Expressing while pregnant to encourage milk flow

[whohellhe]

Hello,
I'm 7 months pregnant with DC2 and have started leaking slightly from both breasts. With DS1 I always struggled to get as much milk from left breast than I did from right. As a consequence I invariably ended up feeding more from right breast so the situation never improved.

Do you think expressing from my left breast in the next few weeks would improve the milk flow? Or should I leave well alone and make more of a conscious effort to stimulate left breast after baby arrives?

Any tips would be grateful, thanks!

I wouldn't do it before hand - I've always fed more from left side, and it hasn't done me any harm (aside from a slightly larger boob).

I would wait until baby arrives.

Hi, I don't this pregnant ladies should express before 40 weeks as it can bring on labour?

It will make little difference. Milk coming in is stimulated by the placenta being removed and then supply is decided by demand ie suckling at the breast and effective transfer of colostrum and then milk. With dd, my right breast was much better at producing milk than my left. With ds it is the other way round. It all balanced out in the end by feeding to demand.

DD pratically fed from the right hand side, barely touched the left, it was fine.

Expressing while pregnant, would I imagine, just lead to very sore boobs!

It wouldn't make any difference. Unless you're feeding DC1 at this point then what you have isn't milk, it's colostrum, and will continue to be colostrum until your milk comes in (as Show says, after the placenta detaches).

Thanks everyone, I will leave alone....I think I knew I should but suppose I just wanted to play!
From some of your comments and reading other threads I've realised it is common to produce more from one breast, perhaps it will be different this time to last.
Thanks again and Seaons Greetings!!