3 Major Ways Labor Can Impact Breastfeeding

While there are an infinite number of birth stories we could run through there are 3 main aspects to labor that can immediately impact your ability to breastfeed after birth.

The delivery of your baby (and full delivery of your placenta) starts a massive hormonal shift necessary to produce breastmilk. While your body has prepared colostrum during pregnancy this milk must transition to feed your growing babe.

Here are 3 things I look for in a birth story to evaluate how early feeding may have been impacted.

1. Hemorrhaging: Breastmilk is a blood product. If a parent loses an excessive amount of blood during delivery her body is going to need extra time to recover from the already heavy lift of pregnancy. It also creates an additional risk for anemia which can cause low milk supply and overall make a new parent getting little sleep feeling even crummier. Continuing to take a prenatal during breastfeeding and eating nutrient dense foods after birth are one way we protect the body to continue feeding baby.

2. Delayed milk removal: Making decisions during labor is a continual risk vs. benefit analysis. Sometimes baby needs extra assistance after birth and it’s critical that they are separated for that care. However, without early nipple stimulation after birth it can take extra work later to tell your body “Baby is here! It’s time to make milk!” The lack of early signals to milk making cells can delay the transition of milk, known as delayed lactogenesis. With the correct lactation support after birth this isn’t always an issue, but efficient and timely pumping can be critical to a strong feeding start.

3. Early induction: Babies born a bit early, especially between 37 and 38+6 weeks, might not be the most efficient eaters. They may not have fully mastered the suck-swallow-breathe coordination needed for feeding. These babies might be more sleepy and harder to wake, and they might struggle with latching due to their smaller mouths and lack of coordination. It’s important to understand why the induction happened, any underlying risks, and how the baby's early feeding went. Even if these babies appear fine in the hospital, they can still face challenges and may need extra support to stay on track with their growth.

By keeping these factors in mind, we can better understand how labor and delivery might impact breastfeeding and address any challenges early on. Learning more about labor and breastfeeding can also be healing if breastfeeding was especially challenging for you early on.