Can you express when you are pregnant?

[nappyaddict]

My friend is 20 weeks pregnant. She has 1 DD who she breastfed but she is nearly 5 and hasn't fed for years. Her boobs feel really full and leaky. She was wondering if she can express it to take away the soreness and if so can she freeze what she expresses and give it to the baby when it is born?

I'm not an expert but...

Here's why I wouldn't express at this point -

Expressing would surely trigger her body to make more colustrum, supply and demand and all that? So wouldn't that make the problem worse?

If she did freeze it and give it to the new baby, that would upset the supply/demand balance while she is trying to establish breastfeeding in the first few days. If she tried to give it later, well, it would be colustrum not milk so presumably not the right food for a baby older than a few days?

I warned you I wasn't an expert.

I also wouldn't all myself an expert but I am a breastfeeding worker!

You can express from approx 36 week. Expressing before this does pose a hormonal trigger risk. Not worth it.

You'll only get colostrum until after the baby is born anyway because lactation is triggered by removal of the placenta and really, you don't need pints of colostrum, what your body produces naturally, by your baby feeding, is perfect.

Yes its not advised to do it until just before you are due as in some people it could trigger contractions.

The last La Leche meeting I was at, they were saying that preganant women expressing colostrum (into a syringe and freezing) was becoming more common. It means if you have complications or the baby has to be in special care you have a store of colostrum for them rather than them being given formula. I gather its an insurance in case you can't feed them rather than for relief.

Albrecht, what about just before you are due then? Is it becoming more common because people are being advised to do it, or just because of raised breast-feeding awareness? I'm not anticipating any probs at birth, but I guess no-one does...quite like the idea of having a wee "bank" of colostrum, esp given the woeful bf support at our maternity unit.

Yes the colostrum would be in case baby had to go on to neo natal. I'm not sure if she could then donate it, if it wasn't used by her own baby?

Also what's this hormonal trigger thing? If you were pregnant and feeding another child would it be ok to express then?

Not sure about feeding another child, was actually wondering that myself! Is that why feeding an older child has previously been frowned on, in case it triggered contractions?

I'd ring La Leche helpline as they were advising women to do it at this meeting. I think 4 weeks before your due date was fine.

And I think she'd also have to check in advance what hoops you have to jump through for them to accept it as a donation. Screening maybe?

I was advised to collect colostrum and freeze it from 36 weeks by the hospital, as being T1 diabetic there was a slightly higher chance baby would need special care when he was born.

Sadly although I had had leaky breasts earlier on I didn't manage to collect any, and bean decided to arrive at 37 weeks anyway (pre-eclampsia) so I didn't have much time!

I think it's more common partly because GD is becoming more common and it's often recommended after 36 weeks if you have that as LO is more likely to need help with blood sugar levels (and so more colostrum than usual) after birth.

i'm pretty sure there was a thread about this a couple of years back- started by mears. I'll have a look in a sec.

Right found it, though it was related to babies at risk of hypoglycaemia...

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/breast_and_bottle_feeding/84712-antenatal-expressing-of-colostrum-for-freezing-anywhere-else-doing-it

While 39 weeks pregnant with DC1, I bought a hand pump. I decided to have a little go to see how it worked. Well I was amazed when milk came out and carried on to see how much more i could express.

That afternoon my waters broke!!! Had a fast and easy deliverly.

So when I was due and fed up with DC2 I gave it a go again ( little home experiment you could call it)

Well thaat afternoon my waters broke again!

Don't express unless you want to start labour!

My midwife told me it would take HOURS of nipple stimulation to produce enough of the hormone (oxy-something?) to induce labour.

Some interesting replies here. Given me bit of a laugh to be honest. I've had two premature babies and been told to expect this one to be too. My doctors know I'm currently tandeming and are fine about it, they were giving me p&a tips last time because I had pgp - bless, didn't have the heart to tell them p&a doesn't work with a toddler.

Colostrum harvesting is safe as long as you're not on pelvic rest - ie been told not to have sex - and will only work as a induction, as with all induction methods, if you're ready to go into labour anyway.

If you're expecting a premature or sick baby pregnancy colostrum is good for the baby.

And just to remind people, as we say over and over again on this board, a baby is a more efficient milk remover than a pump. Even in pregnancy!

Cobweb, it will work if you're due to go into labour anyway and will help speed things up if you're already in labour, but not mid-pregnancy.

It's oxytocin, the love hormone. It's what works in falling in love, sex, labour and breastfeeding.

Confuddled, what is p&a?

So falling in love can induce labour?

P&A = positioning and attachment? But what is pgp?

Lol no falling in love won't induce labour totally different levels of oxytocin.

Pgp is pelvic girdle pain formerly known as spd.

confuddled So can I tell my friend it is ok even at 20 weeks and not feeding another child to express? And can she keep that milk incase the baby needs it if she freezes it?

It's no different to feeding a child in fact it's easier on the body than feeding a child. All I would say is stop if it's causing tightening more than just a BH whilst she's doing it or if her doctor puts her on pelvic rest and check out the freezing guidelines for colostrum as it's different to mature milk.

LLL GB sells an information sheet for 75p called about antenatal expression of colostrum here