Does general anesthesia affect breastfeeding?

Does general anesthesia affect breastfeeding?

Samuel Seelig (Anesthesiologist, Los Angeles, California) gives expert video advice on: What are the risks of an epidural?; Can I take additional pain medication while having spinal anesthesia or an epidural?; Does general anesthesia affect breastfeeding? and more...

The answer to that question is no. There have been many studies that have looked into the effect on babies breastfed after mothers have had surgery. If the mother is awake and alert, and able to hold the baby there should not be any significant amounts of anesthetic in her breast milk to effect the baby.