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Original poster

How many 1ml syringes of colostrum do I take to the hospital?

41 replies

jbtk · 04/08/2021 00:37

Hi,
I am on day 3 of trying to harvest colostrum. Not getting very much at all and my boobs are already hurting from trying. How much did everyone take into the hospital with them? My midwife is really unhelpful and I am just hope she isn't the one at the birth. She is really abrupt and just wants you in and out of the appointments as soon as possible. It is really getting to me because she is the one that told me to start collecting colostrum (like everyone just is expected to do it) and then gave me no information at all. Luckily I saw a different midwife the next time and she gave me a pack but nothing it say what amounts are usually taken into hospital. I only managed 0.3ml on my first attempt.

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MyOtherProfile · 04/08/2021 00:38

I've never heard of anyone doing this. Am I missing something?

miltonj · 04/08/2021 00:44

You don't need to do this unless you've been told to for a specific reason, such as possible premature birth, suspected very low birth weight, health issue where they will spend time in the neonatal unit. If not, there is no reason to do so. Don't stress about it.

Ilikecheeseontoast · 04/08/2021 00:45

I’ve breastfed all 3 of my children and never did this. Why would you need to? When baby is born, they’ll suckle and get all the (warm, fresh!) colostrum they need then surely.

RoseAndGeranium · 04/08/2021 00:47

Are you trying to avoid/likely to require induction? I’ve been advised to do this from 37 weeks to help bring on labour because I’m being pushed to induce if go past 40 weeks. I guess a secondary consideration may be that breast feeding can be harder after an induction so if I do end up needing one it would be good to have some colostrum in reserve? Dunno. With my first pregnancy, in which I didn’t have the risk factors I have now, no one mentioned harvesting colostrum at all.
Either way, you only need a small amount, so I wouldn’t fret about it too much. A friend had to do it for her newborn who wouldn’t take the breast and she was literally scraping little drops off the nipple — and that was after baby had come out!

DramaAlpaca · 04/08/2021 00:50

You don't need to do this, you really don't.

It must be a new thing, I've only ever seen it on here.

Don't worry about it, your baby will be much more efficient at extracting your colostrum than any syringe.

Pinkflipflop85 · 04/08/2021 00:54

I think I took about 12 syringes in. Would have liked it to have been more but I started harvesting quite late on!

Wheresmybiscuit3 · 04/08/2021 01:08

Is this because of gestational diabetes? I did this with my first for that reason... but we forgot them and left them in the freezer at home. Thankfully we didn’t need them. I went with as many as I could do if that makes sense

Sheisfee · 04/08/2021 02:21

Heya, if you don’t want to do it then don’t? I’m doing it just in case I’m too tired after birth to feed babe so my partner can do it. I’ll probably take in about 5-10ml as I do want babe at the breast as much as possible but I also want to make sure I have enough to take the pressure off x

SamG93 · 04/08/2021 03:34

I wasn't sure whether it was necessary to express colostrum before birth but was so glad I did as my baby struggled to latch on.. They do encourage you to do it in hospital after the birth and give you the syringes but I was so tired and emotional especially as I felt I couldn't feed my baby that I was so grateful for my partner to be able to bring the 10 syringes in I'd already expressed at home. If you can do it then definitely do a few for peace of mind just in case... if not then you'll have the opportunity to do it after and the staff on the ward can help you. You may not need to use it after all but the more colostrum you give baby the better anyway! Also 0.3ml is a really good start and you'll get the hang of it.. maybe watch a tutorial as there's definitely a knack to it. Good luck ♥️

Arcminute · 04/08/2021 03:52

This isn’t a new thing. I was advised to do it with my first several years ago. The hope is that it won’t be needed at all (it wouldn’t be used if the baby manages to get it successfully from the breast!). There doesn’t seem to be much practical help from midwives though in my experience, other than to tell you it’s a good idea to try. But if you don’t manage it or don’t feel like doing it then it’s really not the end of the world - it’s a nice back up but almost certainly won’t be needed.

0.3ml is great and usually it does get easier but don’t make yourself sore. I think I took about 5 syringes in and left others at home in the freezer (my husband could have brought them if necessary). Fortunately I didn’t ever need them.

BertieBotts · 04/08/2021 04:09

Agreed that you don't need to do it. If you do want to then you can just take whatever amount you manage to get, there is no right or wrong. But don't make yourself stressed over it.

I think the way this has been delivered /rolled out is appalling! It's like it's just a box tick for most midwives to mention it and then you end up thinking it's something incredibly important when really women have been breastfeeding just fine without syringes of colostrum for millenia.

Just do as much as feels easy and comfortable for you and don't stress.

Fortyfivepotholes · 04/08/2021 04:45

My advice would be so what you can but don’t stress about it. I found it very hard to express any, even though I’d been feeding an older child (when it wasn’t a thing) until I was four months pregnant. I think I took about 5mls in, that I promptly forgot about as baby latched fine,

However if baby had been like my first birth I’d have been great full for it.

Aquamarine1029 · 04/08/2021 04:57

This is totally pointless. Your baby will get all they need when they're born and start breastfeeding.

Danikm151 · 04/08/2021 05:03

I had about 10 which was a blessing because baby had tongue tie so breastfeeding was hard.
Was advised to do it because of gestational diabetes- got to see the infant feeding midwife who talked me through it. Just tried for about 20 mins each night and over the course of a couple of weeks I managed it. If it hurts- stop.
It takes practice

wombatspoopcubes · 04/08/2021 05:24

Will everyone saying that it's pointless please stop. Plenty of women with diabetes do this because the hospitals tend to want to give their babies formula in the beginning and by harvesting colostrum you at least know that they will receive that.

lifehappened · 04/08/2021 05:51

No one I know did this. Not sure why you need to? My baby drank it from my boob. If you can't get it out then the midwife comes to do for you (did for me). But if you want to for peace of mind then go for it. The pp who had 12 must have been in there for days

StuntNun · 04/08/2021 06:01

I think it's easier for some women than others. I didn't get a drop of colostrum before birth with any of my four. Definitely don't make yourself sore if you're not able to express any.

annie335 · 04/08/2021 06:30

Never heard of this and it sounds stressful. It will be there when the baby needs it.

sarah13xx · 04/08/2021 06:42

My midwife was very unhelpful too when I asked about it. I know midwives from my hospital who have shown people how to do it and given them syringes etc. When I asked (and I’d bought the syringes myself) I was just told I could if I wanted then shoo’ed out the appointment quickly 🤦🏼‍♀️ I’ve been trying the last few days and have got less than 0.1ml each time. I think I’m giving up or I’m going to try again after a few days off. I think the technique must be right for something to be coming out but I maybe just don’t have much to collect 🤔 In terms of how much to take I read for day 1 you need 5-7ml per feed. I was even aiming for 5 or 10 syringes but I’m not going to get anywhere near that at this rate

becca3210 · 04/08/2021 06:43

0.3ml is good for a first attempt. I found massaging the breast for five mins before helped. Each day I tried I got a bit more. It took about 20mins to get enough. Squeezing onto a spoon/in a cup and then sucking up with the pipette is easier.

RookieRoo · 04/08/2021 06:54

Do you have a manual pump? It was good for me to do to start the motion. Then you switch to hand express after. There's lots of information online, don't be too rough and work the breast, not the nipple.

RookieRoo · 04/08/2021 06:56

Also 0.3 is brilliant! Yes to PP who said massage and lay in a warm bath (not too hot, as hot baths aren't good in pregnancy) and use warm flannels on your breasts.

Good luck!

yellowmelon · 04/08/2021 07:01

I agree with @wombatspoopcubes. It's unnecessary if everything goes smoothly, but I was so, so glad I expressed before birth. It bought me time as we struggled with latch at first. Because of the syringes baby didn't need formula and was ebf until my second pregnancy.

daphnedoo12 · 04/08/2021 07:05

I've done 5ml incase there's an emergency (I can't feed straight away or something happens) so they'll at least get that bit of colostrum but if nothing happens I'm sticking him straight on the boob and he can get it that way

recreationalcalpol · 04/08/2021 07:07

I had 20 syringes as I was a gestational diabetic. I didn’t actually need any of them but it was nice to take the hour a day away from my toddler expressing before the baby arrived Smile and I believe that expressing colostrum led to a very straightforward birth - I was 4cm dilated for a week before DD was born and she arrived at 38+3 spontaneously and within 45 minutes of arriving at hospital.

There’s an excellent and very relaxing YouTube video by My Expert Midwife. I found it very helpful. I also watched my favourite tv shows while expressing in bed and found that this helped me to relax and get the colostrum flowing. I don’t doubt that having breastfed my DS until 2.5 also helped.