How to express colostrum - thanks to the lovely Mears who first posted it here on MN.
I didn't edit the bit about Hypoglycaemia but will also be useful for jaundiced babies.
Expressing Colostrum during Pregnancy
Hypoglycaemia Policy
Most babies have no difficulty in adapting to life outside the womb. However, some babies have an increased chance of developing low blood sugar, sometimes called ?hypoglycaemia?. Babies at increased chance of low blood sugar are:
Babies born early or premature ? before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy
Babies, who are lighter in weight than expected for the number of weeks of pregnancy, sometimes called ?small for dates?.
Babies who need extra help to breathe at birth
A baby who is ill
Babies whose mothers had diabetes during pregnancy
Babies whose mothers have had to take medicine for blood pressure (betablockers).
If any of the above applies to you or your baby, then we will encourage you to feed your baby as soon as possible after birth and then to feed often, at least every 3 hours as this will help to prevent low blood sugar in your baby. Your expressed colostrum can also be given to your baby after breastfeeds. Your baby will be carefully monitored and we will check his/her blood sugar regularly.
Is there anything I can do during my pregnancy to prepare for this?
Sometimes as early as 28 weeks of pregnancy, women find that they leak colostrums. The midwives will offer to teach you a very simple technique for expressing colostrum and provide you with sterile equipment for collecting and safely storing it with labels for dating it.
How much colostrum will I be able to express?
Colostrum is present in the breasts from about sixteen weeks of pregnancy onwards. Some women leak colostrum and some don?t, both are normal. Don?t worry if you don?t leak colostrum, it is not an indication that you won?t have enough milk or a reflection on your ability to breastfeed. The amount of colostrum will vary from woman to woman. It can range from a few drops to as much as a teaspoonful or more.
When do I start?
A good time to start would be when you reach 36 weeks of pregnancy.
How often can I express?
A good time to have a first practice is when you are in the bath but you can express as often as you like.
How is it Done? In 4 Easy Steps!
- Prepare ? gently stroke or use circular movements with your fingertips to massage your breasts, moving towards the nipple area. (It is not essential but sometimes a back massage can help. Ask someone to stand behind you with a fist either side of your spine, level with your breast and rub their fists up and down, gently and firmly).
- Finding the place you need to press ? You need to find where your milk collecting ducts (sinuses) are in your breasts. The best way to do this is by feeling for them. They may feel like peas or peas in a pod or just a change in the texture inside your breasts. They are often found a few centimetres from the end of the nipple or where the darker tissue around the nipple area (areola) meets the skin of the breast.
- Removing colostrum ? Place the flat your thumb above and the flat of your first finger below, in a ?C? shape, over the sinuses and gently press and release, building up to a rhythm. A few drops of colostrum may appear at the end of your nipple. When the drips stop move your thumb and finger around your breast to the next set of milk collecting sinuses, repeating this process of rhythmic press and release. You may need to swap hands to express colostrum from the other side of the same breast.
- Collecting and storing colostrum ? You will be given a package containing equipment for collecting and storing your colostrum. There will be small sterile syringes with red caps, which you can use to collect the colostrum directly from your nipple. If you chose this way to collect colostrum, carefully replace the red cap and place the syringe at the back of the fridge. Alternatively, you may wish to use the small sterile gallipot for collecting colostrum, if so when finished re-cover the gallipot and place it in the back of the fridge. If you are expressing more than once in a day then use a new sterile syringe or gallipot at each expressing. At the end of the day, you can put all of the collected colostrum into one container (universal container) and store this in the freezer at minus 18 degrees C. When you are coming into hospital to have your baby put all of the collected colostrum into the plastic bags provided, pack the bag(s) with ice. Once at the hospital give the bag(s) to your midwife who will have it stored in the hospital freezer.