Hi Judy,

There are a couple of articles which address this issue.  Both suggest
that breastfeeding can continue until 3 hours before general
anaesthetic.

Schreiner MS. Preoperative and postoperative fasting in children.
Pediatric Clinics of North America. 1994 (February);41:111-120.

This article comes from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, no mean
authority.

Litman RS, et al. Gastric volume and pH in infants fed clear liquids and
breastmilk prior to surgery. Anesth Analg 1994;79:482-5.

At the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, they are very conservative
at 6 hours (too long).  At Doctors Hospital they say 4 hours.  (Better).

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC