You can collect your colostrum while you're pregnant by hand expressing in the same way that you will express breast milk when your baby is born. While you're pregnant, you should only use your hands for expressing. Do not use a breast pump until after you have given birth. 1.
It is recommended to express antenatally by hand rather than use an electric or manual breast pump. Colostrum will be produced in quite small quantities and can easily stick to the bottles or pump parts and be harder to collect. A pump at this stage is likely to be more uncomfortable than gentle hands.
If you choose to express colostrum before birth, you can begin in late pregnancy, between 36 to 37 weeks. You can do this by hand expressing for a few minutes per day. You'll want to avoid using a breast pump until your mature milk has come in — which is a few days after birth.
Pumping colostrum leaves only sprays on the side of the bottle that are hard to give to the baby, but hand expression into a spoon saves every drop. Hand expression can also be used as a technique during and after pumping to increase caloric content2 and remove more milk.
The first milk you produce after your baby is born is called colostrum. If you need to express milk at this stage it is best done by hand. During the first week, as your breasts feel fuller, you may choose to continue expressing by hand or to use a pump. Your midwife can show you how to express breast milk.
This can be for two reasons: Colostrum is very concentrated and your baby doesn't need much of it, so your breasts don't produce very much. Colostrum is very thick and seems to be more difficult to pump.
In the early days colostrum provides your baby with antibacterial fighting properties which help keep infections at bay. It is highly concentrated in a small volume as a baby's tummy can only take about 5 – 7 mls in the first couple of days.
Generally speaking, breastfeeding your husband or partner is OK. It's not perverted or wrong if you want the person you are intimate with to breastfeed, or if they ask to try breastfeeding or taste your breast milk.
Please bring between 5 and 40 ml of expressed colostrum to hospital. If you have more than this, it can be brough from home at a later date if required. Please let staff know you have milk to put into our Level 10 freezer. Frozen colostrum defrosted in the ward fridge will need to be used within 24 hours.
In the first few days after birth, pump at least 10 to 15 minutes per breast.
Typically, though, it's around 30 milliliters or about an ounce a day, which is right around the amount that your baby needs.
Antenatally, you'll only need to express for three to five minutes – just until you have a few drops of colostrum. It may not seem very much, but a baby's first feed is no more than a teaspoon of colostrum. By expressing up to three times in a day, you can express enough for a feed.
If you have a normal, healthy pregnancy, then pumping before birth is often completely safe. If you have a high-risk pregnancy, it may be better to play it safe. As you begin to experience physical changes during your pregnancy, you may notice that your breasts leak small amounts of colostrum.
Colostrum can be stored at room temperature for up to four hours. It can remain in a refrigerator for up to four days. You can store pumped colostrum in the freezer for up to six months (for best quality) or 12 months, at most.
If you would like to collect your colostrum, you can start hand expressing for a few minutes once a day when you are 36 to 37 weeks pregnant.
Yes, for many mothers it is OK to hand express colostrum before birth. However, please discuss with your prenatal care clinician before starting. The practice is not recommended for those at risk of preterm labor or other risk factors such as placenta previa.
If you are NOT actively leaking, you'll need the approval of your provider to start hand expressing after 36 weeks gestation. Hand expression could cause contractions – so waiting until baby is considered term is a must.
For the first few days after your baby is born, it can be easier to express colostrum (your first milk) by hand. Expressing milk by hand stimulates the hormone oxytocin, which helps to trigger the let-down reflex.
It is generally between 2ml and 20ml (millilitres) per breastfeed in the first 3 days. It also depends on the number of breastfeeds your baby has in the first 24 hours after birth. If you have breastfed before, your milk may come in sooner and you'll likely have colostrum in larger amounts.
In the first 24 hours (day 0-1), a healthy term baby needs around 5-7ml colostrum in total so 0.3ml could be a good feed if feeding frequently.
Using the 1,2,3 rule:
Use the first milk (colostrum) from the cow; Feed the calf colostrum within the first two hours of birth; Calves must be offered at least 3L of good quality colostrum.
Take Advantage of the Golden Hour. Nursing within the first hour of birth, often called the Golden Hour, will allow you to take advantage of the high oxytocin levels in your body and encourage your lactation hormones to get to work. This also gets your baby the nutrient-rich colostrum they need at this stage.
If you do not get any colostrum, do not worry,not being able to express colostrum during pregnancy does not mean you won't have milk after the birth. The hormonal changes at and after birth, mean your body will begin producing the right amount of milk for your baby.