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Old July 28th 04, 09:08 PM
Circe
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Default Birth plans, c-section, premature birth etc.

Donna Metler wrote:
I'm looking at writing a birth plan and getting it on file. The
thing is that this delivery WILL be a c-section, since my last
delivery ended up having to be a classical C, so I can't VBAC, and
most of the examples I've found don't deal with that. I would like
to breastfeed/pump if at all possible, but unless someone else is
staying with me, I don't know about having the baby room in for the
first 24 hours or so because of recovery pain (I've had abdominal
surgery twice now-I have a good idea of how much pain I'll be in
right afterwards).

Is there a reason you think you won't be able to have someone stay with you
in the hospital? Because, as a general, I've found hospitals to be very open
to new mothers having a family member stay with them during their time in
the hospital. I had someone with me the entire time after each of my
births--my husband with #1 and #3 and my mother with #2. I'd had pretty
uncomplicated births each time, but I certainly wouldn't have wanted to try
to manage the whole thing on my own in the hospital, that's for sure.

In addition, I have a 50% probability that this will end up being
another premature delivery. Therefore, I assume the birth plan will
have to be changed in that instance, and I don't know what is
reasonable. If it's another premature birth, I will probably be on
pretty heavy medication (since that would imply a recurrance of the
HELLP), and I don't know if breastfeeding would be reasonable or
not.

I don't know what meds they give for HELLP, so I can't advise on their
compatibility with breastfeeding. However, if you *do* have a premature
infant, the benefits of breastmilk are significantly greater than for a
full-term infant, so I think it's something you should certainly find out.
(You need Dr. Thomas Hale's book _Medications and Mother's Milk_. No other
reference is as authoritative. The PDA and manufacturer's inserts are
useless.)

Depending on how prematurely you deliver (if you deliver prematurely at
all), you may not be able to breastfeed directly at all to begin with,
simply because baby won't have the necessary suck reflex. But whether you
pump and feed colostrum/breastmilk or feed formula and pump merely to
establish supply until any incompatible drugs clear your system, you should
specify that all feedings should be done either using a tube or a
finger-feeding device. If you want to have a chance of breastfeeding
successfully once your baby develops a good suck, you absolutely don't want
him/her to have been incorrectly trained by a bottle!

I think that about covers the contingencies on that score, anyway.
--
Be well, Barbara
Mom to Sin (Vernon, 2), Misery (Aurora, 5), and the Rising Son (Julian, 7)

This week's suggested Bush/Cheney campaign bumper sticker:
"Leave no child a dime."

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