hand expressing....

[twoplusone]

have been told from a midwife on the hospital visit to hand express from 28weeks if planning to breastfeed..

I am 34+5weeks and havent.. not worried though.. just curious as to why she has suggested this.. bnever mentioned before in prev pg and how do you hand express.. I am hoping to breast feed this time but the other two times I have had to express for my dd and ds as they would not take..

[coleyboy]

Have never heard of this before either.

I think hand expressing is making a fist and rolling it down the breast towards the nipple, massaging the breast, and basically squeezing the milk out of your breast. Surely a breast pump would be the easier option??!!

[twoplusone]

This is just to get the milk flowing apparantley to make it easier when babs gets here!!!.. But thought it does alright coming on its own.. Thought it was produced by the chemicals when babs is ready to come, this starts milk flow.. etc..!!!

[twoplusone]

anyone else....

[SockPuppetOfDoom]

Was she suggesting that you freeze it? Because I'm wondering if she meant express early and freeze so that you have some EBM for the first couple of days if your baby 'doesn't take', if as you say your previous two didn't?

I have heard it suggested to mothers that they try expressing from 36 weeks (not as early as 28, though), and hand expression is a useful skill to learn. It's better than a breast pump in the early days, particularly before the milk comes in.

But if she's suggesting that you just do it to 'prime' the breasts then she's talking rubbish, really. It's not necessary. In any case, some women find they cannot express very much at all before the actual birth, even if they then go on to breastfeed qute happily.

I'll try and find a link about hand expressing technique...

[MarsLady]

coleyboy.... no no no no no!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry honey. You need to protect your breast tissue.

To hand express you take your thumb and the first finger. Put the thumb to the top of the areola and the finger underneath your breast (producing a C shape with the finger and thumb). Then press your thumb back as though you were pushing it into your spine. Press thumb and finger together as though they were going to meet. Release. It's actually rather simple and very effective.

[MarsLady]

Now... the other issue. Why exactly did she say that you should start to hand express?

Also, have you spoken to a lactation consultant or a breastfeeding counsellor about your previous bfing experiences?

[SockPuppetOfDoom]

Yeah. What Marsy said

[maxbear]

I think that the advice to hand express to 'get the milk going' is old fashioned and incorrect, the milk won't start coming until the hormones the placenta produces are not there anymore. I personally hand expressed from 36 weeks and froze it on the advice of a bf counsellor so that I had a top up for the first night or two. I first tried at 35 weeks and got nothing off at all, then a week later was able to get about 2 - 3 mls off a day. I froze it and added a bit to it each day, I know a lot of people say you should not do this but this bf counsellor said it was ok, esp if chilled first. Anyway I ended up with about 40 ml altogether which I gave on ds's second and third nights. After constant bf for a few hours it was great to be able to top him up without using formula. Another thing to say is that all women are different and you may only get a few drops at this stage, or even nothing, it does not mean that you will not be able to bf once the baby is born.

My top tip for successful breastfeeding is skin to skin contact with the baby. I would suggest that you have prolonged skin to skin contact (ie for an hour or so) as soon as possible after the baby is born. If baby has to go to be weighed or anything then put him/her straight back on you afterwards. If baby wants to feed great but if it does not seem desperately interested at first don't try to force it on as after skin to skin it will almost certainly want to anyway. Although your dp will probably want a cuddle too there will be plenty of time for that, make sure he knows in advance and reminds you to do it at the time.

[twoplusone]

It wasnt just me she said it too she said it to the group of us that were on the hospital visit!!.. I thought I would check on here for advice first as have never been told this info before.. So thank you all for replying

NO I havent spoken to anyone other than my normal mw re my bf probs with the other two.. she has said that if need be to will come to the ouse atleast twice a day to help me.. I have said Iwa nt to be out of hospital as quick as possible after delivery.. (we are in Germany, and although care is supposed to be fantastic.. the way they do things and language barriers is something I dont want to deal with as well as trying to bf.I would rather be in my own environment..) as I know I will get myself upset if lo doenst take.. I did with the other two.. WIth my last baby I cried for about 18months after having him everytime I seen a mother bf her baby.. (I felt guilty as I only expressed for 4 weeks with DD then only 2-3weeks with ds.. as I found it too hard to run around after a 7year old here there and evry where, sterlising, expressing feeding.. etc on my own as my DH was away...)

[MarsLady]

www.abm.me.uk
www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk

twoplusone... here are a couple of websites for you.