Hi, I know this won't affect many moms, but I thought I'd share my experience in case it helps anyone. I recently found out I had a malignant tumor on my arm which had to be removed. This meant surgery under general anesthesia and one night in the hospital. As I'm breastfeeding, I consulted Gwen's pediatrician, who said to pump and dump for 24 hours after the anesthesia.

We were very concerned about this, because she won't take liquid from any source but me (you can hear the screams down the street). Also, Gwen's significantly underweight, so we couldn't let her go that long without milk. We had several weeks of stress, trying all sorts of bottles and cups. Finally, after doing lots of research on the internet and not finding anything conclusive about known dangers from anesthesia, I called the anesthesiologist. They said it should be fine to nurse as soon as I woke up.

Once we decided to go against our ped's advice and breastfeed, it felt like this huge weight had been lifted! I had the surgery, and nursed Gwen about 4 hours later. We nursed on pretty much our normal schedule while I was in the hospital, and she and I both benefited from that interaction. We didn't notice any effects at all from the anesthesia or painkillers on Gwen. She didn't even seem extra sleepy.

I don't want to appear to give medical advice, but I did want to share my experience. For anyone facing a similar situation, good luck!

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03