Leaky boobs at 35 weeks

[tadah6]

FTM. The past few days my boobs have started leaking. I'm planning on breastfeeding, is there anything I should be doing now my milk is coming in? I don't have a breast pump, is it time to purchase one and start collecting milk for baby? Or do I just wait until he's here🤷🏼‍♀️

How much are they leaking? A little bit of leaking is very normal towards the end of pregnancy. You can buy breast pads to pop in your bra which will absorb any leaks without showing through your clothes.

I wouldn’t do anything in terms of pumping etc until baby arrives. This leaking won’t be your milk ‘coming in’ as such- you need the process of labour to properly start that. Also the first lot of milk for the baby is colostrum, which is really important for the baby to have right after birth (if you’re able to breastfeed of course). If you were to start pumping now, you might interrupt the natural processes of the milk coming in so just wait.

If the leaking is really bad and your boobs feel really heavy and hard (think like a bowling ball- that’s how your boobs will feel when they are really full of milk) speak to your midwife

Pumping whilst pregnant can bring on labour so please don't pump now! I was going to do it until I was told absolutely not

My midwife told me if I started leaking naturally then I could collect the colostrum and freeze it. Might be worth asking your midwife? Especially if it's coming out of its own accord x