Dear Geraldine,
I am expecting twins and have been booked in for a CSection on Monday. I have heard so many stories about moms not getting any quality support in hospital, so am worried as I will have 2 babies to contend with, rather than just one. What advice can you give me to get them onto a good start in hospital? I will have a maternity nanny to help me at home, (she is a big fan of yours and has studied your eBook), so I am not too worried about help at home, just in the hospital.
Thank you,
Glenda Smith Jones
Hi Glenda,
Congratulations on the imminent arrival of your babies, I hope all goes well for you.
There are a few things to consider when breastfeeding any baby in hospital, so I will just outline some of these for you now.
- C Section babies tend to hold a lot of mucus in their tummies. This stops them from feeling hungry and so you will need to wake them to offer food, so that they can start pooping and getting rid of the bilirubin.
- If you are unable to wake them, you will need to hand express and prbably syringe feed. Let them suck on your finger while you carefully and slowly syringe tiny drops of colostrum into the side of their mouth. Sucking on your finger will teach them to suck for food and will be more manageable for new babies.
- Feed each baby on their own until they regain their birth weight. This way you will be able to focus on each baby and enusre that they are swallowing rather than just sucking.
- Use breast compression to push the milk into their mouth. This will speed up your feeds and will save them energy.
- Make sure that each baby is positioned and attached well.
I would suggest that you get yourself a copy of the Let’s Breastfeed Program as it has a comprehensive section on what to expect in the first 3 days (from your breasts and from your babies) and what to do if things aren’t going to plan.
The information is purely practical – nothing you will be able to find anywhere else even though you may feel that ‘you know the theory’
I hope this is helpful.
Much love,
Geraldine
