HAND EXPRESSING
Hand expressing is a really useful skill. You can use it to express a drop of milk and tempt a sleepy baby to the breast. You can use it to clear a plugged duct when one section of the breast is blocked. You can even use it if you've been caught out and about and can't find a pump but need to express yourself to maintain supply.
“Hand expressing is a useful tool that can set you up for breastfeeding success.”
UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) is a part of the world health organization and has started the Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI). The BFI has 10 steps to successful breastfeeding that has been shown in the evidence to improve breastfeeding rates when hospitals adopt these recommendations. One of the cornerstones of this initiative is that all people should be taught the skill of hand expressing in pregnancy so that between 36-37 weeks in pregnancy you can begin practicing in a calm, no pressure environment before your baby arrives. The benefit is that you will begin to learn your body and your breasts in a new way and you can also begin to collect and harvest your colostrum to store in the freezer, ready to go for the birth of your baby!
Colostrum is unlimited and your body will just make more, so the more you practice the more you’ll be able to store up! We recommend these colostrum collectors and syringes. They are the best at collecting your precious tasty bits!
If for any reason you and your baby are separated after the birth, such as a NICU admission, you can use your own store of extra milk to give your baby. This allows you to avoid unnecessary formula, which is known to reduce breastfeeding rates when introduced in the early days. Then you can get started hand expressing the next feed so that your body is stimulated and your milk supply is protected.
It's even helpful when everything goes perfectly to plan. You can breastfeed your baby first and then provide a bit of expressed colostrum afterwards like a little dessert. Your partner can get involved and help feed the baby in these precious early days too!
Lets get started!
Each person is different and you will need to learn your own anatomy. You will soon discover which parts of the breast to compress to get the best results. Remember that the breast is like an orange, it has segments all the way around it three hundred and sixty degrees and each section will produce milk independently.
Whenever we do the breast, remember to do it 360°
Let's start by prepping our bodies first. We can massage the breast. You can use flat hands to sandwich the breast and gently roll it around. You can also use your knuckles to gently work the tissue three sixty around the nipple. Heat can also really help this process. So take a warm washcloth or a heating device and place it over the breast for 30 to 60 seconds before you begin. This will help to open up the milk ducts and help the milk to flow. Try these hot/cold packs!
Again when we look at the anatomy of the breast, we can see that ducts cluster together just a few inches behind the nipple. You will want to compress right at that clustering of ducts (which is different for each person). Most find that the sweet spot will be right at the areola or the border between the light and dark skin. But some might be slightly farther back and some might be slightly farther forward. What we want to avoid is compressing the end of the nipple , and we also want to avoid dragging our hands across the skin, which can create friction and make the skin uncomfortable. Instead, let's make a C shape with our hand and start with our thumb right at the border of the areola at twelve o'clock, and our pointer finger at six o'clock. Now we'll just simply compress and release.
During pregnancy and for the first three days after the birth of your baby, your body will produce Colostrum, which is a thicker, more viscous liquid than mature milk. When expressing it during this time, make sure that you add in a pause and hold for the count of three. This gives time for that thicker liquid to work its way down the ducts and out to the nipple.
Your mature milk will come in around day three. This milk is much more liquid and watery and you can hand express it at a much quicker rate, as the milk will flow more freely. But in the early days don't forget the pause.
Now you'll need to collect the drops as they form. They make colostrum collection syringes that you can get to collect each drop. The beauty of this is you can fill them, freeze them, and then later use the syringe to feed it to baby. The downside to this being it is single use plastic and will end up in a trash can. If being eco friendly is important to you they also make reusable colostrum collectors such as Haaka’s silicone colostrum collection devices.
The first time that you try to hand express, you might only get one drop. But don't panic!! The more you practice, the more abundant the milk will become. The first time you try you might only see one drop, the next time you'll be getting several drops. Before you know it you'll have filled half a syringe! Then the next time you do it, you'll be filling syringes, so keep at it. And you will start to see results!
When it comes time to feed your baby one of these syringes, all you need to do is take it straight from the freezer, defrost it in your hand and then you’ll place the syringe just a few inches back behind the baby's lips along their lower gum towards the back of the cheek. Drip the milk in very slowly so that baby has time to slurp it down, otherwise they might just spit out all your hard work! Be sure to feed baby your expressed milk while skin to skin with lots of contact and stimulation to encourage bonding and brain development.
Nipple stimulation can cause oxytocin, which may give some people uterine cramping. Have a conversation with your OBGYN, Midwife or Nurse about this to make sure there are no contraindications or risk factors, and best not to try before 36-37 weeks just to wait until baby is fully cooked.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us! Email us at info@pacificnorthbreast.com
Best regards,
The Breasties!
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