Expressing Breastmilk by hand?

mrcow

I would say that some can some cant'.

I breastfed all of mine until they were 7-8 months and found it all quite straightforward.

Expressing on the other hand, I found difficult and painful no matter how I tried it. 3oz or so would take about 40 minutes. It just wasn't worth the effort plus I ended up sore and bleedin most times.

Don't make too many plans right now. You won't know how it's going to pan out until you're there and you're trying it. You could just be setting yourself up for a great big disappointment.

gratefulforhelp_2

Alwaysthebusybee wrote: »

I hope I am posting in the right place and this hasn’t been asked before – I have tried searching but can’t find what I am looking for.

My first baby is due in January and I would like to breastfeed (now I know this isn’t everyones personal choice) however I want to stay clear of gadgets that the shops try to sell you that aren’t essential and I was wondering if anyone expresses milk by hand?

I don’t want to express a lot just enough for my hubby to do a feed or two. I understand this is personal choice but if anyone out there expresses by hand a bit of feed back as to how long it takes you to do a feed, how much you can express etc would really help me.

Thanks in Advance
Busybee

Bravo:T:T:Twell done you. I'm afraid I have never managed it, but an enlightened midwife will be able to explain, and the NCT do a really good book on breastfeeding. ETA http://www.nctshop.co.uk/The-NCT-Book-of-Breastfeeding/productinfo/2123/

Also quite a few MSErs are b/f counsellors, hope they will be along.

pinkclouds

It took me a while to learn how to hand express. In the early days, with my first baby, I relied on a manual pump instead. However, I did eventually learn how to hand express and could get a full feed out quicker by hand (as opposed to by pump).

Give it a go but don't be discouraged if you can't get much out to begin with. It is a skill and takes time to develop. Good luck!

pigpen

i have hand expressed... and spent weeks on a breast pump after my son was very premature and in SCBU..

Hand expressing makes you hand hurt.. there is a knack to it and I felt very much like a moocoo lol I would easily fill 2x 9oz bottles per boob in the early weeks .. several times a day. up to mabe 6 months-ish when your supply changes from being readymade to being made as required.

I would try to get the free pump from Nuby TBH..

my babies which were breastfed from day one never ever took a bottle so expressing was a waste of time until it came to weaning and making up baby slops... this is very very common.

skintchick

Hello

I will put my Breastfeeding Network Helper hat on now.

Many women hand express, and some find it easier and more effective than using a pump, but all women are different. We suggest that women begin with hand expressing, for a number of reasons, among them that you don't have to invest in a pump, and also that it can be more gentle.

Each woman will get a different amount from expressing, and some women are unable to express at all despite having good milk supply.

We do not recommend expressing in the first six weeks, as these are crucial weeks in setting up the supply and demand for later months, as the baby suckling causes the breast to grow milk receptors and using dummies or bottles can upset this balance.

This excerpt from http://www.nevadabreastfeeds.org/nevada-breastfeeds-all-about-the-milk.asp explains it really well.

Breastfeeding is a supply and demand cycle – your breasts will make as mush milk as your baby demands.

The first several weeks of breastfeeding are very important in determining how much milk your body will make. It’s as if your baby is placing his order for the amount of milk he will need to grow. Each time you feed your baby, you’re stimulating your body to make more milk.

How does it work? Prolactin is the hormone that tells your body to make milk. In the first few weeks after your baby’s birth, your breasts grow special nerves (called receptors) that sense prolactin. The more your baby breastfeeds in the days and weeks right after her birth, the more prolactin receptors you will have. Having more prolactin receptors makes breastfeeding much easier; since these receptors will help your breasts make more or less milk based on your baby’s needs.

If you use bottles or pacifiers in the first few weeks, you’re missing chances to stimulate your milk production and risking setting your supply too low. Similarly, if you use formula in the early weeks, your milk supply may be set at a lower quantity than your baby needs.

However, after six weeks it is fine to start expressing.

To hand express, imagine your breast as a clock. You need to gently massage the breast about an inch or so away from the nipple, not in the areola, in a gentle, rolling motion towards the nipple, at each hour of the clock face.

Make sure you are relaxed and comfortable, and not too hot or too cold. It can help to have your baby nearby, or to have a picture of them to look at, as this stimulates your milk flow.

Have a sterile container to catch the milk; you might find a large bowl more useful than something small, and have a towel handy too.

If you find it hard at first, practice in the shower or bath, as the warm water helps stimulate your flow.

There is more information here:

http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/pdfs/BFNExpressing&Storing.pdf

http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/expressing-and-storing-breastmilk-faqs.html

If you would like to talk to someone about any aspect of breastfeeding, you can call the helpline, open 9.30am to 9.30pm, staffed by qualified breastfeeding supporters, on 0300 100 0210.

There are many other helplines such as the NCT, LLL too.

Also, BfN (among other groups) run drop-ins for mums and mums-to-be, where you can go along to ask questions, make friends, and get some support.

This interactive map will show you where they are, or the peole on the helpline can tell you what is available locally.
http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/support-centres.html#map

I would suggest going along to one to ask questions, and many of them have a library so you can borrow relevant books.

You are doing the best thing by finding out in advance, so you are prepared when your baby arrives. By getting to know your local drop-in while pregnant, you'll feel more comfortable about going when baby is here, because you will already know how long it takes to get there, how much and where the parking is, etc.

I hope that helps you a bit, please feel free to ask more questions on here, but I do recommend calling the helplines as much as you want.
Hope that helps

HariboJunkie

gratefulforhelp wrote: »

Also quite a few MSErs are b/f counsellors, hope they will be along.

I was a peer supporter when I bf my own children. You've had lots of good advice on here and there is no reason why, in theory, you can hand express but it's unlikely you'll produce as much as using a hand pump. It doesn't matter how much you can get out at a time as it can be frozen in very small batches. The only other tip I have is to express in the bath. After lying in warm water for a while I found it much easier to get a decent flow.

Best of luck.

Edited to add...

skintchick wrote: »

However, after six weeks it is fine to start expressing.

I had 2 to feed at a time and in order to get even a minute amount of rest I expressed from 2 weeks so my husband could help. It was either express or give up due to sheer exhaustion. :cool: I continued to feed the twins for 10 months and my supply was never a problem.

OP, when your baby is born you will discover that therre a few hard and fast rules that work for all of us so please don't put unneccessary pressure on yourself and just do the best you can.

madtrekker

I BF DD for 13 months and although I did give hand expressing a go from time to time, I preferred using a pump. I wasn't one of those people who could get loads at a time (even with the electric pump it took me about 20 mins to get 3 or 4 oz on a good day), and found hand expressing hurt my hand. Plus, it's messy as milk squirts all over the place. Silly me, before having the baby I thought that milk just came out of one hole in your nipple like a bottle teat (lol!) but actually there are quite a few tiny holes and so it squirts in several directions at once, like a hosepipe on the "mist" setting.

There are, however, plenty of people who do have success with hand expressing so don't be disheartened! Ask your midwife to show you how (it's hard to get the gist from reading a book) or have a look on You Tube as I'm sure I watched some useful videos on there.

Alwaysthebusybee

Thank you for all your responses - it is really hard to discuss these things and I am not sure where to turn.

I guess I am going to just have to suck it and see but I will definately be looking into my nearest centres so I can call in before it is born and once I have had my 20 week scan I will sign up for the free pump.

Your comments and advice are appreciated - I won't bother with the pump until I have tried the hand expressing to see how I get on.

Thank you very much

skintchick

HariboJunkie wrote: »

I was a peer supporter when I bf my own children. You've had lots of good advice on here and there is no reason why, in theory, you can hand express but it's unlikely you'll produce as much as using a hand pump. It doesn't matter how much you can get out at a time as it can be frozen in very small batches. The only other tip I have is to express in the bath. After lying in warm water for a while I found it much easier to get a decent flow.

Best of luck.

Edited to add...



I had 2 to feed at a time and in order to get even a minute amount of rest I expressed from 2 weeks so my husband could help. It was either express or give up due to sheer exhaustion. :cool: I continued to feed the twins for 10 months and my supply was never a problem.

OP, when your baby is born you will discover that therre a few hard and fast rules that work for all of us so please don't put unneccessary pressure on yourself and just do the best you can.

That's great, I'm glad that worked for you. But I think it's important to make mums aware that expressing early can affect your supply and that we (BfN) do not recommend it. Obviously, in your situation you had to weigh up the risks of that versus the need to feed two, and decided to express, and that worked for you, which is great, but overall, for most mums, expressing before 6 weeks is likely to have an effect on longer-term supply.

donteatthat

I had to do a lot of expressing as my baby was 12 weeks premature and as such spent time in SCBU. I was determined that he wouldn't have any formula until the risk of NEC (a nasty gut infection in preemies) had gone away. I would advise trying to hand express for a while before moving to a pump, and I also found I was better with a manual pump than the electric one which I just found had too much pressure and made me sore, so don't rush to get one as they are much more expensive than manual ones. Even better that the NUBY one is free!

You will find your supply is better at some parts of the day than others, and you will need to be careful not to pump too much at the wrong times and leave yourself short as a BF baby can suddenly get hungry which is a nightmare if you've just drained off the last drop and plan to save it! I used to try to express off a little bit after he'd finished feeding, more so early in the day when I had a better supply. There is some good advice on setting up a routine for exactly what you are wanting to do in the Contented Baby book - might be worth getting even if you don't plan on putting your baby into a Gina routine.

I didn't find too much problem moving from expressing to feeding on demand when my baby came out of hospital at 6 weeks old, and for me a lot of the advice I was given (from outside the hospital) and had read about not using pacifiers, nipple confusion etc scared me unnecessarily as in reality (for me and I suspect many others) it was not an issue and is overly alarmist. Maybe things are different with pre-term babies than full term ones in that respect as they are given dummies to help them learn to suck and are given bottles when Mum isn't there to BF. My baby could interchange with no problem at all despite his problems at birth, and you would think he would struggle more than most if these things were really a problem.

The best advice I could give is to not put yourself under too much pressure to express loads in the first few weeks. You will be knackered as the feeding is all down to you if you are resolute on exclusive breast feeding. If you have a carton of emergency formula in the cupboard and have to use it you have not failed!!