breastfeeding after c-section

[@llli*ryansmomy]

I think the reasons why breastfeeding is sometimes more difficult after a c-section include:
1. Abdominal pain from the incision makes positioning more difficult.
2. C-sections often mean early separation of mom and baby- mom often cannot hold or nurse her baby for several hours after the surgery. And while the baby is waiting for mom to be stitched up and recover, there's a good chance that his/her first feeding will be formula from a bottle, which can impact his ability/desire to latch onto the breast.

I wanted to comment on this - my baby's first feeding was from me about an hour and half after surgery. My husband held him skin to skin as soon as he could and then gave him to me as soon as I was out of recovery. I was very clear to the hospital staff - NO FORMULA, NO SUGAR WATER, NO PACIFIERS. Make a sign for his bassinet in the nursery if you want. There is really no reason for a healthy normal baby to have formula after a c-section, he can wait until mom can be with him. I really feel like giving them formula right away can undermine the breastfeeding relationship.

C-sectioned babies can and do breastfeed just fine all the time. Trust your body!

[@llli*andrea.wolford]

yup my hubby was with sarah any time she wasn't with me.

[@llli*still.here]

Make your desires clear and make sure your partner or whoever is going to be with you knows and is willing to stand up for you in case you aren't able to do it for yourself.

Nursing can be harder after a section, but it isn't always. I did not have any problems nursing my daughter after my section. But she was not removed from me at all. I had her with me 24/7 (or however long I was in the hospital). My milk did not come in for about 5 days but I did not supplement. I put her to my breast every 2 hours at first without fail and let her nurse as long as she wanted. After a few days I relaxed and let her tell me when she wanted to nurse. If there was every any doubt about whether she was showing hunger signs I offered my breast.

Some tips:
-make it clear you want your baby to room in with you and not stay in the nursery

-keep the baby with you in the OR as long as there is no medical issue requiring him/her to be removed. If baby has to go elsewhere make sure there is someone (partner, doula, grandparent, whoever) to go with baby

-put a sign on the bassinet about no formula or pacifiers

-learn NOW about potential problems so you can determine for yourself whether supplementation is necessary (it's usually not).

-Nurse as soon as you can, but don't stress too much if baby isn't receptive in the beginning, just keep offering.

[@llli*pdwife]

I've had three c-sections and have never had any issues breastfeeding. I would say the only difficult thing was getting into a comfortable position afterwards, but the feedings were fine.

[@llli*still.here]

Oh yeah, positioning can be hard. I recommend some type of nursing pillow to help hold baby up.

Also try to fix yourself up a little nursing nest and 'baby station' ahead of time. And if you have stairs make sure you have one both upstairs and downstairs so you're not having to run up and down. By baby station I mean a comfy place to sit and nurse (preferably a chair with arm rests or a bed with LOTS of pillows), with water, snacks, diapers, wipes, burp cloths, blankets, change of clothes (just in case), book to read or tv to watch, safe place to lay baby down, etc.

[@llli*amysmom]

I wanted to add something.

My baby was in the NICU due to various reasons after my c-section. She needed supplementation.

*IF* there's a need for formula, it is NOT the end of breast feeding. You just need to work along with whatever your situation is and get through. It can work. I would hate for you to think that *IF* your baby does get formula for some reason that it marks the end. It isn't and it's far from it. :

Chances are that you'll be fine.

[@llli*ooky]

I am another one who had no problem BF after CS. I was in a lot of pain after as I had an emergency after 77 hours of labor, so I basically had much of the pain of a vaginal birth and CS combined, plus they had to put two incisions to get her out as she was stuck in the birth canal, one of which was not in the normal place and hurt a lot more. You will not have those issues if it is planned, so that's good!

Even after all that, I had plenty of colostrum and my milk came in at 2 days. She fed well from the beginning (was a little sleepy the first 24 hours but after 77 hours of labor who wouldn't be?) She fed right after the stiching up, about 45 min post birth. We also roomed in. I felt both of those things really helped get us off to the best start.

Basically, the ways it was maybe harder was the pain and immobility I had, which made it hard to get her into bed with me (I had to use my arms for raising/lowering myself). So DH just had to bring her to me for a bit, and I co-slept and kept her in bed with me a lot, like an extended nursing vacation. I couldn't lay on my side for about 2 weeks, so had to go with the cradle hold instead of side-lying for that time. But what I'm trying to say here is that it was just a sort of rough recovery in general, BFing was made a bit harder than normal but formula feeding would have also been a bit harder than normal, kwim. I do think keeping the pain down to manageable levels with the meds helped my milk production, because it helped me sleep and reduced my stress.

One good tip I had was to hold a pillow over your incision while coughing/laughing. That helped a lot! And be sure to take it easy while your incision heals, because I've had a cousin and a fired who re-opened theirs at 3 weeks from doing to much too soon, and that sounded terrible.

[@llli*littleiandjmomma]

I think my c-section with my first may have contributed to my problems with breastfeeding him. I did labour first so my body was aware that I was supposed to be having a baby soon. He was sleepy, wouldn't latch and then once he woke, he just screamed and screamed. Obviously it wassn't the sole problem. I had a repeat section with a trial of labour with my second and have had very little problems. He latched right on in the recovery room and pretty much hasn't unlatched since. Every baby is differnt. Just because you had problems with one, doesn't mean that you will with another. Good luck!

[@llli*sch.mommy]

great advice from previous posters

Also, the amount of weight loss (for the baby) after a c-section usually looks greater than that of a baby born naturally. That's because of all of the fluids pumped through you in prep for surgery. Baby's birth weight is inflated so it LOOKS like he lost more weight. Just keep that in mind in case the doctors push supplementing on you.

also, I used the "breast friend" breastfeeding pillow. It straps around your back, and it keeps everything from moving (which helped the pain from my incision).

[@llli*ldfinder]

Thank you for all of the great advice! It really makes me feel better to know that so many people have had c-sections and gone on to successfully breastfeed. I had problems last time, but I was uninformed and threw in the towel too quickly. This time, I'm hoping that things will be better. It sounds like I just need to keep at it and get him latched on as much as possible. I also need to be patient about my milk supply coming in. Thanks again for the words of wisdom.