Hand expressing in late pregnancy?

[Mummyof3tobe]

My midwife suggested I start hand expressing from 37-38 weeks to help milk come in and possibly help prepare for labour.

I never really got on with expressing in previous 2 DCs - but that was later after delivery and once feeding established.

Anyway I figured I'd give it a try and since 37 weeks i've been trying once a day so far and only get the barest few drops of colostrum out. Is that sufficient? Any tips?

It sounds a bit odd to be honest, and not something I've ever heard suggested before. Did she give a good reason for doing it?

I thought the whole idea was that the colostrum was the first milk, brought on by the birth hormones etc, like a big slug of double cream.

(I have no idea and might be way off) but if you start expressing now, will the milk have moved onto the 'normal' milk that you get during the rest of breastfeeding?

And surely the baby will 'set' the quantity and your boobs will respond, how could you know how much to express? You could producing way too much and all the baby ever drinks is the fore-milk for the first couple of days.

Now sure how it will help for labour either.

Am also of the 'sounds like bollocks' persuasion. Labour will happen when you and baby are ready, and your milk is best straight from the boob, not stored and served up later!

Not an expert in the least, but seems like very odd advice to me.

How would it help you prepare for labour?

Milk production is triggered by removal of the placenta, midwife talking out of her arse

No idea where your MW has got that from and to the best of my knowledge it's completely wrong. Expressing before birth won't make any difference to your milk coming in because it will ALWAYS be colostrum until a few days after birth. Nipple twiddling can supposedly help to start labour (to do with oxytocin production) but you have to do it for three hours a day.

Thanks. I wasn't overly convinced either. Never suggested in my last 2 pregnancies.

Looking back at the leaflet she gave me it ses to be more about the oxytocin production, than milk supply (I think she made that bit up). I'm certainly not planning to store any, we are talking drops here! Think I'll just give it up and let nature take its course.

I have 2 other kids to look after and no time for 3 hours of nipple twiddling in the day!'