Questions about breastfeeding?

Question

I am currently 24 weeks 3 days pregnant!!! I plan to breastfeed. I haven't really been "exposed" to it, but I would really like to try with my first. I'm a little scared, but know that it would be best for my baby.

I'm new to "mommyhood" and wanted to know, after delivery how soon do you begin to breastfeed? Immediately, or after the baby is cleaned up, weighed and brought back? I plan to "room-in" so that I can feed on demand, but was just curious how soon the baby needed to be exposed to the breast.

Thank you in advance for any information.

Answer 1

I have a four month old and had a c section and was in the hospital for 4 days.  As soon as they cleaned my little man up they brought him to me in the recovery room and put him on my breast instantly. Even though my milk hadn't come in yet they said the yellow stuff, which is called Colustrum (sp?) was what was very important. they called it "liquid gold" lol.  I tried to breast feed once we got home but it was to hard for me.  I wish you luck and congrats!!

Answer 2

Please go to La Leche League meetings now, while you are still pregnant.  Seeing breastfeeding and knowing people who breastfeed are the biggest predictors of success.

Your baby should not be removed from your chest/belly until AFTER they have nursed.  Weighing can wait, also there is no reason for your baby to be out of your sight for a second.

Also breastfeeding immediately after birth prevents post-partum hemorrhage better than a man-made drug.

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/01startin...

The baby should be at the breast immediately after birth. The vast majority of newborns can be at the breast within minutes of birth. Indeed, research has shown that, given the chance, many babies only minutes old will crawl up to the breast from the mother’s abdomen, latch on and start breastfeeding all by themselves. This process may take up to an hour or longer, but the mother and baby should be given this time together to start learning about each other. Babies who "self-attach" run into far fewer breastfeeding problems. This process does not take any effort on the mother’s part, and the excuse that it cannot be done because the mother is tired after labour is nonsense, pure and simple. Incidentally, studies have also shown that skin-to-skin contact between mothers and babies keeps the baby as warm as an incubator (see section on skin to skin contact).

Breastcrawl

http://breastcrawl.org/

(video of a newborn self-latching and the WHO compain to prevent infant mortality but getting babies to breastfeed within the first hour)

http://www.breastfeed-essentials.com/goo...

Breastfeed early

Attempt to put your baby to breast as soon after birth as possible - preferably within the first hour. Early breastfeedings give baby the chance to practice breastfeeding before he enters a normal newborn state of sleepiness that can last for hours or days and before your breast becomes overfull with milk, perhaps making latch-on more difficult. This early nursing also helps your uterus contract to help prevent postpartum hemorrhag

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/prepare...

Immediately After Delivery

GET IT ON: Breastfeed your baby as soon as possible after you deliver. Babies who are breastfed within the first hour generally have more successful breastfeeding experiences than those who aren't. Any medical procedures that aren't urgent may be delayed to accommodate this important first step, and many procedures can be done while the baby is breastfeeding.

La Leche League

FREE in person breastfeeding support and meetings

International: http://www.llli.org/webindex.html

USA: 1-877-4-LaLeche

Answer 3

I nursed both my boys within 20 min. of them being born.  They both latched on and did a pretty good job.  Nurse as often as the baby wants (which will be alot in the first few weeks)  Congrats mommy on wanting to give your little one the best start in life that you can.

Answer 4

It is best to nurse before they take them away for the bath and weighing...that usually takes quite awhile.  Right after the baby is born, the doctor will look the baby over and wipe them off and give them to you...that is when you should try to nurse for the first time.

Be sure to take a breastfeeding class beforehand and find out if the hospital has a lactation consultant (if not contact LLL to find one).  Also if you want to be successful, go into with the mindset of "I am going to breastfeed" not "I am going to try to breastfeed".

Answer 5

I had my first baby 5 weeks ago, and let me say first and foremost, congrats!!!  Having a baby will completely and totally change you life, but if you are ready for it, it is sooo worth it.  I would never change anything about him!!

Second, you can begin breastfeeding as soon as you want, but you really should let the hospital (if that is were you're having your baby) staff clean up the blood and other fluids.  Babies are not born all pink and cute!  You have to get all the gunk off them first!

I would go to your local La Leche League meeting if you can.  You'll get loads of hints, tips and just be exposed to other breastfeeding moms and I think that will help you.  You can also see if your hospital offers breastfeeding support classes or anything.  That would be another good resource to expose you to everything and you'll be able to have all of your questions answered!!

Always remember that breastfeeding is NOT an instinctive thing for you or the baby.  The baby knows how to root (turning his/her head from side to side when their cheek is stroked to find the nipple) and suck but you have to take the lead and really guide her.  It takes practice and lots of it!!  Do not ever give up on it.  If you need help in the hospital talk to the lactaton consultant, its their job to hel you!!  Its hard and it can really hurt for the first week or two, but I promise, it really does go away!!  The more you want to do this, the easier it will be.  Breastmilk is the perfect food for a baby and baby was made for breastmilk!  You body actually changes the nutrients over time to suit her needs!  Lets see formula do that!

Good luck!!!  You can totally do it!

Answer 6

I always did so immediately; the second they were able to place the baby on my chest.

Answer 7

Check this out!

http://www.babyfriendlyusa.org/

See if you can find a baby friendly hospital in your area to give birth at.  I can't tell you how much better it would have been, but my breastfeeding experience with my twins was a nightmare in the hospital.

I am giving birth next time at a "Baby Friendly" hospital.

You should be able to initiate breastfeeding within at least an hour.  Hopefully you can have a vaginal birth and if you can, try for unmedicated because it will make breastfeeding easier as the baby won't be medicated either.  The baby should have a better latch if they're not medicated.  I had a c-section with my twins, didn't get to see them for like 3 or 4 hours after they were born... ugh.  It was awful.

Good luck!  Check out that link.

Answer 8

It is recommended to get the baby on the breast within an hour after birth, the sooner the better.  There's no need to wait until the baby is cleaned up, in fact it is better if the baby isn't bathed first.  At the very least, DO NOT wash the baby's hands - the smell of amniotic fluid on the hands helps the baby find the breast.  If you are squeamish about the baby being gooey, just have the nurses give a quick wipe down.  Skin-to-skin contact helps as well.

Good luck.

Answer 9

you should try ASAP when babys born dont give up it takes a few days for your milk to come in you may think your babys starving just keep giving the breast it only hurts the first week or so and that time will fly by  

Answer 10

Know now that things may not go as planned so you should prepare yourself for numerous scenarios, just in case.  

1st, I highly recommend taking a breastfeeding class.  There you can practice, with a doll, and ask any questions you may have.  They will also give you numbers to call after the baby is born for support and to answers questions/help with problems.

Most hospitals, if you let them know ahead of time, will allow to to breast feed right after the baby is born--assuming there are no problems.  I personally felt safer letting them check my kids 1st before feeding so I knew that everything was OK.

Answer 11

As soon as my baby was cleaned and weighed, they put her to my breast. It was so easy and even the nurses were shocked that she latched right on with no problems. I did room-in also, but i had a c-section (after a long hard labor ugh)

they like to put the baby to your breast ASAP. make sure that everyone knows you are breastfeeding and say no bottles, no exceptions. they listened to me so well that even when I begged for a pacifier, they refused to give her one, I had to send someone to the store to get one and my baby didnt even take it!

Answer 12

When the baby is first born they will purely wrap it and let you have a hold to relieve the stress and show you that everyhting is ok and you haven't given birth to an octopus or something.

Then they will take the baby, clean him/her up and weigh her (so they can get an accurate birth weight and not a "i just got a belly full of my first milkshake" weight.

Before you leave the delivery suite if you intend to breastfeed they will show you how to get the baby to latch on (seriously that's what my midwife called it!) and make sure there are no problems with feeding.

Once you are given the OK and everyone (mum and baby and dad had got up from his fainting spell) is fine you will be taken to your room to demand feed as required.

It's a wonderful experience but don't stress if it doesn't happen.  Sometimes the babies just can't get the sucking motion down properly and need to be bottle fed.  As long as your baby gets the food it needs then it doesn't matter if it's breast or bottle.  Do what works for your baby and you will be a fantastic mum no matter what.

Answer 13

Usually they will take the baby for a quick clean up/check, while you deliver the placenta and have any tears/cuts stitched up.  Then you will be given the baby to breastfeed. However, if you want to nurse immediately, include this in your birth plan, and remind them of your wishes.  Barring any clear medical issues, they should be willing to comply with your wishes.

(As for 'need' ... the absolute ideal is to nurse immediately, or within a few minutes, but of course that isn't always possible. If you can't nurse for 20 minutes, or even a few hours, or a few days,  you will still be able to breastfeed your baby.

EDIT:  You would need to ask at your particular hospital if it's possible to have a breastfeeding nurse in the birthing room.  If you have a doula, she will probably have some training in breastfeeding, and the regular L&D nurses can probably  help too.  But don't sweat it if baby doesn't latch on immediately.  Being born is tiring for baby too, and she may just want to nuzzle a bit.  You'll have plenty of time to meet with the LC (hopefully the hospital does have an LC, not just a 'lactation nurse' -- some regular nurses are great, some know nothing) and iron out any problems/concerns.

Answer 14

Hi there...Congrats on your new little baby....and the the decision to breastfeed it is a great thing to do...I had a c-section with my breastfed baby girl...but I had her around an hour after she was born and she is 9 months old and breastfed and has never had formula ever....I think with vaginal birth it can have the baby within minutes of birth and the quicker you get baby to your breast the better chance for a good latch to start....don't let them nurses give you baby a bottle though...they are quick to do that...make sure that you are clear to them that are wanting to breastfeed.....

Answer 15

go ahead and do it immediately. I waited until a nursed helped me with my first two. I was just unsure, but they said I could just do it anytime. That's what I did with my third, a girl. They out her on my chest right away, didn't bother cleaning her up (i loved that!!!), and I instantly put her to breast. She loved it. In fact she loved it so much that my milk came in a full two days earlier than the first two and I had blisters on my nipples from her sucking all the time. :)  But it was worth it because as soon as my milk came in, the pain on my nipples completely disappeared and all was well with the world. :)

Answer 16

With my first child I waited for a couple of hours to start nursing him and he had a very had time figuring it out.  With my second I did it immediately and he did it first time with no problems!