c-sections and breastfeeding

castroder

So i was diagnosed with placenta previa.  It still has a good chance of moving. I am adamant about breastfeeding! I have some concers about the difficulity of bfing after such a big surgery and not being able to try right away.  Do any of your ladies have experience with this?

magdalina.h

I nursed him within an hour of him being born.The problems that we had, had nothing to do with my c/s.

Daisy22

I nursed and did skin-to-skin within an hour of both my boys being delievered. I didn't have issues either time with BFing.

valerieanne9015

DD was in the NICU for 3 hours after delivery so I didn't get to nurse until well after she was born.  I had no problems related to it, just normal FTM trying BF stuff!

Meeshe

I held both babies while being rolled back to the room and the nurses were really good about immediately getting them to the breast.  So I was nursing both within the hour.  I BF both to 1 year+.  I think most hospitals are pretty supportive about it but you can ask that you be allowed to try to nurse the baby immediately upon return to the room.

Holly520

I tried nursing about an hour after DD was born, but it was unsuccessful.  She didn't nurse successfully until the next morning.  Now we have been BFing for over a year.

pregmama

I nursed within a few hours of the c-section...I was shaking so much from the spinal wearing off, I don't think we had a true latch, then baby went off to the nursery to be monitored for the rest of the night, and I saw him again in the early morning. During that time he had a pacifier (without my approval) but he still latched just fine. We have had a few stumbling blocks along the way... but he is growing and nursing just fine!

annabelle.27

I had no problems with breastfeeding after my section.

pepomntpat

Yes. I nursed DD starting about 3 hours after she was born. My milk came in on day 4 or 5. The nurses said she was getting close to losing 10% of her weight and wanted me to supplement, so I checked out a day early. By the two week check she had well surpassed her birth weight. We are still going strong!

RayRay007

I bf'd (well, tried) in the OR and again in recovery.

manbearpig31610

I've successfully breastfed both of my girls after csections.

mommytoconnor

I am an OB nurse and there should not be any problems with you breastfeeding your baby right after birth.  Moms that have CS breastfeed their babies everyday.  If you have difficulty, it's not due to your surgery.  If that makes sense.  In other words having a CS doesn't mean you will have problems with nursing.  Typically, after your Csection you are closed up and cleaned up and taken to recovery, where you should be able to put your baby to breast right away. The nurses will help you do this and show you ways to get positioned so you are most comfortable right after surgery too. 

capulet

With DD I had an emergency c/s and wasn't even able to try BFing for a few hours.  She didn't nurse successfully until 24 hours after she was born.  But then she nursed for 21 months.  She dropped a significant amount of her birthweight in the first few days but regained most of it by the time we were discharged.

I had a planned c/s with DS and was able to nurse him an hour after he was born.  We are still going.

Aside from the slow start with DD and some nipple pain in the early weeks, I've had a remarkably easy time BFing both babies and have never supplemented or felt like having a c/s made nursing more difficult.  Both hospitals where my kids were born were very supportive of BFing, which helped a lot to establish a good nursing relationship.

MrsRucinski85

I nursed my LO after having a c/s - I do have to say it took about five days for my milk to really come in though, so in the mean time I did have to suppliment a little formula bc her biliruben levels rose - but no problems now

nosoup4u

Find a private LC now, just in case. Find out if your hospital has LCs on staff, also just in case. Also know that if you guys are separated for more than a few hours, you should start pumping to promote breastfeeding.

The only thing I can add is that it's pretty early, and most plancenta previas move up by late pregnancy. Good luck! 

becketts

I've actually had more success BFing DD2 (born by c-section) than DD1 (vaginal delivery), and both were preemies. After my c-section, DD2 was acting feisty so I was able to BF in recovery before she went to the NICU. 

pitterpatter129

I nursed LO about an hour after he was born.  We did have some issues that were related to a very large blood loss with the surgery, but we are still nursing at 17 months!  If you do encounter issues, just go with the mindset that you aren't going to give up!

 

Jayhawk08

I had a crash c-section with g/a but my midwife knew I wanted to bf and made sure he was on and nursing within the hour. I was awake but not at all coherent and I don't remember how he got on but we have pictures so I know it really happened . So if you want to bf within the first hour it's totally possible good luck!!

sawyerthedestroyer

I was able to nurse about two hours after my c-section. H was a great advocate for DS and made sure he didn't get any bottles or pacis before I could BF. We had no problems once I was able to BF.

arevans31

mommytoconnor:

I am an OB nurse and there should not be any problems with you breastfeeding your baby right after birth.  Moms that have CS breastfeed their babies everyday.  If you have difficulty, it's not due to your surgery.  If that makes sense.  In other words having a CS doesn't mean you will have problems with nursing.  Typically, after your Csection you are closed up and cleaned up and taken to recovery, where you should be able to put your baby to breast right away. The nurses will help you do this and show you ways to get positioned so you are most comfortable right after surgery too. 

 

This. I had a c section and nursed my dd in recovery eventhough I was very tired. I'm a nursery nurse and I agree if your having problems it's not due to the c section its other things that are going on.  

sunnyday016

I wasn't able to nurse him until about 12 hours after he was born because he was in the NICU. We've been successful BFers

MichelleL1118

I was able to BF DS within an hour or so of his birth, and we EBFed for 6+ months and did a combo of BF/FF for another 3ish months before my work schedule screwed up my supply.  There's no reason for you to not be able to BF after a c/s, assuming you have a normal c/s and baby is healthy at birth.

stemms8810

I had my DS 9 days ago and so far no issues with BF'ing.  Just the usual sore nipples and getting the right latch some of the time.

After my c/s he joined me in recovery where we did skin to skin and tried to BF.  He had an inital problem with sucking but after one day it was resolved.  By the time he was reunited with me in recovery it had been over an hour I think and he was too tired to try to nurse but some time after that he was ready to try to latch on.  But don't worry.  Even if it takes a couple hours to try to nurse your baby, you can still be successful.

castroder

Thanks ladies.  Made me feel better!!

gapgirl972001

I nursed within an hour of having my c/s with both of my daughters and never had a problem.

HarrietNJMommy

I have had no issues and have BF all 3 kids.

craziheazo

DD2 went immediately to the NICU and wasnt able to nurse until she was 7 days old. We went on to nurse for 15 months.

akbride25

I had a vaginal birth with DS and had trouble BF him for the next 8 months. With DD I had a c/s and was BF within 2 hours. She latched on and never had a single issue.

Ardmhs83

I would say I got to try nursing about an hour or so after delivery.  My bfing problems had nothing to do with my c-section though...he did great.  He was just tongue-tied. 

LMBecky11

What I suggest is to talk to your doctor and see what the hospital's policies are regarding when you are able to hold the baby, and try to BF. Let them know your plans on BFing and tell them you want to try to as soon as possible. I delivered at a very small hospital, but they are great about the mother getting to hold the baby as soon as possible. I was in recovery for about an hour after being stitched up, and then as soon as I was back in the room they handed her to me and helped me figure out how to breastfeed. It was awesome and we are still BFing 11.5 months later. : )

GL to you!

skio

Don't you worry! You'll be absolutely fine to BF.

DD nursed about a half hour after being born. No issues whatsoever and nursed until 13m.

BLM10

DS was in the NICU for 10 days because of chorio and I didn't hold him for 23 hours. My milk didn't come in til day 7 but when it did, it was in massive quantities. We established breastfeeding in those last few days in the hospital and I BF'ed for 3 months, which is when my thyroid went out of control and I lost most of my milk, and then pumped for 1 more.