Gently massage the breast towards the nipple. At the same time, assess each breast for lumpy areas within the breast and massage any lumps while expressing. Any lump within the breast that does not resolve with breast massage and regular expressing needs to be reviewed by the Lactation Consultant or your doctor. Always wash your hands well before handling your breasts. The amount of colostrum expressed in the first few days after birth may only be a few drops or it may be several millilitres.
Expressing for 15 to 20 minutes, alternating between breasts, usually results in multiple let-downs and more colostrum being collected. Signs of increasing milk production include warming, tingling and firming of the breast. If you are having any problems hand expressing your breast milk, please talk to the nurse caring for your baby or the Lactation Consultant.
For more information, see the Hand expressing technique fact sheet. The nursing staff at the hospital will provide you with a one-day breast pump kit to use with the electric pump while your baby is in hospital. These kits are available in various sizes for your comfort. You may wish to buy or hire a breast pump for use at home.
Hospital grade electric breast pumps are available throughout QCH. The pump is pre-programmed with two phases. The first phase is the stimulation phase- fast speed but low suction. This can help the milk to start flowing.
After two minutes in the stimulation phase the pump will automatically switch to the pumping phase; here the suction becomes stronger and the speed slower.
Once you can express 5ml of breast milk by hand, you can allow the pump to proceed to the next phase of expressing — the pumping phase. When expressing on the pumping phase, turn the vacuum dial up as high as you can comfortably tolerate. When expressing with an electric pump, you may use a single kit and alternate between each breast every five minutes for a total of 20 — 30 minutes. Milk volumes can be increased if you apply some pressure and massage the breast during pumping.
You may also express both breasts at the same time. This is called double pumping. If using a double pump, massage both breasts first, then express for five minutes, massage again then express for five — 10 minutes. For example, if your baby weighs 8 pounds 4 ounces, this equals 8. If you are using kilograms, multiply your baby's weight in kilograms by 2. Using the example above, a baby weighing 3.
Experts recommend 2. Take your baby's weight in pounds and multiply that number by 2. This figure represents how many ounces of breast milk your baby should be getting in one day. Based on the example above, the baby should be taking in about Finally, take the total number of ounces per day and divide it by how many feedings your baby will get in one day.
A newborn or young infant should be eating at least every 3 hours eight times a day. Take the number you calculated and divide it by 8 In this case, the baby should be getting approximately 2. You can put 3 ounces or 90 ml of breast milk in the bottle to feed a baby who weighs 8 lbs 4 oz 3.
The first day or two after birth, your baby won't get much breast milk since you're only producing a small amount of colostrum. That said, any amount of colostrum that you can pump and give your baby is beneficial.
Between the second and sixth day, your milk production will increase. Your newborn will probably take about 2 to 4 ounces every three to four hours 14 to 28 ounces per day. From 2 to 5 months of age, your baby will take an average of 5 to 7 ounces every four to five hours 25 to 26 oz of breast milk each day.
These calculations are just an estimate of the amount of breast milk that your baby should be getting at a minimum of every 3 hours. Some babies might be interested in taking more. As your baby grows and gains weight you will need to adjust your calculations.
How often you express your milk, and how much you express, will depend on why you're doing it. Sometimes it takes a little while for your milk to start flowing. Try to choose a time when you feel relaxed. Having your baby or a photo of them nearby may help your milk to flow. You may find it easier to express if you cover your breasts with a warm towel first, or after you have a shower or bath. Some find it easier to express milk by hand, especially in the first few days or weeks. It also means you can express without needing a pump, or an electricity supply.
Hand expressing allows you to encourage milk to flow from a particular part of the breast. This may be useful, for example, if one of the milk ducts in your breast becomes blocked. You may be able to hire an electric pump. Your midwife, health visitor or a local breastfeeding supporter can give you details of pump hire services near you.
The suction strength can be altered on some electric pumps. Build up slowly. Setting the strength to high straightaway may be painful or damage your nipple. You may also be able to get different funnel the part that goes over your nipple sizes to fit your nipples. The pump should never cause bruising or catch your nipple as it's sucked into the funnel. Breastfeeding Network. Healthy Children.
Science News. When it comes to content, our aim is simple: every parent should have access to information they can trust. All of our articles have been thoroughly researched and are based on the latest evidence from reputable and robust sources.
We create our articles with NCT antenatal teachers, postnatal leaders and breastfeeding counsellors, as well as academics and representatives from relevant organisations and charities. Read more about our editorial review process. Expressed milk: your questions answered. Read time 8 minutes. Email Post Tweet Post. How long should I express for?
Do I really need to sterilise everything I use to express milk? Does expressed breast milk need warming up? How much milk will I need for one feed?
How do I store expressed milk in the fridge? What about storing expressing milk at room temperature? How do I store expressed milk in the freezer?
How do I thaw frozen breast milk? Is it normal for expressing breast milk to be painful? Is there anything else I need to know about expressing breast milk? This page was last reviewed in March Further information We support all parents, however they feed their baby. Show references.
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