No luck with colostrum harvesting - advice please

[NearlyThere91]

Hi there,

Please can people share their top tips, advice and reassurance with colostrum harvesting?

I'm 36w4d today and have tried multiple times for the last 4 days on midwife's advice (have c-section at 39w1d).

Absolutely no luck, nothing.

I've tried after a shower, a bath, applying warm flannels, doing it in a dark room, doing it while watching tv, getting my husband to help... just nothing.

Has anyone been in the same boat?

This. The human race would have died out if this was a thing.

You need practice relaxing and not caring as much. You will need it for the next 20 years.

It’s not as useful as you are being led to think it is. Think of it like those statements like “doubles the chance of breast cancer!”. Well, if your chances were only 1% to begin with, 2% isn’t worth all the extra anxiety you might feel hearing someone talk about “doubling” your chances.

Everything will be fine. Relax. Try to bf when the baby is born. If it doesn’t work, formula feed.

Same! I didn’t even know this was a thing people did. 3 DCs, 4.5 years of breastfeeding, no “colostrum harvesting”, all is well. :-)

Same! I didn’t even know this was a thing people did. 3 DCs, 4.5 years of breastfeeding, no “colostrum harvesting”, all is well. :-)

I harvested loads after 38 weeks. Never used it, still in the freezer. I don't know anyone who used it!
It doesn't mean anything wrt your eventual milk supply so per PPs would suggest you stop worrying too much about it!

If bf is a success you won't need them. If bf is not a success it will be easier to express once the baby is here if that's what you want.

This!

I got maybe 0.2ml in one expressing session at around 39 weeks, absolutely nothing else. Then had a section and was supported by the midwives to express and it just worked - slowly, but it worked. Skin to skin is an amazing thing!There is lots of support available once baby's here so I would worry about it then!

I couldn't get any before birth with DD but could get loads once she was born. She struggled to latch at first so I hand expressed loads of colostrum and fed her this as well as practising breastfeeding constantly, skin to skin etc, never gave a bottle and after a few days she got the hang of feeding from breast. I breastfed her for 2 years. Don't worry if you can't get it now. Even if you need to harvest some once baby is here that's usually a lot easier, as hormones will be on your side.

I never even tried as it made me feel funny. Latched the baby on after EMCS. Baby never got the NCT memo about magically crawling towards the nipple; had a black and blue torso after three days in hospital as she’d suck anything. Milk came in on schedule, fountains of it, woke up on Day 3 with a boob like a brick that I had to pump clear before tiny baby could get to grips with it. Please don’t worry! Babies have been being born and being breastfed for centuries without syringes of harvested prenatal colostrum. Good luck!

Hi op, I've been harvesting and I find the most important thing is to be relaxed so if you're stressing yourself about it that will make it harder.

Little and often is better than sitting for an hour in one go so if you can I'd try for 10 mins at a time every hour or so. I would also try a meditation first visualising your baby and all the lovely bits about parenthood you're looking forward to. Initially I only got the tiniest amount but if you persist with that approach it may gradually build up. Let down is more emotional than anything else. There's some good videos online that demonstrate technique as well and if you link in with a local bf support group they'll give you support with this as well. Some people do find it hard and it doesn't mean that you'll struggle when baby is actually here. You're trying to trigger an artificial response in your body that normally gets triggered by hormones so don't put yourself under too much pressure.

I had placenta previa so couldn’t try (as it brings on labour). It’s not a must for successful bfing at all.

Just leave it. It's not necessary.

I bf 2 children after sections and never got a drop before they arrived.

2 sections and 2 breastfed babies - never harvested. Don’t put the pressure on yourself. Try and get as much rest as you can before baby arrives.

Couldn't do it either, really stressed myself out. If I could go back in timr I'd focus on learning more about breastfeeding rather than wasting time on colostrum harvesting I've found BFing really hard and more knowledge and understanding of technique would have saved me a lot of stress and pain

Is this new? I breastfed 4 kids - youngest is 11- and have never heard of this. Also never was able to get proper letdown when pumping. All 4 kids grew like weeds and clearly were getting plenty of milk.

Not sure if it's new, it's deffo not necessary for everyone. I was recommended to do it because I have gestational diabetes and that means baby will need 4 heel prick blood sugar tests after eating within the first 45 mins post birth. I think it's just a way for them to know baby has got x amount to make that test easier. Just means that if for some reason I'm unable to feed post section then we have a backup that isn't formula. But if you can't bf or harvest they will look at milk bank/ provide formula so it's really not the end of the world.

P.s prolactin levels are much higher at night around 2am so you might find you get a little more at that time. I have pregnancy insomnia anyways so it's not been too challenging for me being awake then.