Breastfeeding After Tubal

When I had a colonoscopy while BF my son, the dr recommended 2 days before resuming BF just to be safe all the meds were out of my system. I would wait tht extra time, better safe than sorry.

That's wierd.....I had a tubal ligation, which is considered major surgery right after I delivered my son and breastfed him as soon as the numbness wore off and I was able to move my arms to hold him. That was in the hospital in the Maternity ward, so I don't understand why it would matter. There are certain meds you can take while breastfeeding, I think it may be Darvaset

I had mine done right after I had C section with my son BUT he was in NICU I did pump BUT they saved it to give him in his feeding tube so I would not see why it would be different from NOW BUT how often does your son nurse NOW? My son is 17 mo and he only nurses at 1 nap and @ night time for bed. IF you are worried he will not SURVIVE lol I am sure he will be FINE. I had to go to ER about 2 mo ago from having seizures and I was JUST getting to nurse him WELL he did not get to do it SO he went OVER 1 day of not nursing. He is doing A LOT of table food pretty much anything so I knew he was ok just wants the yum yum at night to go to sleep. The mom in me wanted to nurse and the nurse said NO BABIES r to be in here he will be fine I wanted him to come to hospital to nurse lol. Well he did just fine and as SOON as I walked in the door he pretty much attacked me wanting yum yum lol I was fine not nursing that long. So I am not sure what to tell you other than if he is on good solid table food he will be ok not to nurse.

K.,
I guess I am confused because I had baby number five in October and had my tubes tied while in the hospital and they had him to my breast right after the surgery. There was never a waiting period for nursing. I don't know what kind of meds you were on but the meds I was taking were perfectly safe while nursing.

As far as I have heard, as soon as the drugs are out of your system you are good to go. It depends on what you were on, but they usually take a few hours like alcohol or caffine.

I don't know what meds they're giving you, but my guess is that they're just being extra-cautious. I had a C-section delivery with my first baby and took morphine and Vicodin afterward, and no one told me I couldn't breastfeed.

Most doctors don't really know much about nursing, so they recommend against. What you really want to do is have someone look up the meds you'll be on in Dr. Hale's "Medications and Mother's Milk." He's the expert on what passes through breastmilk and lists the safety of tons of drugs.

You could ask someone to look it up for you at http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/listsf.asp?webtag=.... Several people own the book and can check the risk.

Of course, you should also discuss it with your doctor, but most doctors don't truly realize the impact of suspending breastfeeding for any length of time, so don't bother to understand if there are truly any risks with the meds you'll be on.

Hope that helps!
S.,
mom to 3 kids, with 5 years of breastfeeding experience among them (and still going)

There are varying opinions on when it is safe to resume breastfeeding. Some doctors stay on the more cautious side and say 'pump and dump' for 24-48 hours. But, others will say that it is alright to resume breastfeeding right away. When I had my surgeries, I resumed nursing as soon as I was able. The only thing that happened was that my babies got a little sleepy. You might want to contact someone from La Leche League. They would be able to give you some more concrete advice (evidence-based information). Or, you could call and talk to a lactation consultant at a pediatrician's office or hospital. They would also be able to help.

i had my tubal the day after birth and nursed the newborn later that day. idk if the dr. told youto wait b/c your 1 yr old is bigger, ie heavier than a new born, or if its the anesthesia. that wuold be good to know. if its not the residual drugs in your system, you could try it and see if you can be comfortable while feeding.

K., I appreciate your dilemma. Best advise is to follow your Doctors advise. Pump and save bottles in advance. I had C-sections and a tubal with my last section and was breast feeding right away. Never had a problem. I always pumped and had bottles ready so that my husband could be a part of feeding or if I had to run an errand I did not have to worry about the feeding schedule because he could be home to take care of it. Nipple confusion? Never happened. I think it is a fallacy. When my son was hungry it did not matter where it came from. Good Luck.
C.

It probably depends on what they are giving you for the sugery and pain afterwards but back in 82 when I had my last child I had my tubes tied at the same time and I nursed at the first feeding at 2AM. If you think you can stand the pain as for the pain med that's not as strong. Ot see if the might be able to do an edidual for the surgery. That could help but they will want to use the best one for you. No need to go through needless pain. What about pumping and freezing so the baby will still have breast milk. My youngest never like formula and the first bottlr he got with breatmilk his little eyes lit up. It was like wow I didn't know this came in these. He smiled so big. He was about 6 months old.

Only read a few responses and I only agree with the one from the nurse. I too am a nurse and I recommend talking to your doctor as to why he gave you the wait time. Only he knows what meds will be used during this and afterwards so he is the only one with the knowledge. You only want to do what is best for your child. Pump before hand so you can give that to him. Goodluck

I asked my ped and pharmacist abt meds in breast milk. Both of them told me that there is no way to measure how much of any medicine actually goes into breast milk. I opted for 12 hours when I was on meds and it seemed to be fine. On a side note though, I had surgery when I was 15 weeks pregnant and was on narcotics and morphine afterwards. I was told that these meds would not have long-term effects on the baby which they didn't. I can't imagine that the amount in breast milk would be higher than when the baby is in the womb.

As a Lactation Consultant, you do NOT have to pump and dump at all. Once you are awake and alert you can BF. They will give you meds that are fine for breasfeeding...so it's ok!

Hi, I understand your concern to resume breast feeding asap. However I am giving a reply to your question as a nurse, and mother. Please only follow the advice of the doctor that advised you, he may have a very good reason for advising a stated wait time. Ask him to explain the reasons for the wait time as it may be a matter of another medication revolving around the procedure. To many times people follow advice of others that may not understand the entire situation. I do hope that you decide to follow only the advice of your doctor for your and your baby's safety.