Breastfeeding Stories - Breastfeeding after a Traumatic Birth
Anon
When I discovered I was pregnant I hadn't given much thought to feeding methods apart from knowing that I really wanted to do kangaroo care and latch my baby on in the delivery suite.
Unfortunately even the best laid birth plans don't always work and we ended up with an emergency C section and a very traumatic birth as my little one was distressed and had the cord round his neck 3 times.
When we were eventually united after an hour or so he wasn't particularly interested in breastfeeding and I was terribly frustrated as I was bedridden and was getting different advice from every midwife who I met but by this stage I was pretty determined. Eventually we got things established but unfortunately he became quite unwell and was transferred to the neonatal unit.
During this time I was expressing and to my great horror was only managing to express maybe 20mls every 3 hrs but as J was only getting 5mls an hour via tube this was sufficent. I really believe that it was breast milk that helped J on his road to an almost miraculous recovery.
Unfortunately though, after he returned from the unit, we had to go through the process of trying to breastfeed again and received lots of conflicting advice from lots of well-meaning people.
Ten months on and the most precious time I get to spend with my son is during feeds - he is a typical boy, no time for cuddles or sitting still apart from our very special breastfeeding time!
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