Pumping before birth?

[Shahhhh]

Hi ladies! First time mama here :) I'm 37 weeks and have had a LOT of leaking since quite early on. I plan on breastfeeding and have a bellababy pump.

I'm curious as google says it's safe to start pumping from 37 weeks and freeze, has anyone done this? What were your experiences?

I see my midwife on Thursday so I'll be asking her but just curious of your mama stories on here. My pregnancy is also low risk if that makes any difference :) thank you!

I wouldn't use a pump. You can hand express some colostrum if you want, and have it in the freezer in syringes to use if you need to.

Colostrum is thick and sticky and tends to get lost in a pump so not usually recommended as you may not be able to retrieve the colostrum. The pump is also very stimulating so can cause contractions and also be very uncomfortable. You don't want anything to damage your nipples before baby arrives so as you can get a good start with breastfeeding. The recommendation is to hand express only. Get some syringes from your Midwife, or if you seem to have too much for syringes you can hand express into little sterile pots with lids😊

I hand expressed and then eventually starting pumping as one of a million things I tried to get labour going (that didn't work...). I did feel it helped me when it came to actually breastfeeding, but it also made me feel quite nauseous weirdly.