I had unavoidable dental surgery today, so I have to pump and dump until at least [name_m]Noon[/name_m], and I don’t really have a stock built up for him, he wouldn’t take the formula for most of the day, but finally did when he was hungry enough so I feel like the worst mother ever. I have a lot of trouble pumping. It seems like [name_m]Ivan[/name_m] is able to get so much more than the pump, and it’s a pretty good one. I have only been able to pump three times today and it looks like it’s all foremilk. I don’t know if that’s normal or not. I’m just concerned that there will still be something that can hurt him in it. Does anyone know how to make sure it’s all coming out, or if this is just normal? Is it the time that gets rid of the medicine, or pumping? It was Propofol. I’m going to double check with his doctor before I start nursing again, but she isn’t a great source for pumping advice.
I’m new at this, so please grain of salt, but here’s what I’ve read:
First off, no pump will ever be as effective as a baby, so nothing unusual there.
Second, I’m pretty sure the meds will clear from your milk the same way it clears from your blood stream, not accumulate. So the whole pump and dump is really for your own comfort/to preserve your supply during the hours you can’t nurse, not to get rid if the meds. It’s the time that clears it out.
It is time if your body has metabolized the medicine it is likely no longer in your milk. Like if you have a drink it will be gone in two hours no need to pump and dump. So it really depends on what the medicine is I was on a antibiotic that took two days to clear my system and milk. As for pumping you may have to adjust the setting on your pump while pumping to get good let down. Try snuggling and or smelling one of his blankets to trigger. You can also try hand expressing when you have all the fore milk you can get. I was told to pump for ten minutes after the milk stopped coming out of the pump to help. Honestly after looking up the medicine I would think you would be fine to breastfeed a few hours after surgery 2hrs being a min of time though. If you are concerned call a pharmacist they have the most information on medicines.
It’s all about the time! [name_f]Every[/name_f] drug has what’s called a half-life - and that means how fast (or slow) it’s metabolized by our bodies. I believe pumping and dumping is more to preserve your milk flow than anything else. If you’re good with numbers, you could probably google the half-life of propofol and get a rough estimate that way (though your body size, weight, and the dose you were given would all be important factors as well of course). Checking with baby boy’s doctor sounds like a good idea, they tend to know more!
Thank you so much! I can’t believe I misunderstood that. We are very happily back to nursing now!
So glad you are doing ok now! I had to have an upper GI scope a few weeks ago and nursed in recovery with no issues, just throwing that out there for future reference.
My goodness, that sounds uncomfortable. I hope everything’s okay! I don’t know why they all said 24 hours, everything everyone has said and everything I’ve found basically say that it’s safe. I was just panicky about it.