Question:
Breastfeeding: Anyone post-op continued to?

Hi! I'm scheduled for surgery (open) on Aug. 7th and have a 8 month old I'm still breastfeeding. I would really like to continue breastfeeding after surgery but am worried it may be too hard. Should I wean him before surgery? Anyone continued to breastfeed after surgery? How did you work the hospital stay? Any suggestions? Thanks!c    — [Anonymous] (posted on June 21, 2001)

June 21, 2001
My guess is you should wean him now...after an open rny you are not going to be able to comfortably hold him that close to you comfortably. Also in the beginning your body is basically going to be starving. Your body cannot make milk without nutrients. The baby would take what little vitamins you have and you will end up with alot of vitamin deficiancies and i am sure what he will get will also be lacking in what he needs. Good luck to you on your surgery.
   — paula B.

June 22, 2001
I would think even if you are able to continue to provide milk the nourishment will be minimal and it will take from what you need. Talk w/ your surgeon and the pediatrician.. I hope they advise you well.
   — Dawn R.

June 22, 2001
Please also remember that when a woman has a csection they are generally cut down low above the pubic are horizontally or BELOW the belly button vertically. You will be cut up from above your belly button to your breast bone. The area will be tender and an eight month old baby does not generally keeps hands, knees and legs still when feeding. Also one more thing to be wary of, if you are in need of pain meds these will cross through into the breast milk. an eight month old child should be able to start using a sippy cup. perhaps you could take this as your opportunity of getting him to the next level in his development.
   — paula B.

June 22, 2001
The reason pregnancy is not desired during the first 18 months after WLS is not being able to nourish the baby. I would extend this to breastfeeding. You should not continue to use breast milk as the sole source of nutrition. In addition, you will barely get enough liquid in to maintain your personal needs so I doubt you will be able to continue producing breast milk at all. Be certain you surgeon is aware of your decision to minimize any potential cross over medications. Good luck.
   — Shannon S.

June 22, 2001
I TOTALLY disagree with the advice to wean your son, and the people who think breastmilk provides minimal nutrition after six months are just PLAIN WRONG. Now that we have *that* out of the way, :-) let me tell you what my nutritionist said. <br> By the way, I am going to have Open medial RNY around Aug 14 (date not set yet) and I am still breastfeeding my 17 month old and won't quit because of the surgery.<br> The nutritionist said that I will want to consume an extra 200-500 calories a day (I would lean towards the high side since your baby is younger than mine) and an extra liter of water. This will be a lot of work, but she suggested I get the calories via protein drinks since they count as liquids too.<br> Feel free to email me directly if you want to talk about this more and/or support each other. I'm in touch with a few other bf moms who are having surgery as well. [email protected]
   — Julia Z.

June 22, 2001
There is a small thing all of you out there thinking you can breastfeed after and open RNY forget, one of the biggest problems after surgery is dehydration..breast milk dries up reallyy fast when deyhdrated. after my daughter was born by c-section i got sick from my gallbladder and ended up only slightly dehydrated, my daughter lost a great amount of weight because of this and had to be put on a bottle. There is no way someone with a new pouch is going to be able to take in the amount of food to give the needed nutrients to both her and the baby, someones if not both, are going to be short on calcium and everything else. The best thing you can do is just talk with your doctor. Also this baby will be 10 months old by the time of your surgery and can go straight from breast to sippy cup without ever touching a bottle.
   — [Anonymous]

June 24, 2001
I had more to say about this topic than what I had time to post in my first answer! :-)<br><br> As for the hospital stay, I plan on bringing my nursing pillow (though we haven't used it in a long time) and will also be bringing my trusty Medela Lactina pump. I suspect the first two days, I'm just going to want to pump, I'm not going to be able to deal with having the baby on me in any way. After that, I'll try nursing her. I'm lucky in that my daughter is good at nursing standing up facing me, but I doubt your baby is old enough for that sort of acrobatics yet. :-) <br><br> If you do decide to pump, start practicing now. Pumping is a learned art. You don't want to be totally engorged, drugged up on morphone, and trying to figure out how to assemble the gizmo. Most hospitals rent Lactinas for around $35 a month and it's probably well worth it for you.<br><br> Dr. Thomas Hale has made lactation pharmacology the focus of his career. He's got an excellent book, <i>Medications and Mothers' Milk</i> which goes through almost all medications and how much is transfered to a nursing infant, and whether or not it's dangerous. The vast majority of drugs are totally safe, even if they do pass into breastmilk, because an infant's GI tract does not absorb the drug very well. I have the 2000 edition of this book and will look up any drugs you're wondering about, just email me at [email protected]<br><br> As for the dehydration issue, it's not going to be much of an issue in the hospital if you've got IV liquids being forced as most of us do. Just let your surgeon know you're nursing and maybe he will have them up the amount... my LC and nutritionist agreed on an extra liter a day. Once you're off the IV, the struggle will begin! But I am going to try to stick it out, and I encourage you to do the same. I have days now when I drink hardly any water, and my milk is fine.<br><br> Hope this helps!
   — Julia Z.

December 17, 2001
I know this post is a little dated, but I wanted to add my experience. I was nursing my 3yo (3 in Sept) and just had an LAP RNY on the 12th of Dec. I did not talk to my doctor about it beforehand. Actually, a part of me was hoping that a week away from me would do it for him. I went in today to the doc to come home. I asked him if it was OK to continue if the baby asks for it, or if I should just flat out say no. He told me (and remember, mine is 3, so even though I know he still get nutrients from it, I don't feel that this is his main source of nutrients) that it was fine for me to continue as long as I was comfortable with it. Well, I got home this evening, he has been5 days without it, and hubby says he didn't even ask about it! Along comes bedtime, he comes out to, snuggles up next to me on the couch, and sweetly says "Come get in your bed Mommy, give me ninnies and your tummy will feel all better" Wonder where he gets that rationale!LOL
   — Amy G.