Thank the Lord!! At last, the (nearly) proven link between drugs and inability or difficulty to breastfeed.

You all may remember that I posted a few months back about my guilt and frustration about not being able to breastfeed Rohan, as after my emergency c-section, I lost LOADS (very dramatic) of blood, had loads of drugs etc and was very poorly.
Now, Im not blaming the drugs or the c-section, those drugs and emergency surgery saved my precious little boy's life and I will be eternally grateful to that fact and the skill and care of the docs and nurses. But it does make sense that this could be the reason why breastfeeding can be so difficult after a traumatic/drug filled birth. Funnily, my doctor said the same thing to me when Rohan was born and i was having difficulty feeding him. He said "your body will make up the lost blood first before making milk, and the drugs sometimes stop the milk coming in".
Couple that little nugget of info with the fact that I was drugged to the eyeballs and asking for a McDonalds, poor baby Rohan had NO CHANCE of some booby milkshake from Mummy. Wee Lamb, so it was the COW AND GATE all the way lol!!!

Anyway, no specific point to my aimless ramblings so I will end now, and leave you with the thought of me demanding said McDonalds whilst off my t**s on morphine!

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Am imagining the scenario Vickie!

Assume you're talking about this though....

http://www.thebabywebsite.com/article.2 ... oblems.htm

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The last paragraph of that article is important. I knew that I was low risk, and I was adamant not to take any unecessary pain killers and drugs unless there were complications. I made Geoff aware of this and wrote it very clearly on my birth plan, and attached it on the front of my notes.

My reasoning for this (I won't go into detail) is that my Mother had a c-section after being induced and made to go through agonising natural labour when she had a prolapsed disk and gestational diabetes, so should have had a scheduled c-section anyway. Suffice is to say, it was an absolute nightmare, and she didn't have to go through the pain that she did, but she had no choice as she was up to her eyeballs on drugs and couldn't speak to protest!

Therefore, I wanted to feel everything, so that I could control what I was doing as best as I could and make every contraction count. I was offered drugs afterwards, but all I accepted was Ibruprofen and paracetamol (I'm weird like that, I'd rather suffer the pain, than take pain killers). Anyway, my point is that my Mother was able to BF (right up until my Brother was 2 years old) as she stayed in convalescence in hospital for 6 weeks after the operation and had excellent care and support. I was also able to breastfeed as I had wonderful care after the birth and could have done for much longer if my physiotherapist hadn't stated it would be best for me to stop.

I think although the drugs may have a role to play in impeding milk production, in fact it is now proven, I still think that a greater factor that determines successful breastfeeding is the support the woman gets after birth, as, like my Mother, people can breastfeed successfully after being on heavy medication and after having a C section. Both my Mother and I had extremely different births, but were both able to BF, but many women are just left to get on with it and are never told/shown what they should be doing. Even partners/husbands don't get involved as they see it as the 'woman's job' so the woman is just left there to figure it out on her own, and inevitably gives up. It seems to me, from the people I know and my own experience, that the 48 hours after the birth and the care you receive is crucial to whether a woman will breastfeed successfully or not.

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I agree that breastfeeding is v v difficult if you dont have support. I was out of hosp so quickly but no one had really spent any time helping me feed or checking latching on etc.. Thanksfully I have a fab MIL who was staying with us without her I would have given up definately. But with her support I got there in the end and fed for 9 months.

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Yeah, thats the one! I read it this afternoon!

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Hi Hon
It does seem to make sense doesnt it. I mean, of course your body will go into "fight or flight" mode if you are ill, and everything else comes second, so thats prob why your body makes the blood loss up first, to make you well, and the milk comes second, if it even comes in at all. And also like you said, having the support of a trained/knowledgeable person on breastfeeding is always a bonus, as for something thats supposed to be so natural - Its NOT always. Thanks x

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I completely agree, support is crucial

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I am sure that you will be snapped up on a ward. Welldone to you for offering.

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