Pregnancy Forums

so ya im getting kinda pissed off avbout having this baby. I will be having a planned repeat c-section. I asked my dr at my last appointment about being able to bf during the first hour after baby is born, while in recovery, and he told me no it wil not be allowed. I called the hospital to find out their reasons for this and they told me its because MY C-SECTION WOULD BE DURING THE DAY AND the recovery room is for all surgeries, not just c-sections and their could be an 80 yr old man next to me. I DONT CARE IF AN 80 YR OLD MAN SEES ME BFING MY BABY. IF HE DONT LIKE IT HE DOESN'T HAVE TO LOOK.
Ever since having all the problems with bf tessa i am soooo pro bfing and want to do everything possible to make sure this baby and i have the best start possible. I am determined to make sure i get to bf during the first hour after birth. And im refusing to give formula no matter what!!!!!!
So I called the hospital in London, Ontario.....an hour away from me. And they told me that i would be recovering on the maternity unit with only other c-section and pregnant women so I would be able to bf while recovering as long as both baby and i are healthy and doing ok after the c-section. SOUNDS PERFECT DOESN'T IT!!!!!!
My next problem is taht London drs do not accept patients that are not from london unless you are sent as a referal from your own obgyn. Im still going to try to call some drs and ask them but i dont know what to do if they will not take me. I have an appointment tomorrow with my dr and im going to talk to him about it.
For Tessa i ended up being sent to a high risk dr in london because of her size and the IUGR but my dr said he would wait to send me to high risk until he sees a problem. Im thinking of telling him i want to be sent to high risk NOW just to be safe....but again im not sure what he will say about that. If he will not send me to london then i might get a hold of my local newspaper and LLL and lactation consultant and start a huge fight with the hospital and their help. I WILL GET MY WAY ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. iF I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL I GO INTO LABOUR ON MY OWN AND RUSH TO LONDON TO TELL THEM TO DO A C-SECTIN I WILL. LOL

That's crap, Laura. I'm sorry. I know how you feel...with Grayson I didn't get to BF for the first time until the second day, since he was premature. I hope you can get something changed around there, or go to London if not. let us know how things go!!

And I hear you on the formula! That's my goal this time too, so hopefully no preemie this time! Otherwise I'll be pumping as much it takes so they don't give him any!

ya they made me supplement with formula due to her size adn the fact that my milk had not come in yet and they said because i had a c-section it would take an extra day for it to come in. I had no idea the problems it would cause. Im also thinking of telling them im not pumping while in the hospital.....breast only so i dont have problems with latching and confusion. I was so un experienced with Tessa that I thought everything they told me was the right way to do it!!!! NOW I KNOW BETTER.
I will keep everyone posted on what happens

I'm shocked that their reasoning for not letting you BF is because it may offend another patient in the room! Don't they have curtains or anything? That really sucks that you don't have your own room to recover in! I would say I don't care who I offend, they can turn away, but I'm going to BF my baby!!

Cole thats what i want to say but because im having a c-section i will not really be able to get u[p and grab my baby....i will need some help so im kinda at their mercy. And no they do not have curtains between the beds. Although they did tell me they have been talking about getting some and if they do then i *might* be able to bf in recovery if the nurses have time to help me.
I dot get it....they just upgraded our hospital too. in fact everything is suppose to switch over to the new hospital in the next few weeks. Im giong to start raising hell i think so that i dont have to travel that hour to have the baby and then end up having no visitors for the three days im there because no one wants to drive the hour to see me

how come your aving a planned csection hun,if you dont mind me asking, also can your partner be with you whilst in recovery to help pass the baby to you?? x

I'm having a planned c-section because im choosing to. I had an emergency c-section with Tessa. I was in labour for 8 hours and made it 5cm. Here we can not get an epidural by chioce only gas and other pain meds (which really did nothing for pain management). I tried labour and didn't care for it...lol. I know how the c-section works and what kind of pain I will be in after and I can handle that so im chosing the repeat c-section. It really was not as bad as what i thought it would have been. If i was able to get the epidural during labour i would do it vaginally but as i said we dont have that option here.

As for my dh bringing me the baby....thats not allowed. usually the baby goes to the nursery to have the bath and be looked after while I recover. I didn't get to see Tessa for almost 2 hours. That is why im having trouble getting them to help me while in recovery to bf. Im going to raise hell thou. hopefully it works and i get my way.

Holy crap!!! You can't choose to have an epidural??? You can't keep your baby in your room with you if you want? WTF?? Is that in all canadian hospitals or just yours?

it happens my friend was same but even a epidural she felt everything totally put her off having another.
yea you should kick up a stink demand do anything you want,id say right soon as this baby is out i want my dh to bath him/she cloth him/she ect and bring him to me when baby is hungry ,its my baby.do as i say.
would your dh do that i dont think my fella would but only down to confidence he's not cared for a baby before.
is your fella assertive ,mine isnt if i said dom make sure you tell em your doiing bath and clothing and bringing first feed to me,he wouldnt he'd let them talk him around to leaving me,i know what he's like.
if your fella is he should tell them too,think im gonna take the MIL lol she'll put em in plae with what i want hahaha x

Cole- We cant choose the epidural because the anistesilogist (sp?) isnt on staff at all times...only for c-sections and emergencies. And once im down in my own room the baby will stay with me until \i go home.....but up in recovery from surgery the baby is not usually up there.

Lorna- dh thinks hes assertive but i dont think he would put up a fight with them either. So its all on me! I did lots of research onthe internet today and found LOTS of studies, researches, doctors and specialists that agree bfing should be initiated during the first hour and im giong to tell my dr about it today at my appointment and see what he says. if he dont agree im goign to the hospital to speak to the director or person in charge adn see what they say. Then im going to takl to the lactation consultant and LLL and after that the newspaper and local tv news (not all today but in the next few weeks)

Something will be done to change this so i can get my own way.....im sure im not the only mother to be who wants to bf in the first hour to make sure its a successfull experience!!!!!

Well I didn't bother talking to my dr today about the bfing issues. On my way to my appointment I heard on the radio that we just got a $1 MILLION donation to the maternal infant child program. So I decieded to write an email to the hospital themselves. This is what I wrote....please keep in mind I suck at writting emails and ramble on a bit but anyways here it is....


I have some problems and concerns about the upcoming birth of my second child. I will be having a planned c-section and have been informed by both my doctor and the nursing staff that I will not be able to breastfeed my child while I am in recovery after surgery....during the first hour of my childs birth. I was told by a nurse on the delivery floor that it was because there "could" be an 80 year old man in the bed next to me. There are no longer any problems with me breastfeeding my infant in public places but I can not breastfeed in the recovery room because someone *might see me and feel uncomfortable!!!!! That is rediculous.
I understand that I will need the help of nurses to bring my child to me and possibly assist me in breastfeeding and I believe that is the true reason why my questions and requests are being denied. I do not understand why our hospital, after spending millions of dollars and years of work to reconstrudct the facilities...can not accomodate me on wanting to make sure that my child and I recieve the best start with breastfeeding possible by initiating breastfeeding during the first hour after birth.
I have contacted hospitals in London Ontario and it is actually their policy and practice to have new mothers breastfeed during that crucial first hour. They are considered "BABY FRIENDLY HOSPITALS" I do not understand why our hospital is not "Baby Friendly"
London hospital also told me that after a woman has a c-section at their hospital they are brought to the maternity floor to recover. They do not have to stay in a general recovery room with patients who had ssurgeries other than c-sections or pregnancy related surgeries. why do we not have recovery rooms for pregnant women? Or even curtains in between beds in the recovery room. Even curtains would give enough privacy so that a nursinjg mother could do so in the recovery room! I myself do not care about privacy....nursing an infant is the most natural way to feed an infant so why be all private about it?

Anyways I am seriously troubled by all the answers I have been given and I am hoping that writing this email will clear things up and hopefully change the policies around breastfeeding. I am determined to give my child and I the best start with breastfeeding possible. I have done a lot of research about breastfeedin during the first hour after birth...some hospitals even let you breastfeed on the surgery table while the doctor is stitching everything closed. I am determined to make sure I can nurse my child during the first hour after birth and I reallly hope that Bluewater Health will help me achieve my goal and change their hospital to a "baby friendly facility"
Please do reply.

I sure hope they reply quickly and with some good answers!!!!!!

I guess I don't get the recovery part? I've had two c-sections and never went to a "recovery" room. 2 different hospitals, but both times I recovered in a birthing room. With Michael I was there for several hours, then both of us were moved to the maternity ward..him to the nursery and I to my room. With Claire, I was at a new hospital and scheudled. I went i and checked in my room, wheeled off to the OR room had her c-section and broguth right back to my room with my family there waiting. Claire would've been there too, only she had an irregualr heartbeat so she had to be monitored down the hall for several hours. But my family got to go in and out to see her as much as the ywanted. I couldn't because I was still numb and couldn't move.

Wow thats awesome. We have to go to the recovery room for atleat an hour depending on how we are feeling. Once we are able to wiggle our toes they move us back to our room on the maternity floor.

LOL! I couldn't even try to imagine wiggling my toes for hours after the surgery.