Georgette Bartell, RN
In responce to you questions regarding General annesthesia and Br F'ing. You
did not say what type of surgery this mother was having. I think Dr. Hale
will be able to comment more about the types (long acting and short acting
annesthesia) that are commonly used.

Anectodotally,  I was still nursing my children when I had several massive
surgeries on my hip (including 2 total hip revisions). In my case I was
recieving too many combinations of antibiotics to nurse for the first 48
hours post-op. Massive doses of morphine were also of concern but,
surprizingly enough, not as much as the antibiotics. Doctors were also
concerned about the amount of milk my babies were recieving. As older babies
they would be taking more per feeding than a newborn so they would be getting
a higher concentration. I left a note at my bedside to ask the nurses to
remind me to pump every 3 or 4 hours. Even when I pumped in those first
days--there was very little milk. My milk supply came right back after about
4 or 5 days.  It was almost as if my body said *wait a minute, I have to take
care of you first, then I'll make milk.*

In my clinic practice, this question often comes up with dilitation and
cuttatage and 6 weeks post-partum tubal ligations. I tell mothers to speak to
the annesthesiologist and express their concerns regarding breastfeeding. If
there is a short acting medication-- for a short surgery the annest. has
options. If it is going to be a long involved surgery requiring deep
annesthesia and paralytic drugs (and who knows what else will be dumped into
mother's system ) the we should err on the side of caution.
Marie Davis