first feed after c-section

[summerluven]

Hi girls.

I am probably going to have to have a c-section with my next baby (due to complications that arose after my son was born) and just have a question about the first breastfeed after the baby is born.

Everyone that I know who has had a c-section had to go to recovery first for at least an hour and could only feed their baby after this. I don't think I want to wait that long.

Has anyone ever requested to be able to feed the baby first before being sent to Recovery? What are their reasons for sending you straight there without feeding the baby first?

I hope this isn't one of those dumb questions or annoying questions. I am doing my research so that I can make a fully informed decision that is best for both me and my next baby.

Thanks.

[Phteven]

Welcome to BB

It's possible to have your baby with you in recovery. In lots of hospitals it's policy that the baby needs a carer/nurse if s/he is in recovery with you so some mums hire a private midwife to make sure they meet this requirement.

I had an unplanned c-section so I hadn't really considered this outcome and Imran spent his first hour on the outside being cuddled by DH.

[nikbrad]

Mackenzie was an emergency c/s and I was taken to recovery without her, but she spent time with DH until I was taken to the room. I guess with all the monitoring etc that was why that happened. With Boston I went to a private hospital and all 3 of us were kept together in recovery and they put Boston to my Breast pretty much as soon as we got into recovery and just did my obs around us. I think it might depend onthe hospitals policy.

[Tobily]

After my emergency c/s I requested baby to be in recovery with me and for someone in recovery to help me to feed him (I had written this in the "just in case I have a c/section" part of my birth plan.)

So he was waiting in recovery with DH for me when I was taken in, and the nurse offered to help me feed him. Unfortunately I couldn't at that time - my BP and body temp were both really low and I felt too weak and woozy to manage it.

I ended up giving him his first feed back in my room when he was about 2 hours old. He latched on fine and off we went from there with no dramas which was lucky I think considering the delay we had, I know alot of women have endless trouble if there's a delay like that, esp after a caesar.

If you want it, ask - there is absolutely no legitimate medical reason the hospital shouldn't be able to satisfy a basic request like that. And if they say no, ask them why. Be pushy - you only get one chance lol.

[saslia]

With my DD it was an emergency c/s and I had a general so it was about an hour later that I b/f.
I had a planned c/s with my DS and he came to recovery with me and b/f there.

[Feathertop]

We had a m/w with us the whole time, actually she was with the baby, and she brought Angus in to recovery almost as soon as I got there. He had 2 feeds in recovery (at 1am) and then we all went back to the room together.

[mrscricket]

I fed Tom in recovery also. After i had him, he went off with DH (somewhere? i never asked where ) while they finished with me and then he was brought straight to me in recovery and had his first feed. It was a great experience. The midwife was with us the whole time and she took photos for us. Em

[AnyDream]

I had an elective c/s and the main thing in my birth plan was about keeping my baby with me & attempting to b/f in theatre (& if not in theatre then in recovery). I asked that a midwife be made available in order for this to happen. On the day they started going on about how busy they were and it might not happen but in the end the theatre midwife just did it. My DD's apgars were really good so they put her onto my chest fairly quickly, then we unwrapped her for skin to skin and offered the nipple but she just nuzzled around. Then the midwife came up to recovery so DD could stay with me, & took the extra time (even tho she was supposed to go straight back down to theatre) to help DD to latch on & she had a good feed. I wasn't in recovery long and was seperated from DD only as long as it took for the orderly to arrive and wheel me up to the ward.

My point is there is no good reason why you can't be supported to bf in theatre or even in recovery except midwife availability (and established hospital routines). It helped that I was in a big public hospital which is accredited as BFing friendly. I also had a really simple birth plan with only a few things on it and this point was bolded and underlined so it really stood out as the most important thing. But in the end it came down to the willingness on the day of that midwife (bless her) to make it happen.

I would really encourage you to start asking for this as soon as you can, bring it up at every visit at the hospital if it's what you want. I was in a daze of happiness for days and I think it also helped me to stay positive even tho I went on to get a wound infection that lingered on for weeks.

[Mother Goose]

Nikbrad - which hospital was that? I'm not far from you and looking at options for when I have another baby...

TIA

MG

[Beach Mama]

DH held Izzy in theatre - she was all bundled up and he held her near my face and hands and we spent about 30 minutes like that just gazing at each other! I then went to recovery and about 5 minutes after I was there I fed her and had skin to skin contact for about an hour. My midwife was very adamant about this and really pushed the recovery nurses for me to be able to do this.

When I was told I was haivng a c/s ( after a long induced labour) this was the first thing I asked for and was told that yes I could - IF the ward wasnt too busy and the midwife could be spared. Things may have been very different if she was able to be freed up from the ward so try to check if this is the case at your hospital. The reasoning is that the recovery nurses are there to look after you and not baby if that makes sense! In fact thats what the nurse said while the midwife was pushing her - she said "Im here to look after the mother right now -not the baby !!" so Im very glad she was there!Hth - Good luck!

[Berry]

With my elective c-section, I had a cuddle with baby wrapped and placed beside me while I was being stitched in theatre, and immediately when moved to recovery baby was placed to my breast for her first feed - so she was fed quite quickly after birth. She latched on wonderfully and fed like a star. It was a wonderful relief to have this early experience. I asked as I was led into theatre when I would be able to breastfeed the baby, and was told as a matter of course I would do this as soon as I move to recovery and it was nice to know this would happen as soon as the op was over.

[tiggerandpooh]

Astons birth was my best experience. I had GD with him, so he would have to be monitored for 48hrs after he was born to ensure his BSL didn't drop to much. I was so worried about this happening that I asked if I could express some colustrom to give him in the event that a midwife couldn't come with us to theatre. I was incredibly lucky. Aston was born and within minutes - probably two at the most, he was placed on my chest and at the breast. He had a little suckle, and we cuddled, then the midwife asked me if it was ok if they could give him the colustrom via a syringe. I was ok with this as I didn't want his BSL to drop and knew that this could make a difference. after the midwife had given it to him, he was placed back on my breast, and went off to sleep. He stayed there while they stitched me up, while they wheeled me into recovery, and I was lucky enough to have a recovery nurse who was also studying to be a lactation consultant!! He stayed with me when they wheeled me up to our room as well. It was amazing, and very special. It was about 4 hours after he was born that the special care nurse came and got him to test his BSL (he had to be tested every four hours) and they weighed him and measured him etc then. DH went with them to do that. I was ready by then, as I was starting to get a little uncomfortable as my legs returned. While they were off doing that, the midwifes gave me a sponge bath, and then Aston came back with good BSL results. I couldn't have been happier. Especially as my last birth experience at the same hospital 8 years before had been pretty horrible.

[poppysmum]

I had emergency c at Birralee in Box Hill Vic. The two m/ws put bub to breast for the whole hour in recovery, though bubs did not eat we still had skin to skin he whole time.

[summerluven]

These are all really good stories. Thanks girls. Now I know what to ask for and what to expect etc, and that I do have a right to request this.

Thanks heaps!
littlefig

[Kelly W]

I had my twins & DH with me in recovery and fed ADam then, tried to feed Hayden but he wasn't interested