Let's Breastfeed

Feeding Twins

Hi Geraldine,

I am am expecting twins and booked for a C Section on Wednesday 28th as the little boy is breech. You have helped my friend Jen with twins recently and was hoping you could give me some pointers before I have the little ones, as apparently there is a lot of conflicting advice once they are born. How can I expect them to feed and what should I do to make sure we are on the right path?

Thank you,

Sally Robson

Hi Sally,

How exciting and congratulations!

The first thing to say is that they are both going to be quite squashed as two babies are fitting into the space usually designated for one baby. From this point of view, you may find that one baby is better at feeding than the other, or that they have a breast preferrence. I would suggest that you find a cranial osteopath before you have the little ones, and get them to come and see you in hsopital. This will help the babies back into alignment and enable them to grasp, milk and trasnfer the colostrum, rather than just sucking the nipple.

The second thing to say is that until the babies are treated, you are going to have to help them access the colostrum. To do this, you will place your hand flat on the breast (as far away from the nipple as you can) and push down and hold for 30 seconds. You are not dragging your hand toward the nipple, just trying to flatten it agains your rib cage. This will push the colostrum out of the milk sacs and down toward the babies, so that they can get it. If your babies are able to access the colostrum, you will see that they beging to pass meconium. This is important, as not passing meconium leads to them becomming jaundiced, sleepy and difficult to feed.

If the babies are struggling to feed, do some hand expressing and offer droplets to them via a syringe, or you can try nipple shields if they are struggling to grasp and hold onto the breast.

I would suggest that you get yourself a copy of the Beginners Guide to Breastfeeding and look at Chapter 5 – Feeding strategies for the first 3 days! This Chapter clearly tells you what to expect and what to do if things are not happening the way they should.

I hope this helps and wish you and the babies all the best!

Kind regards,

Geraldine

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