Breastfeeding Bill of Rights violation & more

Jendur86

Ok ladies, I need some direction.  Please read my story and any advice you can give me will be GREATLY appreciated!!

 

On December 12th at 10:10 I delivered our happy healthy baby girl.  She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz, was 20.5 inches long and had a perfect APGAR score.  I delivered cesarean because she was breech.  There were no problems with the section I was out of the OR in 27 minutes, everything was textbook.

 

Ok, here starts the problems.  Im just going to list them and try not to elaborate too much because Im still VERY mad about the whole experience.

 

After the section,  they wheeled me into recovery.  I asked how long I would be there and the nurse told me 1 hour, or until I could move my knees again. No one was allowed to come up and see me in recovery.  I saw the baby for a few minutes in the OR before they took me up.  My arms were still strapped down I basically was only able to nuzzle my face against hers.

 

While Im in recovery, everyone is down in maternity at the nursery to see our little bundle of joy.  They had her under a lamp and would not allow her father or her grand parents to hold or touch her.

 

Meanwhile, Im in recovery thinking, I had made it known that I planned to breast feed, why am I not with my baby.  They finally take me back down to my room where they clean me up and allow family into the room.  I ask the nurse for my baby, and she informs me that she has to stay in the nursery for 3 hours.  

 

3 HOURS!?!?!?!?!  Im breastfeeding!  I ask if there are any problems or complications and they assure me everything is fine.  Im freaking out, thinking shes probably starving at this point, its already been 2.5 hours since the section.

 

Finally, Im so mad that I send her father down to bring her to me, I tell him to do whatever it takes, sneak her out if necessary.

 

Ok finally have the baby in my room with me...nurse asks....do you know how to breastfeed?  Of course I dont! This is my first baby!!  Thank God baby Catherine knew what to do without much help from me. Crisis averted, or so I thought.  

 

Im feeding every hour, hour and a half or so for the rest of that day and through the night.  My nipples are a little sore, but not so bad I cant handle it.  Until halfway through day 2.  Im in tears, my nipples are cracked and bloody looking.  The nurse sends down a lactation consultant...FINALLY...who assures me that her latch is good that shes just a very voracious eater and that I basically have to tough it out.  By the end of the second day I couldnt feed her without crying from my own pain and the baby got so she wasnt latching at all anymore.  I finally broke down and ask for some formula, I feel like shes very hungry and not getting enough to eat from me.  Catherine takes the formula just fine, and she seems much happier and satiated.  

 

The nurse on that night brings me in a pump shows me where the "on" button is and leaves the room.  I try it for a few minutes but its just as painful.  I use the lanolin and keep trying to latch her on but she doesnt want anything to do with it anymore.  Now at home for 2 weeks, I pump 8 times a day and can still barely get 5 oz in a day.  

 

So now that we are home and have gotten settled into a routine, I find myself spending a lot of time thinking about my hospital experience.

 

Why couldnt I see my perfectly healthy baby for 3 hours?  WHY!!!!!????

 

Why wasnt her Father or grandparents allowed to touch her or hold her in the nursery while I was in recovery?  She was under a lamp screaming bloody murder for her Mother!

 

Why didnt I get to breastfeed immediately?  Isnt that part of the breastfeeding bill of rights?  

 

If I had gotten to feed her immediately would things be different? Would we have had less or no problems?

 

Im really upset and depressed about the whole deal, so I decided to file a complaint, I know it does nothing for me but maybe other mothers who deliver there can have a better experience if I throw a fit about mine.

 

Again, any advice or information is greatly appreciated!!  Thanks in advance!

 

--Jenni + Miss Catherine