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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Colostrum harvesting

19 replies

Pooshweens · 15/09/2017 20:05

I'm 36 weeks pregnant with my second child. They've recommended colostrum harvesting but get mixed reviews about whether it is worth it when I look online

The thought of it grosses me out but I'll do it if it helps. Does anyone have any tips / advise / opinions to share?

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Cagliostro · 15/09/2017 20:18

Is this basically starting to express before the birth? I have been wondering about this but I'm not really sure how it works as if you do the colostrum bit early does that mean your milk comes in early too? Or is that always going to be after birth due to hormones etc?

TiramisuQueenoftheFaeries · 15/09/2017 20:20

Is there a specific reason it's been recommended? I don't think it is usually except in the case of gestational diabetes?

I didn't harvest and pre-store but I did a lot of hand expression in the first few days. Hand expression is usually easiest with colostrum - ideally I'd get some help (or watch some YouTube videos) to master the technique, order a big pile of suitable sterile syringes online, and then just crack on and freeze them. I found it easiest to express straight into the syringe but I think some people do use a small sterile cup. It's tiny quantities at a time anyway.

LubyLoo222 · 15/09/2017 20:21

I have really leaky boobs and my midwife suggested to me not before 37 weeks but to pump from then. I do like 20 mins on a breast then 10 mins off then 20 again and i collect nothing. To say i need to wear pads the rest of the day i really thought i would get an ounce or 2 but nope. Like the cup bit is wet but theres not enough to actually get through to the bottle 🙈

TiramisuQueenoftheFaeries · 15/09/2017 20:22

Cagliostro no, you have colostrum from about 20 weeks of pregnancy, but it doesn't change to mature milk until after the birth. The change is triggered by the placenta coming away.

It's not necessary to do unless you're medically advised to, so I wouldn't worry.

Mummyme87 · 15/09/2017 20:22

Absolutely recommend it. Very helpful in the early days. I had 100ml colostrum stored in the freezer and my DS was unexpectedly in NNU with meningitis and had every bit of it which was fab.
It doesn't make your milk come in earlier but is good for milk supply.

TiramisuQueenoftheFaeries · 15/09/2017 20:24

@LubyLoo222 I'm not surprised! An ounce would be a HELL of a lot of colostrum. You're talking a few mls, honestly - hence why IMO hand expression works a lot better than a pump - you'll waste it all in the pump mechanism .

24hoursfliesby · 15/09/2017 20:28

I did this. It's recommended if you have diabetes, but there's no reason from 37 weeks why you can't do it. I did it mainly because my first LO wouldn't latch so missed out on colostrum although she had expressed milk for the first month along with formula.
I used an electric pump which was fine. I had 2ml syringes and filled about 10 of them pre birth. My LO had formula and expressed colostrum for a few days as he wouldn't latch to breastfeed either (don't think midwives were particularly helpful re breastfeeding) and then as soon as my milk came in I expressed for the first month and mix fed with formula. It worked really well. I froze the syringes straight away and then took frozen colostrum in when I went into hospital and they put it in the fridge ready for when I needed it.

Cagliostro · 15/09/2017 20:30

Ah I see thank you!

I'm intrigued about the gestational diabetes link though, as I have just been diagnosed with that at 31 weeks. Should I ask my consultant?

I did try a little hand expressing before I had my youngest (now 8 so feels like forever ago) - I actually couldn't get anything out but it did toughen my (ridiculously sensitive, don't let DH near them much :o) nipples up a bit which was quite helpful compared to when I had my oldest

RNBrie · 15/09/2017 20:32

I did it for babies 2 and 3 after having major feeding issues with baby 1. Was really good to have a stock pile in freezer to top up over the first few days. I'd do it again if there was ever dc4!

Mummyme87 · 15/09/2017 20:33

Babies of diabetic mothers are more likely to have low blood sugars and need more frequent feeds, hence recommendation to express antenatally for small top ups and avoid giving formula.
Good for anyone though. So many things affect milk supply and feeding... mode of birth, blood loss, flat nipples, tongue tie, low birth weight etc

someblondegirl · 15/09/2017 20:40

I did it, for no other reason than I'd read about it and liked the idea of having something put by in case I needed it, I discussed it with my mw who said it couldn't hurt. I had maybe 4-5 very small syringes frozen by the time he was born. I did give him the expressed stuff in the first week just to make sure he was getting something, as I had no idea what I was up to with breastfeeding. For me it did give me some peace of mind that he had got something, even if only a little bit, but I'm sure he would've been absolutely fine without.

Original poster

Pooshweens · 15/09/2017 20:40

Thanks everyone! I'll give it a go. Should I get 2ml syringes?

OP posts:

Mummyme87 · 15/09/2017 20:42

I would recommend 1ml or 2ml synrings and make sure you get some bungs aswell, and label them with date

LubyLoo222 · 15/09/2017 20:43

@tirimasu oh 🙈 so what should i express into? I dunno what ml and ounces are really it just says ounces on bottle 😂

Cagliostro · 15/09/2017 20:47

Ah of course that's makes sense, thank you. Doctors reckon I had GD last time (but developed it late, having 'passed' the test at 28 weeks) because DS was huge and had low blood sugar. I had to top up with formula for the first 10 days or so. I'll definitely ask then! Haven't had any leaking yet.

Mummyme87 · 15/09/2017 20:47

Order 1 and 2ml syringes online. It's very small amounts, you won't get enough in a bottle

Mummyme87 · 15/09/2017 20:50

caglio I was an undiagnosed GDM aswell with DS1 and he was very unwell but luckily I had so much expressed colostrum stored up he didn't need formula 🙂 Will definitely do it again this time

TiramisuQueenoftheFaeries · 15/09/2017 20:55

The other reason I generally wouldn't bother with a pump is that it's very sticky, more so than mature milk, so you lose a lot of what's already a small quantity if you put it into something else and then have to transfer to a syringe.

The colostrum's still in there even if you aren't leaking @Cagliostro, don't worry :) I think it's usually suggested not to do it until 37 weeks or so just in case the nipple stimulation triggers contractions.

There's no harm in doing it otherwise other than it's a faff. Has definite advantages in diabetes but fwiw I expressed plenty after the birth so (outside of when medically advised) it's not a crisis if you don't do it before birth and baby has trouble latching at first.

Mummyme87 · 15/09/2017 21:04

Not everyone can express after birth unfortunately, lots of causes of reduced supply in the first few days. It's being looked at being made general advice for all women. I recommend after 36weeks, tbf if it caused contractions we would use it for induction 🙄😂

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