Ante natal expressing

[BettyBi0]

DC2 is due soon and I going to have a go at ante natal expressing as BF DC1 was really really hard for first few months with lots of supply and latch issues.

I was just wondering, if I start expressing at 37 weeks, is it still colostrum being produced at the time of the birth or does your milk come in properly before the birth?

Also, roughly what kind of volume do most people manage to express at s time ante natally?

Milk production is controlled primarily by hormones and by baby's demand. Expressing prior to birth won't make a bit of difference and there's rarely anything to be gained from it. Why do you want to do it? Have you been advised to?

Sorry meant to add I failed to BF DS1. Now successfully feeding DS2. Best thing you can do is get support from an IBCLC or BF cafe / peer supporter as soon as you can after birth.

It just took my milk so long to come in last time. I think it was 8 or 9 days or something ridiculous like that. Also it took DC1 5 weeks to get back up to her birth weight despite feeding for hours on end. It wasn't until I started supplementing with formula that she started gaining and I really want to avoid that this time.

I definitely agree about getting seen by BF consultant ASAP though but last time around I had the baby's latch checked by several people before someone finally explained what was wrong. Basically DD1 had tongue and lip ties but she also just had a really high palate which she needed to grow into. I'm hoping that the combination of BF, plus power pumping/expressing and supplementing her that way after the birth will get us through the first couple of months so that I didn't suffer supply issues.

Just hoping that the antenatal expressing will help the milk come in faster

I really don't think it will, but an expert may contradict me on that. I don't think antenatal expressing makes any different I'm afraid.

My milk also took an age to come in with DS1. The key is HOURS of skin to skin. And I mean hours. I had 12 hours of s2s with DS2 after ELCS then I just camped on the sofa with him when we came home. DH took care of DS1.

Ds2 also had tongue tie - picked up by IBCLC at one week and we paid to have it snipped privately. Five midwives missed it - do not rely on them or health visitors to diagnose.

You really need to let the baby and your hormones take the lead in way establishing supply in the early days. If you have a good latch, feed on demand and have skin to skin then it will happen. If you express before supply has stabilised you can cause problems with engorgement, which can cause mastitis. Bloody unpleasant, that.

Just be kind to yourself, get loads of support and know that BF gets soooooo much easier after a few weeks

Antenatal expressing won't make any difference to your supply or how quickly your milk comes in unfortunately. It is usually recommended that mothers do it if delivering twins, babies with suspected low birth weight or babies born to diabetic mothers to stabilise their blood sugars. I'm going to be induced next week due to IUGR and am expressing 1ml into a syringe each day, I find I can get that all in one go if I expresss first thing on a morning othwise it takes a few sittings. It wouldn't be enough for a full feed but it's there to avaoid having to top up with formula.