Is pumping supposed to hurt this much?

[Roeslein]

I have a 3 week old DS who is EBF and I want to start pumping occasionally so I can attend the odd event on my own leaving him with DH. BF has been much easier than expected so far, no pain or trouble with latch fortunately - he was born knowing exactly what he was supposed to do!

Yesterday I tried using a manual pump for the first time (don't want to buy an electric one as this is only for occasional use) and it was really painful! Boobs were sore and hurting for hours afterwards and I couldn't even express much (about 30ml). Is this normal? Also, I am quite small (32AA/A before pregnancy, and now I seem to have stabilised at 34A - no they don't make nursing bras in this size or anything below cup C it seems...), would that affect "storage capacity" and hence how much I can express? (DS has been feeding every 90 minutes to 2 hours but I've heard that's normal for newborns?) It was so painful I can't imagine doing this several times a day if e.g. I need to be away for a significant part of the day...

It's not recommended to pump before 6 weeks while your supply is establishing. The size of your breasts has no effect on how much milk you make/store, they're more like rivers than lakes, always making it. 30ml isn't a bad amount, I never got more than 2ozs per breast in 3 years of bf over 2 children whereas my friend gets about 6ozs each time, everyone is different! Was the suction bit the right size for your nipple/breast? How long did you pump for? The amount you'll get will increase if you pump at the same time every day.

It only hurts because you are trying to force yourself to produce an amount. Just pump and allow yourself to produce any amount whether it is a dribble or a lot. You are likely to produce more milk as the weeks go on but you may not. Breast size has absolutely nothing to do with the amount you produce. Also why the PPs states with authority about 6 weeks before pumping, I haven't heard that from the HCPs I personally know who frequently deal with under weight babies or the midwife who took my NCT classes as they point out babies cluster feed to make you supply the amount of milk they need if you aren't producing enough. Instead the main issue about pumping is when to do e.g. when the baby is feeding from the other breast, afterwards.

Hi all - so I've sought help regarding this and in case anyone has the same problem, it turns out that the pain was in fact related to breast size, in that the "one size fits all" breast shield that came with the manual pump is much too big for my (small) nipples. This results in half the breast getting sucked in at the same time, which is obviously very painful and leaves the breast feeling bruised for days afterwards... The pain in turns affects let down and hence the amount of milk that can be expressed. Wish someone had told me this could be an issue before I bought a pump with a standard-size shield!

Hi OP. Was just coming on to say that it is definitely incorrect flange size on your pump. I had to buy numerous sets. Wish someone had told me this at the beginning too.

www.medela.co.uk/dam/medela-com/breastfeeding-consumer/documents/products/personal-fit-breast-shield/english-personalfit-factsheet-low.pdf?uuid=jcr:35b86f4c-e827-4d7c-bada-0a082e87ee64

Also, as PP has said be careful pumping too much before 6 weeks. Can lead to oversupply problem. This is what I did. Caused big problems for me. Some of us can get away with it, some of us who are more prone to blocked ducts etc can't.