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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

expressing when pregnant

7 replies

pinkyp · 27/10/2010 11:56

Ok my mw said not to touch my boob until i'm 36 weeks (tomorrow) but then she said i could start expressing and freezing the milk for when the babys here!I wasnt aware of this at all and now i'm thinking i might give it a go! I've already got a manuel hand pump,what else do i need? has anyone done this before?

OP posts:
mawbroon · 27/10/2010 12:02

First of all, you won't have milk, you will have colostrum. Expressing colostrum will only give you a few mls at a time if you are lucky

Is there a specific reason for wanting to do this?

Original poster
pinkyp · 27/10/2010 12:14

I've never heard of it before tbh til my mw mentioned it.Just thought it might give me the odd 'rest' in the early days

OP posts:
Lastyearsmodel · 27/10/2010 12:24

I've never heard of this being recommended. Colostrum is extremely thick and difficult to get out - your baby's sucking reflex at birth is very strong and perfectly designed for the job. To do so before could be painful and send your body the wrong message that it need to begin producing colostrum/milk, and you could then run into problems with soreness, blocked ducts, etc.

It would not give you a rest in the early days because it is unlikely you would produce enough to fill your baby's tummy, tiny as it will be. In addition, it is vital that your baby feeds directly from your breasts because this is what programmes your body to produce the right amount of milk for them. Feeding from a bottle in the very early days can also cause nipple/teat confusion for the baby when they are learning to latch on to the breast in the most effective way.

Put your feet up and enjoy your last few weeks of peace while you look forward to meeting your baby.

www.kellymom.com is an excellent resource for bf info.

mawbroon · 27/10/2010 13:04

I expressed when I was pregnant because I had to go in for surgery on a broken ankle. I wanted some colostrum in the freezer in case it all went horribly wrong and the baby had to be delivered early (was 34 weeks)

I was still feeding ds1 at that point which I guess gave me an advantage in terms of production (only guessing, not sure tbh). But still I only managed to gather 2.5mls over two expressing sessions. This was hand expressing then sucking the colostrum, drop by drop into a syringe.

Agree with Lastyearsmodel that you won't get a 'rest' from a few drops of colostrum, and more importantly, you don't want a 'rest' in the very early days at it can affect your supply. And like she says, put your feet up, unless you want to do it to be prepared for the emergency that probably won't happen. Smile

TheMulledBloodsOnMe · 27/10/2010 13:10

TBH I wouldn't bother, what would be the point? There is nothing wrong with expressing at any stage during your pregnancy- if you are making anything that is, but it's likely to feel very sensitive and sore and you will hardly get anything out anyway. I can vouch for this as DS is BFing and I am 26 weeks pregnant and it is sooo sore! He doesn't seem to get much but it is probably very concentrated and it brings him comfort! It won't trigger your body to produce extra at this time as the placenta is doing a good job of stopping this.

narmada · 27/10/2010 14:00

OK, I have just done this with my DS who was born 8 days ago. I struggled with BF last time and my idea was that it would give me a fallback if things went wrong this time. So my reasons were different from yours but.....

I am now in two minds about having done it, principally because it got me into the habit of giving expressed pre-stored colostrum when he was born, to supplement his feeding (which he wasn't doing at all well at first, like many babies). What would actually have been more helpful was to get proper help with getting him feeding well. If you start supplementing with anything at all, it can be hard work getting them off the supplements. As lastyearsmodel says it is really important to get the baby feeding directly from you if at all possible.

It is probably wrong of me to be offering advice given the problems I have had (I am definitely no expert at all but I thought I would throw in my twopenneth!

Original poster
pinkyp · 27/10/2010 18:45

All experiences welcome!! I combined fed straight away last time,mainly breast but 1/2 bottles a day, some days none. Not sure if i want to bf again this time or if i feel i have to as it was really stressful last time

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