Breastfeeding After Surgery

[jaydee]

Does anyone know if it is possible to continue breastfeeding after valve repair surgery? I am having MV repair in November and I was wondering if I will be able to continue nursing my son afterward or if I need to try and wean him beforehand (which I really don't want to do if I don't have to).

 

[geebee]

Definitely a question for your doctor. A couple of things come to mind. Will you be on any medications that might be transferred via breast milk to your baby? Also, the trauma of OHS might cause your milk to dry up but, again, that would be something the doctor would know.

The other concern might be as simple as you not being able to hold and support him while feeding. I would not think the actual act of feeding should cause you discomfort but the weight of your baby might be a problem. You will not want his weight on your chest so lying down to nurse would not work.

You also simply might not want to breastfeed after surgery. You will not have your strength back for a few weeks and this just may be too much effort.

Just a few thoughts to consider. Hopefully someone else might post that actually had this experience. I am speaking just from the problems I had after surgery without the added issue of breastfeeding.

 

[KristiinSD]

As a long-term nurser...

As a long-term nurser...

I can't imagine a position that would be comfortable to nurse after surgery. If you could lay on your side and do a football hold, it could work, but I think it would be painful to lay on your side...

I also imagine the pain medication would get into your breastmilk and leave you with a very, very sleepy baby!

Good luck - I nursed my son until he was almost 4 so I know how distressing it must be to think of weaning your baby earlier than you wanted.

Kristi
mr
surgery 9/8/05

 

[jaydee]

The medications, the discomfort, the lack of strength - these are all the things I'm worried about. I was hoping that, after the first couple of days post-op, I might be able to do it, but, I am not optimistic. Colin just does not seem ready to give up nursing and I hate to wean him when he's not ready.

 

[Mary]

I don't see how it would be possible. I breastfed my babies, and I am a strong proponent of it.
However, I had an incision line from my chest tubes (besides the sternum incision) that was suseptible to bleeding for several weeks. Any position you attempted to use would bring the baby in contact with this area.
In addition, your arm strength is greatly reduced so you wouldn't be able to easily make any movements while he was breastfeeding. I don't know how old Colin is, but I'm sure he's old enough to be a mover and a wiggler. And you will be taking the pain meds for awhile. I would not have felt comfortable transferring these drugs to my baby.

A final thought; if you continue to breastfeed until the time of surgery, and then you are unsuccessful at continuing it, you will have to deal with having a supply of milk that's not being utilized. You know what that feels like!
Mary

 

[RCB]

Just one man's opinion

Just one man's opinion

As an advocate of BF, I have found that these people are very
good about answering all kind of questions. I would be surprised
if that hadn't been asked your question before. If they didn't know,
then they would find an answer and you would be help those mother
who share your concerns. Good Luck!

http://www.lalecheleague.org/helpform.html

 

[jaydee]

Thanks for all of your input! I think I am probably being overly-optimistic about this. Colin is 10 months old and he will be a year old in October, so it's not like I would be weaning a newborn infant or anything. I just know that neither of us are ready for weaning - but, maybe we will be by then. Plus, he has been refusing his bottle since July - we are trying to teach him to drink from a sippy cup with the valve removed, but the going is slow. I'll see if LLL has any info.

Thanks!!!

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Don't forget that you will also be placed on a VERY LOW weight limit for lifting (I forgot if it is 5 lbs or 10 lbs) for several weeks to allow the sternum to heal properly.

One of the reasons many patients prefer to sleep in a recliner after surgery is because sleeping on their side is NOT comfortable. Even GETTING to the side sleep position can be uncomfortable and then getting back up is no fun either. It can take 2 to 4 weeks before side sleeping is comfortable for most patients.

Does your son ever bump your chest with his head while or after feeding? Think about THAT after you've just been cut open and stitched back together!

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Karlynn]

I was on antiarrithmics after giving birth to my daughter and was not allowed to breast feed because of that. (This was prior to my surgery.) As others have said, with pain medication and such, I don't think you'd want to continue, and physically, I really question whether or not you should because it could compromise your sternum healing. Al makes an excellent side note - you will not be able to lift your son for several weeks. However, he can climb on to your lap when you are ready (you won't be for a few weeks) and sitting by your side and snuggling works too. It's tough having surgery when you have little ones at home. (That tall thing next to me in my avatar was one of my "little ones" I had at home after my surgery. )

Weaning before your surgery is probably a good idea too, as mentioned. After I had my daughter I had a horrible time "drying up". It was so painful, I can't imagine dealing with that on top of dealing with OHS chest recovery. Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.