I am curious to know if any of you ladies have ever been induced with pitocin and then had major breastfeeding issues after delivery. I was only induced with one of my deliveries. The induction was my first T1 pregnancy/delivery. I have a suspicion that the pitocin might have messed with my milk production. I had 2 previous deliveries that progressed naturally and breastfeeding was very easy. With my first T1 baby, breastfeeding was horribly difficult and i’m trying to figure out if pitocin caused some of the issues. When I say breastfeeding was horribly difficult, I mean nothing was wrong with my baby girl. My milk wouldn’t come in barely at all and then when it did it didn’t seem like that much- i measured it constantly. I tried breastfeeding more, that and drinking a lot of water but nothing seemed to help. I’ve breastfed 2 babies previously and had no issues at all. I’m trying to figure out what I can do differently for this last baby to breastfeed as long as possible. I’m really focused on going into labor naturally but like I can control that. My OBGYN is very supportive of waiting as long as 40 weeks before inducing me or intervening in some way. As long as baby and myself stay healthy.
Little bit about me, I am T1 (3.5 years) on my 4th pregnancy. I have 3 healthy children. My first 2 kids were with GD and my third was my first T1 pregnancy, so this is my second T1 pregnancy and my last child. I am currently 22 weeks, baby and I are doing great.
Any help, support, guidance or information would be greatly appreciated.
Hi, my name is Shelly I am Sam’s wife. He saw this post and thought I might be able to offer support. I am an OB nurse and certified international lactation consultant. Thought you might like to know that at this point there is no valid research that supports any relationship with Pitocin induction and poor milk supply. I would encourage you to seek lactation support if any issues arise after your next baby, there are a lot of great resources/organizations out there that can really be of great help.
Hi Shelly,
Thank you! I had tried a handful of times to find documented research on this idea and I found nothing. Thank you so much for your input. I feel relieved to know that this really isn’t an issue- it was just a hunch anyway.
I had previously met with a certified international lactation consultant locally with my second child but diabetes seems to bring a whole set of potential other issues with breastfeeding. My third child also had the worst case of jaundice out of all my kids. It was very stressful and my daughter spent a week at the hospital a week after her birth. I’m not sure why I didn’t make an appointment with the consultant. I will connect with her this time. Would you happen to know if there are lactation consultants who specialize in diabetes knowledge and how it affects breastfeeding? I’m not sure if it takes a general knowledge or a specialty to really provide the necessary help.
I was induced with my twins almost 3 years ago with pitocin and nursed for 20 months. I should probably have had more difficulty with breastfeeding because I had massive blood loss following labor so In my case it didn’t affect nursing.
What a superwoman! I’m glad to hear things worked out for you and breastfeeding with your little ones.
I’m beginning to think my breastfeeding issues might have had to do with medication I took after labor. I usually only take NSAIDS or motrin- (isn’t motrin an NSAID?) for pain relief but coupled with the severe jaundice, I suspect the pain meds leave my babies more lethargic. One of the symptoms of jaundice is lethargy in babies, primarily is the yellowing of skin and eyes and high level of bilirubin in their little bodies. As painful as it is to endure especially after labor, I think I will try to wait taking any pain relievers until the first 72 hours to see how baby #4 reacts. My goal is to get baby feeding more so jaundice isn’t so severe and we don’t have to stay in the hospital so long. I’ve seen my babies endure laying under the therapy lights and babies The more babies breastfeed the more they excrete bilirubin through their poo. Breastfeeding a lot is vital- 10 or more times a day.
Busybee
My OBGYN is very supportive of waiting as long as 40 weeks before inducing me or intervening in some way. As long as baby and myself stay healthy.