Yes, you can and are encouraged to breastfeed immediately after a C-section, often initiating skin-to-skin contact in the operating or recovery room. While recovery, pain, or medication might slightly delay the process or make the milk take a little longer to come in, early skin-to-skin contact and frequent feeding are key to success.
The Golden Hour is a special period of skin-to-skin contact between a birthing parent and newborn for the first hour (or two) after birth. During the Golden Hour, we keep interruptions, including exams and measurements, to a minimum to make the skin-to-skin contact as continuous as possible.
Milk is not typically avoided after a C-section unless you have a specific intolerance. Dairy products are often recommended as they're rich in calcium, essential for healing and milk production.
Many hospitals now have breast pumps in theatre and recovery and the nurses and midwives will be able to assist you in expressing within the first 1-3 hours after birth. If you are anaesthetised for a long period or take longer to recover, a nurse or midwife may be able to express you while you are unable to do so.
Nursing soon after birth stimulates your body to produce a lot of milk. This increase in milk production usually occurs in a few days. However, it is often delayed following a cesarean birth.
You can begin breastfeeding soon after a C-section. You might start in the delivery room. Breastfeeding positions that work well after you've had a C-section include: Football hold.
The "4-4-4 rule" for breast milk is a simple storage guideline: fresh milk is good for 4 hours at room temperature (up to 77°F/25°C), for 4 days in the refrigerator (39°F/4°C or colder), and up to 4-6 months (or longer) in a standard freezer (0°F/-18°C). It's a handy mnemonic, though some organizations like the CDC recommend up to 6 months in the freezer and the AAP up to 9 months, with deeper freezers offering even longer storage.
The 30-30-30 pumping method is a power pumping technique to increase milk supply by mimicking cluster feeding: pump for 30 minutes, rest for 30 minutes, then pump for another 30 minutes, signaling your body to make more milk. This time-consuming, one-hour block aims to boost prolactin levels, with results often seen in 3-7 days, and is done once or twice daily as part of your regular schedule, replacing standard sessions.
There was no significant relationship between milk production and prolonged supplemental fluid intake. Both studies showed that milk production was not significantly related to percentage increase in fluid intake.
Suggested fruits for mothers after a cesarean section
Bananas: A fruit that many families choose for postpartum women. Not only does it contain many vitamins and calcium, but eating bananas also helps stimulate milk production and digestive movement for both mother and baby.
The 5-5-5 rule for postpartum C-section recovery is a guideline for the first 15 days, emphasizing 5 days in bed, 5 days on the bed, and 5 days around the bed, focusing on rest, gradual movement, bonding, and healing by limiting activity and staying near a resting spot for essential needs only. It's a structured way to encourage vital rest and set boundaries with visitors, preventing overexertion during the critical initial healing phase after major surgery.
Babies born by caesarean section may be a little sleepy. They may need some extra encouragement to stay alert during the first few feeds. Skin-to-skin contact will encourage them to latch and feed more often.
Things to Avoid:
Sexual intercourse until your health care provider tells you that it is safe. The use of tampons or douche. Taking baths until your incision is healed and you are no longer bleeding. Public pools and hot tubs.
Discomfort is expected after a C-section, especially around the incision and abdomen. Pain typically peaks in the first few days and improves over several weeks.
The 5-3-3 rule is a gentle sleep training method for older babies (often around 6 months) to reduce night feedings, suggesting you wait at least 5 hours for the first night feed after bedtime, then 3 hours for the next, and another 3 hours for any subsequent feeds, using other soothing techniques (shushing, patting) for earlier wakings to encourage self-soothing, rather than immediately feeding for comfort. It aims to differentiate hunger from comfort-seeking, but it's a guideline, not a strict mandate, and needs to be adapted to your baby's needs, ensuring they still get enough calories during the day, notes Momcozy and Reddit users.
Both VBAC and repeat C-section have some increased risks for mothers. However, planned vaginal birth is safer overall for you than a planned repeat C-section unless there is a clear and well-supported need for a C-section. With supportive care, 75 or so out of 100 women who plan VBAC do give birth vaginally.
While breastfeeding, avoid or limit alcohol, caffeine, and high-mercury fish; you only need to cut common allergens (dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, wheat, fish, citrus) if your baby shows signs of sensitivity like fussiness, gas, or rash, as these can pass through breast milk, but consult a doctor before eliminating entire food groups for a balanced diet.
Lactation cookies might help some people increase milk supply, but scientific evidence is limited, with some studies showing no significant effect, suggesting their benefits may come from hydration, extra calories, and the placebo effect rather than just the "galactagogue" ingredients (like fenugreek, brewer's yeast). While some moms find them helpful and they can provide easy nutrition, they aren't a guaranteed fix, and a balanced diet and consulting a lactation consultant are better strategies for low supply.
While breastfeeding, your body has higher nutrient and fluid needs. Plain water, cow's milk, herbal tea, smoothies, coconut water, and juice are good drink options during lactation. If you're worried about your milk supply, speak with your obstetrician.
Pumping or expressing milk frequently between nursing sessions, and consistently when you're away from your baby, can help build your milk supply. Relax and massage. Relax, hold your baby skin-to-skin, and massage your breasts before feeding to encourage your milk to let down. Take care of yourself.
Standard formula has 20cal/oz, breastmilk averages 18-22cal/oz depending on mom. You can start with the same oz of formula as breastmilk. Some babies do drink a bit less formula than they would breastmilk, because formula is a bit thicker and takes longer to digest.
Breastfeeding is not an all-or-nothing process. You can always keep one or more feedings per day and eliminate the rest. Many moms will continue to nurse only at night and/or first thing in the morning for many months after baby has weaned from all other nursings.
A British mother has revealed how she will miss breastfeeding her daughter after the youngster finally weaned – at age 9. Sharon Spink, a mom of four, insisted that feeding daughter Charlotte until earlier this year was completely normal and has cemented a lifelong bond between them.
Breast milk does not need to be warmed. It can be served room temperature or cold.
The CDC recommends sanitizing at least daily until the baby is 3 months or older and for longer if they're immunocompromised. Otherwise, it's not as big of a priority, but you may still want to sanitize your older baby's bottles if: You know the bottle had milk or formula sit in it for many hours or even a day.