How much milk should I express?

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After having your baby, you may need to express breast milk. Expressing breast milk is the act of squeezing milk from your breasts. This can be managed with a pump or by hand. Expressing breast milk will encourage your milk to flow without your baby sucking. The milk can then be stored in sterilised containers or bottles for feeding at a later time. You may want to express your breast milk for a number of reasons, such as if your breasts feel uncomfortably full, if your baby is not suckling well, or if you need to be away from your baby for any reason. Some women feel strange about expressing milk and it can be an odd experience, but you should bear in mind that this is not an unusual reaction and that it will become less strange the more you do it!

When to Express

You can express breast milk as and when needed if your baby is feeding normally. If you are producing too much milk and your breasts feel uncomfortable as a result of being full, then you can express milk to relieve engorged breasts. If you need to be away from your baby, for example returning to work, then you can express milk beforehand and store it so that your baby can get the benefits of breast milk even if someone else is feeding them. Most medical practitioners suggest that it is much better to feed your baby with stored breast milk than to feed them with formula.

Storing Expressed Milk

Store milk in a sterilised bottle or container and keep it in the fridge at or below 4єC, at the back of the fridge rather than in the door. If you need to store breast milk for more than five days, then it should be frozen; it can be kept in a compartment freezer for up to two weeks and in a domestic freezer below -18єC for up to six weeks. Milk should be defrosted in the fridge and used straight away. You should not re-freeze it once it has defrosted and you should never use a microwave to warm or defrost milk as this will damage it.

Encouraging Milk Production

If your baby is premature or ill and cannot feed, then you will need to express to encourage the production of milk. You should express milk at least six times in every twenty four hours after child birth, including during the night. Regularly expressing milk will ensure that you continue to produce enough milk for your baby. If your baby cannot feed when they are born, it is important to begin expressing as soon as possible after your baby is born. If your baby is having trouble feeding directly from the breast, then putting some milk in a cup to let them taste your milk will ensure that your baby is familiar with the milk in readiness for the time when he or she can feed.

Expressing milk will increase your milk supply and also help to prolong breast feeding by maintaining the milk supply. If you are temporarily unable to breast feed to your baby for any reason, for example taking medication that could be harmful to your baby, or perhaps if you must be away from your baby, then by expressing milk as regularly as you would normally feed you will ensure that you continue to produce milk.

Principal Methods

To express breast milk by hand may be easier than using a breast pump in the first few days. To do this, wash your hands thoroughly with warm water and soap before you begin. Massaging your breast gently will encourage the milk to flow. Next, cupping your breast with your hand, feel backwards from the end of the nipple to a change in the texture of your breast. Using your thumb and your fingers in a 'c' shape to squeeze gently, releasing the pressure and repeating to build up a rhythm. It is not necessary to slide your fingers over the skin. What you lack from not feeding your baby directly from the breast is skin contact with your baby. If you are expressing milk for an ill or premature baby, it may help to have skin-to-skin contact with your baby anyway; this will help with bonding and will also encourage the production of milk. If you choose to use a breast pump to express milk, then there are different types of breast pump available to suit different women. You should ask for advice when choosing a pump. You must always thoroughly sterilise a pump before and after use.

How much milk should I express?

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When to Express

Storing Expressed Milk

Encouraging Milk Production

Principal Methods

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