an hour under nurse's care. The LC consultant comes to see you the second you let them know you're breastfeeding. I can't speak to how awesome the BFing support was at my hospital. The LC saw me at least half dozen times, free of charge bc I delivered there.
Having said all that, I sucked at BFing! It's just my makeup I guess. Nursing was hard and painful, nipple shields and pumping and this and that. Stressful, baby not gaining weight, listening to all the "advice" that was supposed to be miraculous. Had I not been so headstrong about BFing I would've quit in a skinny minute. I worked and worked at it and nursed her exclusively for 6 months and then 3 months more with formula added. So no matter what happens in the beginning (like my emergency c/s, my preemie baby in the NICU, the post op pain) you CAN breastfeed. I would suggest getting as much support as you feel you need but that doesn't mean it will be a walk in the park. My point is, a c/s isn't going to end your BFing career. After you deliver you're a normal, BFing mama with the highs and lows we all face.
My personal advice, and what I will heed my next go round: listen to your baby. Nurse when LO is hungry, enjoy the closeness, don't fret over how many oz he's getting, just relax. I wish someone had told me to just do what my baby needed rather than listening to 100 different and conflicting pieces of advice. By the time I relaxed and realized this breastfeeding time was over.