Hi all. I have a question, my sister in law just had my niece on May 22 and she has implants and wants to BF. She is having a really hard time with latching and very sore cracked nipples. She has been giving the baby a bottle because she will only nurse for 10 minutes then fall asleep and she can't keep her awake. Then 20 minutes after she lays her down she hungry again. I told her to stop giving her a bottle and try different positions and helped her get the baby on with a good latch and to unwrap her while she's nursing to try and keep her awake but she's getting discouraged. My older sister is a labor and delivery nurse and she says because of the implants she has to supliment? I don't have implants so I told her I would ask around and see if I could help her in any way. As a first time mom she is already anxious and this is very stressful for her. Any input would help thanks so much!
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Re: implants and breastfeeding
Sun, May 25, 2008 - 4:07 AMfirst and foremost, contact your local la leche league ... www.llli.org : www.llli.org/Web/California.html
they will be able to give you the best answers to alll of your SILs concerns and questions.
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Re: implants and breastfeeding
Sun, May 25, 2008 - 5:47 PMIf she has a pump (many hospitals rent very good ones if she does not have a good one) tell her to pump - that will help increase her supply. Also yes, keeping the baby awake to eat can be tough the first few days - this is *totally* normal, and will pass quickly. In the meantime, if she can keep the baby stimulated - like you say, keeping her unwrapped, in her diaper, making skin to skin contact and stroking her will help.
Also, check out BFAR, they're a breastfeeding support group for women who've had breast surgery.
bfar.org/
And please, tell her to hang in there - as many of us can attest to, It can sometimes be a rough start, but all of the effort is totally worth it!