Breastfeeding After a C-Section

Breastfeeding after a C-Section might be a bit more difficult for a few reasons. I have only given birth via C-Section before so I can't compare pain or problems faced but I can give you a few tips on common problems faced after a C-Section and how to overcome them so you are not discouraged when it comes to breastfeeding, there's always a way!






I'm not very mobile after birth:
When you have a C-Section you are given either a spinal or an epidural for the surgery. This leaves half of your body out of commission. It can take up to 5 hours for the feeling to come back into your legs after a spinal so lifting your baby, even getting to your baby is pretty difficult. This is where your other half comes in. Make him do all the heavy lifting, let him help you position the baby properly and comfortably.

My milk is taking longer to come in:
In most circumstances a C-Section is performed before your due date. In my case we opted for c-section because of a failed induction. I was to be induced because of the size of my baby, at 10lb 12 you can kind of see why. I had my section 10 days before my due date. Because you are forcing your body through a process it might not be ready for your body can some times take a little longer to catch up. Milk usually takes around 4 days to come in but can take 5 days after a c-section. Because of the little delay, Logan became quite dehydrated so I began pumping while still in the hospital to try and help the supply, at the same time we also made the decision to top his feeds up with formula. We only had to do this twice and at the time I HATED it, I fought back the tears as the midwife gave him the first bottle. I felt like such a failure that my body wasn't producing enough milk for him. However looking back on it, I think I was silly for getting so upset. What is a little formula in the grand scheme of things? It didn't hinder our breastfeeding journey in the slightest.

My incision is causing me a bit of pain:
The slight pain in my incision coupled with the weight of my baby made the conventional cradle position a little difficult. Luckily the midwife in our ward on the first night in hospital was fantastic. She spent loads of time with us trying to find the right position. We tried the rugby ball position, cross-craddle position then eventually we realised lying down was easiest for both of us and that's the way we've continued doing it for the last 7 months!

Did you have any problems with breastfeeding that you had to overcome?