Did I dream this up...?

[Singin4Him]

A while ago I am almost sure I remember there being a discussion about epidurals and spinals making babies groggy and that interfering with the breastfeeding experience when a baby is newly born. Did I dream this? I would like some info on this subject if anyone could help me!

 

[lovesdolphins]

no you didn't dream it up. I've heard it too.

 

[tiredwalker]

I had a spinal for my c-section, and she was far from groggy. I've heard about the groggy thing though, but it just didn't happen in our experience.

 

[Leanna]

Yes its true, but there are even scarier side effects of epidural!

 

[kat69]

Yes its true, but there are even scarier side effects of epidural!

Eeek! Glad I didn't hear about that when I had my epidural...I might have changed my mind...

 

[Linnis]

Yes, that's true. http://www.llli.org//ba/Nov99.html

 

[ashley lynne]

Eeek! Glad I didn't hear about that when I had my epidural...I might have changed my mind...

Me too, and I desperately need that pain relief. Without it, my experience would've ended in a c-section...and that's very far from what I wanted.
I talked to the person who did my epidural and I don't recall him mentioning it doing any harm to the child, but it could do something to my spine. That's all I remember.
What are the side effects to the baby anyway? Christopher was far from groggy when he was born, but after breastfeeding and his first bath, he was out cold until we left the hospital. The birthing process in an exhausting experience for both mom and baby!

 

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

I had an epidural and Isabella was FAR from groggy!!! She was SO alert. She scored 7 and then 9 on her APGAR scores. It also didn't hurt our breastfeeding relationship. She latched on right away.

Unfortunately the BFing troubles happened about 2 days after she was born, and once my milk came in. Thank God we were blessed with the resources to see the best Lactation Consultant in the city

 

[jgonz]

Epidurals can cause issues for WEEKS after the baby is born. It takes a few days for mama to get rid of the meds from her system, but it takes Weeks for the baby to be rid of all the meds. Breastfeeding problems are common for epidural moms (not All obviously, but a Lot).

Babies are always super alert immediately after birth for about an hour or so. Then they go to sleep for a long time, but not as long as epidural babies do. I noticed a Huge difference in how sleepy Abel was compared to my natural birth babies. They all slept a long stretch after that first hour, but then woke up to eat with no problem. Abel was Hard to wake up and get him to nurse. Even if he'd have had a good latch, he would have been extremely difficult to wake him to feed for those first 2 weeks or so.

My DD had the same issue~ her baby was so tired she couldn't get him to nurse for days... until her milk came in, then her baby was a little more interested in eating. She was extremely nervous there for his first 3 days because he wasn't really eating.

 

[jessesgirl]

We had no groggy issues...or issues otherwise from J with my epi and I basically had two and a half rounds of it because I was in labor for so long.

 

[JCFantasy23]

Gage went to sleep not long after birth (I had an epidural) but I think we were just both tired. He was not groggy though and I did not breastfeed, so not sure on that. He certainly had no trouble taking a bottle and ate quite a bit.