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Breastfeeding
valeivegas
member
Tips on b/f after a c/s?
valeivegas
member
I'll be having a c/s since baby is breech. Any tips on b/f after a c/s? I have a boppy pillow but I don't know if I'll be able to put this across my waist. Also, did any of you have any difficulties starting since there's a delay of an hour while they stitch you up & you're together w/ the baby in the recovery room? I appreciate any advice!
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Re: Tips on b/f after a c/s?
I didn't have any difficulties due to the wait time between birth and breastfeeding (about 90 minutes for me). I made sure everyone knew I was going to breastfeed and to not give any formula or sugar water, unless there was a medical reason (low blood sugar) to do so.
I had my husband stay with the baby while I was getting closed up, to make sure no one gave her anything. He and baby were waiting for me in recovery. It took a while to get my blood pressure stable enough for me to hold/nurse her and I was horribly nauseous and shaking like a leaf.
I didn't use my boppy to nurse, not because of the c section, but because I just couldn't get the hang of it, and using a bunch of pillows was easier for me.
My best advice is to make sure the baby is not seperated from you or your husband/birth partner. If your hospital has a nursery, don't let them take baby to it. Keep baby with you or partner at all times. That way there is no way for baby to get formula/sugar water. If for some reason, baby must be seperated from you, demand they bring baby to you every 2 hours to nurse. You will have to keep track of the time, as they probably won't. You may have to have your partner go to the nursery and physically bring baby to you.
Also, both you and baby will retain a ton of fluids. So, baby will likely lose a lot of weight at first. That is completly normal. Also your milk may be delayed coming in a day or so. also completely normal. My milk didn't come in till day 5, and I didn't need to suppliment at all.
Good luck!
I'm not a regular on this board so I'm sure the others will have more advice. My baby was really high due to swelling (I had GD) and my incision in my skin is actually vertical (it's horizontal in the uterus though) and is really high, starting just above my belly button. I was able to use the boppy across my waist. I was told the best position was the football. I also have very large breasts and was told that would the best position anyway. To this day (almost 10 weeks later) it's still the easiest. For my first few days in the hospital I stacked pillows on my side though. That was a nurse's suggestion and I had to do that for my first day home. By day 3 boppy across the waist was fine.
I didn't really have any delay. I had GD so they had to check LO's blood sugar a few times and he was brought to me a little earlier than he would have been because it dropped at one point. The LC came in and he was so sleepy and not really hungry so he didn't want to latch. We had success with a nipple shield and some sugar water shot in via syringe. The next feeding he latched and ate fine. He was pretty spitty (c-section babies are more likely to be since they don't have contractions to help clear their lungs) and after the first day was spitting up colostrum and not just amniotic fluid. My milk didn't fully come in until day 4 though. LO was fine until then, even with the weight loss.
Also, it was only about 20 minutes of stitching for me and then less than 20 minutes in the recovery room before LO was brought in (aside from the blood sugar drop). We let visitors in after an hour (DH was there the whole time). It did feel like an hour of stitching though!
Thanks for the tips - very helpful! I know every hospital is different but did you have to bring your own extra pillows, or do they supply those for you? I was reading in a b/f book to bring your own...
I just had my baby 10 days ago, so I am not a wealth of information, but thought that my story might make you feel better with the c/s and breastfeeding.
I planned a med-free birth. I got induced early friday morning, and at 11:00am was fully dialated. Then the chit hit the fan, the baby did not decend as expected and his heart rate dropped and didn't recover. Because I did not have an epidural, they had to do a Crash C-Section ( General anesthesia) and I didn't wake up for several hours. I didn't get to feed my baby from my breast until 9pm that night, but he has done just fine and my milk came in on day 4.
I used the pillows in the hospital, and the boppy once I got home. I do the football hold most of the time and cross cradle the rest.
I had my LO 6 days ago via planned C-section( at a major Boston teaching hospital-not sure if community hospitals are set up differently) and am BF. DH was in the delivery room with me, so after the babu is out they weight him, eye drops, etc. then they give to DH to hold while they stitch you up (approx 45 mins, DH will be able to stay with you and hold LO). Then they bring all of you to recovery, and you get to hold him. I told the recovery nurse I wanted to try to breastfeed and we used pillows (the hospital should have plenty) and the foot ball hold, d/t the incision and the fact that my once DD boobs are now an H. I had no use for the boppy at all and 6 days out haven't tried it yet. The nurse and DH helped me position the baby and my breast so he could latch.
The hospital I delivered at is pro-BF, so I had no issues, I just asked nicely that they please not give him any sugar water (except for his circumcision), no formula and no pacifier. I sent him to the nursery for several hours every night and asked that they bring him back to feed when he was showing cues (and they never went longer than 4 hours, they will have you wake him) which they did. I had some difficulties with getting a good latch (d/t lg breasts and short nipples, but the nurses were great and I also saw a LC while I was there).
Also, CS babies may spit-up a lot the first 12 hours or so d/t all the fluids they swallow inside you that doesn't get pushed out like in a vaginal birth, so don't be suprised if he's not that interested in eating for several hours.
Just be open to taking help from nurses and DH. It will sometimes take 4 hands to BF, esp if you are large breasted. Good luck.
I spiked a fever during labor, so they took DD to the nursery within 5 minutes of her being born. I got to kiss her, DH held her, and then they took her away. That was at 11:00pm, and I didn't get to see her until 2:00am. I was really out of it - 27 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing landed me in the OR - so I was not too upset because I was exhausted. I knew that she'd be safe. Within 10 minutes of her being brought to my room, I was BF. My milk didn't come in for about 3 days, and we had to supplement for 3 days b/c she lost more than 10% of her birth weight, but after those three days, I EBF for 6 months, and I am still BF at 9+ months.
I took my Boppy to the hospital, and I was able to use it. The Boppy fit around my waist, and my incision was much lower.
Good luck!
My favorite position has been side-lying. I stayed downstairs on the couch w/ my son the first 4 weeks, so this is what worked the best. Even now at night/in the early morning this is what I do. I like the Boppy, but honestly don't use it much while I'm BFing.
I didn't get to try to nurse him until about an hour and a half or so after he was born, but we also had some complications w/ him in the beginning (first APGAR 1 and had to be resuscitated.) It also took a little while for my BP to come up. He did not latch well the first time, but I think the nurse also gave up maybe a little too soon. Wish there had been an LC for the first time, instead. Didn't get to try again until a couple hours later when the LC came in. He had major latch issues and wouldn't really eat the rest of the day and all night. The next morning he was taken to NICU (breathing/fluid problems, dehydration, and jaundice.) The Dr said he would get IV and not anything orally. When we went to visit him later there was a pacifier in his mouth and they had already fed him formula. I was NOT happy. I thought we'd be ok since the Dr said he'd have IV only. Anyway, they set me up w/ a pump, which honestly is probably the only reason I had any success w/ BFing. My milk came in early and I just kept pumping as much as I could because I did not want my baby on formula! Had a horrible time when we got home, but by 3 weeks old he was done w/ the bottle and was EBF. We still have issues every once in a while, but it's worth it to me.
If you are adamant about breastfeeding make sure you make your intentions known to everyone on staff. And definitely take advantage of the LC as much as you can! Also, it might be tough in the beginning, but stick with it! Even knowing it wasn't *easy* I did not expect to have as many complications w/ it as I did. Since I wanted a non-medicated natural birth and had to have a C-section, I was shattered when it didn't seem BFing was working out, either. There were times it was so hard (physically/emotionally/etc.) I didn't think I could do it, but I didn't/won't give up, and am actually fortunate that it worked out the way it has.