Expressing Colostrum or Breast Milk with Hand Expression or Breast Pump
If your baby is not nursing effectively, pumping sessions will become part of your feeding plan. Pumping may begin on Day 1, depending on the age of the baby, how effectively a baby is breastfeeding, and how the mother is feeling.
Expert tip: Avoiding Missed Feedings
Late preterm and early term babies may breastfeed effectively on the first day of life and then gradually become tired and stop effectively breastfeeding. Many LPT, SGA, and ET babies cannot be relied on to consistently breastfeed every 3 hours. If your baby is sleepy, disinterested, or ineffective at the breast, it would be a good time to pump and feed expressed milk and/or formula via curved tip syringe, a 5 French feeding tube attached to a syringe taped to the breast (ask your nurse or LC for help), or bottle. It is important that they receive breast milk or formula every 3 hours to prevent excessive weight loss. Try to breastfeed when your baby is more alert and engaged in the process.
To learn more about this topic, read the Fed Is Best book available on paperback, e-book, and audiobook.
References
- Fok, Doris et al., “Early Initiation and Regular Breast Milk Expression Reduces Risk of Lactogenesis II Delay in At-Risk Singaporean Mothers in a Randomised Trial,” Singapore Medical Journal 60, no. 2 (February 2019): 80–88, https://doi.org/10.11622/smedj.2018067.
- Chapman, D. J. et al., “Impact of Breast Pumping on Lactogenesis Stage II after Cesarean Delivery: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” Pediatrics 107, no. 6 (June 2001): E94, https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.107.6.e94.