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bf and local anesthesia

658 Views 4 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  majazama
I have to talk more to the surgeon, but i was wondering if anyone has has experience with this?

I am having (cosmetic) surgery 2-3 wks post partum and will recieve a local anesthesia injection. I have been planning this since before we conceived, and would really like to go through with it, but I don't want to harm the baby.

I have considered pumping enough for 2 days of feeding and them pumping for those 2 days post-surgery before resuming nursing...

is all that necessary? overboard?
do I need to wait longer to resume?
thanks!
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You probably will not need to pump and dump. See here for more information: http://www.kellymom.com/health/illness/mom-surgery.html

There are many types of anesthesia that are safe and compatible with breastfeeding, the trick is making sure your doctor is aware of that and doesn't just tell you not to nurse.

My only concern would be that at 2-3 weeks pp you may not have breastfeeding well established (it often takes up to 6 weeks to get bf well-established in the absence of any problems) and that introducing a bottle, or being separated from your baby and in pain afterwards might affect your breastfeeding relationship.

If there's any way you can reschedule the procedure for a couple of months after giving birth to give yourself a chance to recover from birth and get breastfeeding well-established, that would be my recommendation - unless the procedure is truly minor, like getting a mole removed.
I had surgery when my dd was 3 months old, the surgeron told me I could pump and dump for 1-2 feedings if I wanted to or I could still bf'd her and she'd maybe be a little sleepy.
you do not have to interupt breastfeeding or pump and dump!!! i'd call a local LLL leader to get the official references, but i know that even with General anesthesia, only a few drugs are incompatible. the most important thing would be communicating w/the anesthesiologist/surgeon. i also agree that if any surgery can be postponed, to consider that option until baby is a bit older. i've seen horrible bf trainwrecks all the time w/undecated health care people step in the picture and provide false and scary info about a topic (bf) they know so little about


good luck!
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I had surgery on my foot when my DD was 10 months old, and still BFing a lot. I BF her before and after. I think I asked the docs about it, and they told me it would be fine, as with general anesthesia, which I ended up with a few days later (while the sewing needle point was stuck in my foot during that time)I BF her right away after.
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