Hand Expression of Colostrum or Mature Milk
Manual or hand expression of colostrum or mature milk is an important skill to learn before you give birth. The reason is that some newborns have trouble effectively latching and sucking and this technique can be done to help them get colostrum. This is especially helpful for premature or smaller than average newborns who may not have the strength to be effective feeders.
Knowing how to hand express colostrum is also important to confirm that you are producing adequate colostrum to feed your baby. While it is rarely talked about, some birthing mothers produce little to no colostrum, and others produce less on the second day than the first.[1] Confirming the presence of colostrum is critical for safe feeding of breastfed newborns, which we recommend you do before each feed until your milk comes in.
Lastly, manual expression can be used if a breast pump is not available to express milk, in case separation between you and your baby is medically necessary.
The following is a step-by-step guide to hand expressing colostrum or mature breast milk.
Step-by-Step Guide to Hand Expression of Milk
- Start with clean hands and have a clean spoon or small cup ready to collect colostrum.
- Sit upright in a chair or bed.
- Gently massage the underlying and overlying tissue of one breast, starting from the base moving toward the nipples, to start the flow.
- Hold your breast with your hand on the side in the shape of a “C” over the breast tissue behind the areola.
- Squeeze the breast tissue with your C-shaped hand, using backward pressure (towards the chest wall, and bringing your fingers together like you’re pinching) until colostrum flows from the nipple into your collection vial.
- Continue until little to no more milk or colostrum is expressed, or for 15 minutes, to promote milk production.
- Repeat the process on the opposite breast.
We recommend going to the Stanford Medicine Newborn Nursery Website to watch a video demonstration on Hand Expressing Milk.
Reference
- Ikuko Kato et al., “The Trajectory of Expressed Colostrum Volume in the First 48 Hours Postpartum: An Observational Study,” Breastfeeding Medicine: The Official Journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine 17, no. 1 (January 2022): 52–58, https://doi.org/10.1089/bfm.2020.0366.
To learn more about this topic, read the Fed Is Best book available on paperback, e-book, and audiobook.