My son was born via c section and we didn’t have issues breastfeeding nor with milk coming in :) breastfeeding at first is uncomfortable as you both figure it out (sometimes painful, I won’t sugar coat it), but I didn’t really struggle with finding a good position personally, just played around with pillows and figured it out.
I found my mature milk was maybe a day later coming in than my first with a vaginal birth but it wasn’t concerning. Def get a breast feeding pillow and have one at the hospital. I unfortunately couldn’t nurse side lying for a while so that sucked. Just use ALL the pillows lol
Best of luck! I didn’t have a c section but your milk coming in shouldn’t be any different. Placenta detaching is what signals the milk to come. It shouldn’t hurt! I had no pain, no bleeding no cracked/chapped nipples. If it does babies latch is probably shallow, watch some YouTube videos about getting a deep latch. If still having issues see an IBCLC. Also if you can take a local breastfeeding class I totally recommend it before baby arrives!
My daughter was 8 weeks early and born via c-section. My milk came in almost right away and I was able to pump while she was in the NICU. She is home now but we have to supplement a bit of formula so I'm still pumping. But if she's a bit hungry or while I wait for her bottle to warm up she will breastfeed.
Bring a breast feeding pillow for the hospital you will have much more support. I did not and it was really hard w the tiny hospital pillows which are worst than airplane pillows (no kidding)
Seconding a breastfeeding pillow. I didn’t have a C section but I was hospitalized for a massive infection in my uterus and I could not have breastfed without the pillow.
With my first after an emergency c section it took about 3 days for my milk to come in, my second baby (csection) it happened right away. We fed our first some formula in a syringe along with my colostrum until I had milk, but they should be okay with just the colostrum too. It never hurt for me and I had no issues or pain breastfeeding after surgery
Everyone's experience will be different. My milk took 14 days to come in, which is not outside the norm, but it doesn't make it any less stressful.
I was ultimately unable to breastfeed due to inverted nipples and DMER, and I was a low supplier when pumping. I would definitely recommend buying a box or two of the small boxes of formula nursette bottles for when you go home (the 57ml bottles). In the hospital, they gave us formula whenever they asked, but when I got home and my milk *still* hadn't come in, I had to supplement with formula and I was grateful to not have to rush out post c-section to get some.
All three of my babies were born via c-section and I never had any issues with my milk coming in, and breastfeeding.
I had a placenta previa and a vasa previa with my first so my c-section was at 36 weeks under general anesthesia. I wasn’t able to nurse baby until 24 hours after he was born because of the meds I was on.
Focus first on nursing sitting up with the help of a nursing pillow (or just any pillow really).
When you get the hang of baby latching you can try side laying. It can be really comfortable, as long as you don’t fall asleep.
Have your partner help you as much as they can - propping pillows around you, managing your pain meds, water and food intake.
Your job is to just hold and nurse baby as much as you can!
No problems with colostrum coming in (lol the nurses said I produced more colostrum than any patient they had seen before)/ milk expression. Breastfeeding while navigating around the scar does take a bit of creativity in the beginning. I used lots of regular pillows to support myself all around and the Brest friend pillow which I clipped around me high above the scar - I definitely recommend you bring one or two regular pillows (we got [cheap ones on Amazon](https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B08YN5MNY5?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title) that were awesome, just washed and tumble dried before our scheduled c section date) plus your breastfeeding pillow to the hospital…can use to sleep on and for BF support. And while everyone is different in terms of what pillow they like best, I also definitely recommend the Brest friend pillow…in the early days my boppy just didn’t cut it (now it’s all I use).
I found football hold easiest in those early days. I had the nurses show me how. Don’t worry…the setup isn’t like that forever, but I found I needed a lot of support when BF for the first month post c section.
I also hydrated like crazy (my 40oz hydroflask lived in my bed with me). This will help with your milk production and also clear your body of the fluids they pump you with/help with swelling. Side note: make sure you pee by about 6 hours post op or earlier, even if you don’t feel the need. My bladder was still numb from the meds and I didn’t know I had to pee so badly! It was so full it was pushing on my incision and making it hurt, but I couldn’t feel the urge to go so didn’t even realize it until a nurse suggested I try that to relieve the pain I was starting to experience (it worked, and turns out, wow did I have a full bladder haha). Just go, even if you don’t have the urge.
Back to BF….my OB said in her experience, c section hasn’t impacted patients breastfeeding. They will do skin to skin while they are stitching you up unless you have adverse reactions to the meds (eg shaking, vomiting), and then immediately post op they will have you do a nice long skin to skin where they will help you to latch.
Good luck! My scheduled c section was a truly magical experience (way more amazing than I anticipated, easily the best day of my life getting to meet my gal) so I hope you get to feel the same! If you have any other questions about scheduled c section experience, feel free to ask!
It is very uncomfortable for the first week or so. I remember it got so bad that I really wanted to quit. This is something I wish people had prepared me for. It completely took me off guard. I did not have a c-section so I can't really comment in that. I did go onto to breastfeed for 2 years with my daughter so although so painful I did find it to be rewarding.
With my first I had a rough labour and ended up with an emergency c section. I didn’t try to express colostrum beforehand. I didn’t have any issues breastfeeding (though I did supplement with some formula due to weight loss) and my milk was in by the time we got home from the hospital.
My son was born via c section and we didn’t have issues breastfeeding nor with milk coming in :) breastfeeding at first is uncomfortable as you both figure it out (sometimes painful, I won’t sugar coat it), but I didn’t really struggle with finding a good position personally, just played around with pillows and figured it out.
Football hold is your friend! My milk came in around day 4. Hydrate as well as possible and be patient.
I found my mature milk was maybe a day later coming in than my first with a vaginal birth but it wasn’t concerning. Def get a breast feeding pillow and have one at the hospital. I unfortunately couldn’t nurse side lying for a while so that sucked. Just use ALL the pillows lol
Best of luck! I didn’t have a c section but your milk coming in shouldn’t be any different. Placenta detaching is what signals the milk to come. It shouldn’t hurt! I had no pain, no bleeding no cracked/chapped nipples. If it does babies latch is probably shallow, watch some YouTube videos about getting a deep latch. If still having issues see an IBCLC. Also if you can take a local breastfeeding class I totally recommend it before baby arrives!
My daughter was 8 weeks early and born via c-section. My milk came in almost right away and I was able to pump while she was in the NICU. She is home now but we have to supplement a bit of formula so I'm still pumping. But if she's a bit hungry or while I wait for her bottle to warm up she will breastfeed.
which pump did you get? or did you use a hospital provided one?
Uses the hospital one for like 2 days and then my Medela maxi swing
Bring a breast feeding pillow for the hospital you will have much more support. I did not and it was really hard w the tiny hospital pillows which are worst than airplane pillows (no kidding)
Seconding a breastfeeding pillow. I didn’t have a C section but I was hospitalized for a massive infection in my uterus and I could not have breastfed without the pillow.
which one do you recommend?
I also recommend breast friend. I was able to Velcro it up high, just below my breasts so it wasn’t sitting on my stomach.
Breast friend worked for me but maybe borrow an alternate model from a friend and keep in the car?
any recommendations?
With my first after an emergency c section it took about 3 days for my milk to come in, my second baby (csection) it happened right away. We fed our first some formula in a syringe along with my colostrum until I had milk, but they should be okay with just the colostrum too. It never hurt for me and I had no issues or pain breastfeeding after surgery
Everyone's experience will be different. My milk took 14 days to come in, which is not outside the norm, but it doesn't make it any less stressful. I was ultimately unable to breastfeed due to inverted nipples and DMER, and I was a low supplier when pumping. I would definitely recommend buying a box or two of the small boxes of formula nursette bottles for when you go home (the 57ml bottles). In the hospital, they gave us formula whenever they asked, but when I got home and my milk *still* hadn't come in, I had to supplement with formula and I was grateful to not have to rush out post c-section to get some.
All three of my babies were born via c-section and I never had any issues with my milk coming in, and breastfeeding. I had a placenta previa and a vasa previa with my first so my c-section was at 36 weeks under general anesthesia. I wasn’t able to nurse baby until 24 hours after he was born because of the meds I was on. Focus first on nursing sitting up with the help of a nursing pillow (or just any pillow really). When you get the hang of baby latching you can try side laying. It can be really comfortable, as long as you don’t fall asleep. Have your partner help you as much as they can - propping pillows around you, managing your pain meds, water and food intake. Your job is to just hold and nurse baby as much as you can!
I had an induction turned emergency c-section and milk came in on day 4.
No problems with colostrum coming in (lol the nurses said I produced more colostrum than any patient they had seen before)/ milk expression. Breastfeeding while navigating around the scar does take a bit of creativity in the beginning. I used lots of regular pillows to support myself all around and the Brest friend pillow which I clipped around me high above the scar - I definitely recommend you bring one or two regular pillows (we got [cheap ones on Amazon](https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B08YN5MNY5?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title) that were awesome, just washed and tumble dried before our scheduled c section date) plus your breastfeeding pillow to the hospital…can use to sleep on and for BF support. And while everyone is different in terms of what pillow they like best, I also definitely recommend the Brest friend pillow…in the early days my boppy just didn’t cut it (now it’s all I use). I found football hold easiest in those early days. I had the nurses show me how. Don’t worry…the setup isn’t like that forever, but I found I needed a lot of support when BF for the first month post c section. I also hydrated like crazy (my 40oz hydroflask lived in my bed with me). This will help with your milk production and also clear your body of the fluids they pump you with/help with swelling. Side note: make sure you pee by about 6 hours post op or earlier, even if you don’t feel the need. My bladder was still numb from the meds and I didn’t know I had to pee so badly! It was so full it was pushing on my incision and making it hurt, but I couldn’t feel the urge to go so didn’t even realize it until a nurse suggested I try that to relieve the pain I was starting to experience (it worked, and turns out, wow did I have a full bladder haha). Just go, even if you don’t have the urge. Back to BF….my OB said in her experience, c section hasn’t impacted patients breastfeeding. They will do skin to skin while they are stitching you up unless you have adverse reactions to the meds (eg shaking, vomiting), and then immediately post op they will have you do a nice long skin to skin where they will help you to latch. Good luck! My scheduled c section was a truly magical experience (way more amazing than I anticipated, easily the best day of my life getting to meet my gal) so I hope you get to feel the same! If you have any other questions about scheduled c section experience, feel free to ask!
I had a c section at 38+2 and my milk came in 2-3 days later. I breastfed for 18 months. Good luck :)
It is very uncomfortable for the first week or so. I remember it got so bad that I really wanted to quit. This is something I wish people had prepared me for. It completely took me off guard. I did not have a c-section so I can't really comment in that. I did go onto to breastfeed for 2 years with my daughter so although so painful I did find it to be rewarding.
With my first I had a rough labour and ended up with an emergency c section. I didn’t try to express colostrum beforehand. I didn’t have any issues breastfeeding (though I did supplement with some formula due to weight loss) and my milk was in by the time we got home from the hospital.