Has anyone told the Hospital that u wanted to breastfeed only to discover?
that your baby was given a bottle because u took too long in recovery after a c-section?
Sorry this is kinda why I posted the thread to find out if you can breast feed in theatre rather than the baby having to wait till u get back to the room. This happen to my sister-in-law and she had all sorts of problems getting my nephew to latch on.
It is well within your rights to tell them not to give your child Formula under any circumstances while you are in recovery. Many women have even arranged to BF their baby in recovery too. I think sometimes they just don't want to tide over a hungry newborn with cuddles until you can get back...
No, but your SIL should make a complaint to the hospital about it. I didn't see my bub until nearly 2 hours after a c/section. She wasn't given a bottle but DH says the midwives were getting worried.
I had the problem of being forced to put DD on formula on day 3 because of slight jaundice and dehydration and the midwives decided that I was not going to produce enough milk because of the traumatic birth we had. This resulted in all sorts of b/feeding issues!!!!!!
I would be raining bricks on that hospital for assaulting my baby in that way. It is utterly unethical not to mention dangerous and unnecessary. But the hard part with hospitals is you have little or no control a lot of the time and it's almost solely dependant on what staff you get. Great staff, no worries. It's one of the many many many reasons I'm a homebirther No nursery, no one I don't know in my birth space!
Yep i would make a formal complaint against the hospital if I was your SIL.
I had it in my birthplan that under no circumstances was my baby to be given formula unless it was at my request and by me.
My little girl was born jaundice and with a low body temp after a traumatic birth, but the nurses first tried to help me breast feed and when she wouldn't attach (we didn't have much time as she had to go back in the humidity crib) they ASKED me if it was alright to give her a bottle.
After an emergency c-section and small complications with Emily, she was rushed to the special care nursery and i didnt get to see her (i got a quick kiss in just after she came out) until the next day, the nurse would come and express my colostrum and fed it to her via a medicine cup.
I guess if u are asked and u relise for some reason there isnt nothing u can do (latching problems and milk coming in problems) formula is the only option, with me it was medication that stood in the way of breast feeding. My SIL wasnt even told that the bottle was given to her son. My MIL read it on the feeding chart and told her. She wasnt too concerned at the time though cos she had a very very traumatic induced labour that ended in 3 blood transfusion. Im amazed she kept the breast feeding up actually with the amount of problems she had with it. She is very strong willed. I dont know if I would have kept up with it under that much stress and preasure. Its probably going to be harder this time around cos I know the formula is just there if I need it. I will just have to try my hardest and persist with it. U never know. We might actually be fine.
My boy had swolled a lot of blood at delievery, and twice nurses tried to help me feed him but he wouldn't latch on (had a very bad stomach ache and puked blood for 3 days - never going to be a swimmer.. couldn't keep his mouth closed )
So the first night, (i delivered 10.40, and this had to be around 3 or 4 am), they were getting a bit worried about him and asked me if they could try him on formula (which he spat out anyway).. I agreed, but was upset as they told me it was kosher and it wasn't (which is my fault really, i can't expect them to know, and it used to be, so they probably thought it still was, but i was to out of it to check it out at 4am)...
Next time (not that i want to formula feed, and after my son got over the tummy ache, we fed for 15 months), we are going to bring a few of our own sachets of kosher formula, so if it is needed, at least i know that that part is sorted out.
But we are also going to write explicity on our birth plan what we want in terms of this, as sometimes you say thing but then shifts change etc and unless its documented (not that i'm saying it alright, but just that it might not have malicious intent) your wishes might not be known.
One of the mums from mothers group had this experience. She had a traumatic birth and finally delivered via CS. When her son was born he did not have regular breathing so they rushed him into ICU and had him under observation. As he was settling, mum was being stitched up DH went up to see his son. The nurses were about to give him formula until he protested. He was very very insistent that his wife had enough milk and someone could get the colostrum from her for their son's first feed.
Thank goodness he was there to protest for her otherwise they would have made their own decisions without asking either parent. The support person is great - they can fight for you when you're too exhausted/dazed to understand what's going on until its too late.
Well this isn't really relevent to me because
A. I didn't really breastfeed; and
B. Didn't have a C-Section;
but my hospital has just started a baby friendly initiative, where they don't even have any formula available so, unless prepared beforehand, you don't have much choice but to breastfeed. If you decide to formula feed, you have to take your formula in with you.
I made very clear at my pre-admission phone consult that under no circumstances should Charlie be given formula without my permission. The midwife told me that as a BFing-friendly hospital, they wouldn't anyway, but I still insisted she make a formal note of it.
I would have kicked up a humungous stink had they offered him a bottle without my permission, and I reckon, if I were your SIL, I'd be writing a massive letter of complaint to the hospital.
Its funny u should say something about the hospital not supplying formula anymore. My cousin has had one breast inplant due to one of her boobies not growing at all and requested first to bottle feed as she had major problems last time boobie feeding. Anyways she had to take in all her own bottles and take in a can of formula and even though she did that the nurses still hassled her about breast feeding. I think this is crossing the line a bit though. If a mother wants to bottle feed and she has done the right thing and bought everything in to do so I think maybe they should have just let her go.
I know when I was on medication and couldnt breast feed I was ready to go on the defensive about with my hospital up here in QLD because of my cousins experience but they were totally fine with it. Maybe cos they new there was nothing else I could do they just didnt push the fact.
My cousin even got a remark from one of the nurses as she went to go and make up the bottles "look this baby over here is going to have a proper feed". She discharged herself straight after that and reported the nurse.
In the information package they sent out from my hospital I did notice too that they have asked if u are going to formula feed, to bring in a can now and I didnt have to do that with my daughter so they all must be going that way now.
This is slightly off topic (sorry) but with regard to hospitals not providing formula - I assume that they still have some in stock somewhere as I can imagine situations where for whatever reason a mother had every intention on breast feeding but then can't.
Is her support person supposed to find a 24Hr chemist around and then make a decision about what sort of formula is best for the bub?
It seems to me that the pendulum has swung too far the other way.
Taffy, hospitals would have it on hand to use if absolutely necessary. The hospital I got to tell you in an info leaflet to bring in your own bottles and formula etc but I do know they have it there JIC - they aren't going to let your baby starve if something happened to need to use it. I think it is more that if you know you are going to FF, then they are on the same formula from day one and not having a few days on one kind and then you swapping to another kind once you're home.
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Has anyone told the Hospital that u wanted to breastfeed only to discover?
No nursery, no one I don't know in my birth space!
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