Hand expressing before birth?

[Katia-xO]

I’m wondering how to get it going..?

My first had low blood sugar issues so had top ups between feeds and I’ve been advised to collect colostrum over the next few weeks to give to this baby between feeds.

I don’t leak at all and I’m not sure how long it takes to get it all started off? They told me not to do it for long each time as it can cause labour but I’m getting nothing at all when I try for a few mins

 

[LoraLoo]

Have a try when you're in the bath, make sure you're relaxed and drink lots before hand. If no luck try again in a week or so.

 

[MindUtopia]

Ideally you should wait until 37 weeks. It isn't usually recommended before then, unless you will be induced before 37 weeks and they're monitoring you for preterm labour. What I did was express a bit in a warm bathroom after getting out of the shower each night. I wouldn't necessarily even bother collecting it the first few nights you do it. Just express for like 5-10 minutes to get things flowing and get the hang of it. I would switch between breasts, so a minute or two on one side and then switch and then back again, etc. I would say it took about 3 days of expressing for maybe 10-20 minutes total until it really got going. I have loads of colostrum saved in the freezer now. My first was born early and had low blood sugar and weight gain issues because she couldn't latch. It's been such a confidence booster to know I could do that and now I have it if I need it. But it is a slow process to start and you really need to be patient and give it time to get going. If you are't used to hand expressing, also just watch some videos first to make sure you're doing it as efficiently as possible. It did take some time to get the hang of it. I expressed into 5ml test tubes, kept in the fridge for 48 hours max and then froze them. You won't get more than a few drops to start and then maybe like 1-2 ml max per session after that, so it won't be loads. Make sure you drink lots of water too.

 

[Myshelsong]

Watch some you tube videos
I found some of them really instructional!