Is there anyway I can make my body produce milk?

I had NO milk come in with DD - none, not a drop . She was an emerg C sect after getting stuck after 16 hrs of labour and getting to 8 cms. The LC at the hospital I was at was not very nice nor helpful - she would just grab DDs head and ram it to my boob untill we were both a crying mess. I tried to feed DD everyfeed first with boob but then would have to give formular as there was no milk. I was on the electric pump evey 2 hrs to try and stimulate my milk to come in and never got a drop.

DD was formular fed full time from then on.

NOw that I am pregnant with number 2 I am keen to give BF a red hot go again - and Im wondering if there is anything I can do before hand??

If I have a condition that make me not be able to BF then Im ok with that - I just want to give it all I can and have no regrets!

Any advice would be awesome!

Kate

Have you had an opportunity to debrief the first experience with a good LC or ABA counsellor?
I think your birth experience may well have had an impact on your ability to breastfeed. And maybe there was something else going on, but it's best to talk that through with an LC or someone like that.

Lining up some good help for after the birth is probably a good idea too - find your own LC to come to you and actually be helpful.

Are you able to join a local ABA group? It will help a lot to have built up that support before bubs comes so you have it there when you need it. I agree iwth what Marcellus said, it could have simply been the birth you had that affected things, so chances are very good that it will work out this time.

Thanks ladies. I will investigate the ABA. The LC I saw at the hospital is the local ABA rep but I'm sure that there must be more, we just didn't gel. I will also have a chat ti my MW at my next appointment and see what plans we can up with. I'm planning a VBAC so fingers crossed I'll get it and get the BF thing as well. Thanks again ladies.

Hi, there,

There is every chance you will produce milk for your baby. Medical conditions that mean mothers can't make milk are extremely rare, and even more rarely to mothers make no milk at all. Do you have any medical conditions that might mean you have difficulty making milk? (you can pm me if you would rather)
Colostrum can be quite shy stuff. It's there usually in small quantities - 5-7mls per feed on the first days - a teaspoon. It it goes straight from the breast into the baby there is literally nothing at all to see on the way in - you have to see what happens on the way out.
In most cases what we call *no milk* is the result of traumatic birth, mother and baby separation and poor information - too often the *norm* at Australian hospitals.
as they say - knowledge is power. Understanding how the system works and getting support you need is everything - and it's readily available - via the internet (ABA do email counselling) the phone (ABA again) qualified and experienced LCs and more. You can do no better than to go to an ABA breastfeeding class. And a discussion/debrief with an LC or counsellor can be a fabulous healing and learning experience

You could also try and express a bit of colostrum in the last weeks of pregnancy. I did this as I had GD in my first pregnancy so when bubs was born I had some stored up to give her (which was handy as we had attachment issues). Maybe you could see a LC before you have the baby? I know someone that did that as she had issues BF the first time so was more prepared the second time as she got some good advice. I'd give the ABA a call as the girls here have mentioned. Another option might be to get medication like Motillium? I also read on a forum about a girl whose milk came in late so for her second delivery she had the medication right from the time of delivery. Though every pregnancy is different so you might not have the same issues next time.

I don't know a lot about these things but I struggled with low supply for a while last time and I found out I was anemic. I stopped taking my multivitamins at birth and was so tired and really not looking after myself. This time I'm taking iron and doing what I can to boost my health before baby arrives and I'll keep these things up to hopefully help afterwards. Just wanted to add that getting yourself strong and healthy may help :D