breastfeeding after c-section

Will I be able to breastfeed my twins after I have a c-section? Plese share your story even if you were unsuccessful.

[tiredbuthappy]

I had 2 sections. My first was due to severe preeclampsia and at 36 weeks. Because my baby was so small, they did take her to the nursery to be checked before bring her to me in recovery to nurse. However, she was never able to nurse due to feeding issues from being born so early (although many babies can). My c-section had nothing to do with it though. I tried to nurse with the help of the nurses and LCs the entire time I was in e hospital and weeks beyond. My milk came in just fine, and I was able to exclusively pump.

My second was a repeat csection. My OB was aware of my desire to nurse and made them keep the baby in the OR while I was being closed up so that she could come with meto recovery and nurse before her bath. The assisting surgeon wasn't thrilled and made comments about the screaming baby in the room. Haha. But my OB knows that it is best to nurse as soon as possible. Once I was closed up and cleaned up, they covered me with a blanket, laid her between my legs, and she was wheeled with me to recovery where DH was waiting for us. We got her to latch instantly.

Make sure everyone in the hospital knows your desire to nurse. If the babies are healthy, you may get to nurse in recovery. The nurses and lactation consultant can help you with positioning. In those early weeks, I found it easiest to nurse in the football hold and you could do that with 2 babies. Especially since you will be nursing twins, I would take a breast feeding class and maybe consult a lactation consultant in advance for advice, and to have her on standby.

Good luck. twins! How exciting!

[AnnieBrooke]

No problem nursing after a C-section here, either.  It didn't even dawn on me to worry about it, the scar is so low (bikini line) and the baby is so little.  I didn't have anything to compare to in terms of the uterus contracting back into its normal shape, but it didn't seem very painful.  (I think it contracts anyway, so nursing doesn't add to that sensation.)  The only comment I have about nursing twins is that my cousin who had twins said that everyone she knows gives it up after a while.  (That said, my sister nursed her first baby so long that she was still nursing when her second baby was born two years later, and she continued to nurse them both.  Of course, baby #1 was not a baby any more and was just doing some comfort snuggling at night, but still, if she can do that, you can probably nurse twins!)  Please remember that if you do wind up supplementing with formula, you can still nurse also.  It's not all one or the other.

[tiredbuthappy]

As for uterus contractions, I was on pain meds for the section so they weren't so bad after the section.

[Ecologic]

My breastfeeding experience after my C-section was a bit rocky at first. I had an emergency C-section and never felt any contractions. My baby had no problems latching on from the beginning (an hour after delivery) and I had no pain at all... except after 3 days he had lost a lot of weight and the doctors forced me to give him formula with a bottle - maybe the C-section was making me produce less milk?

I was still breastfeeding him and pumping as well but when we came home... but he refused to breastfeed anymore! It took me almost a week to make him breastfeed again. After that he became a real boob-addict, nursing way more often than the average baby.

I recently read that after a C-section it's a good idea to start pumping from the beginning so you up your milk production: you may want to think about that idea for your twins if you have the energy to pump.