Expressing, Storing and Feeding Breastmilk
Expressing, Storing and Feeding Breastmilk
Reasons for expressing breastmilk
Reasons for expressing breastmilk may include:
- you and your baby are separated
- your baby is having difficulty feeding or latching onto the breast
- you want to increase your milk supply
- you are engorged (your breasts are very full)
- you want to express and store breastmilk for later use
- you want to increase your confidence in your body’s ability to make milk
You can express and collect breastmilk by hand expression or using a breast pump.
This page is written with inclusivity in mind. Learn about the use of inclusive language in Halton’s breastfeeding information.
Methods to express breastmilk
Hand expression
Hand expression is one way to remove and collect colostrum/breastmilk.
In low risk-pregnancies, prenatal hand expression after 36 weeks of pregnancy is considered safe. For pregnant people with diabetes, prenatal hand expression and collection of colostrum is sometimes recommended. This may reduce the need for supplementation with formula if the baby has low blood sugar. Speak to your health care provider to discuss prenatal hand expression during your pregnancy.
In the early days of breastfeeding, hand expression is especially useful as it is more efficient at removing colostrum (the early breastmilk) from the breast than a mechanical pump.
Benefits of hand expression
- it has no cost
- it is always available
- it may result in improved breast stimulation and more milk compared to using a breast pump
With practice, many parents find they can express more milk quickly with hand expression than a breast pump.
Breastmilk storage guidelines
Breastmilk is a living food. It contains antioxidants, prebiotic, probiotic, antibacterial and immune-boosting properties. Whenever possible, feed your baby directly from your breast or give your baby refrigerated breastmilk milk before frozen breastmilk. Some nutrients and health properties are lost when the milk is frozen, defrosted and warmed up, or if stored incorrectly. If feeding directly at the breast is not possible, breastmilk can be expressed and stored for later use.
When using expressed breastmilk:
- label the storage containers with the date the milk was expressed
- use the oldest milk first
- do not microwave the milk, as it removes the immune benefits and creates hot spots
- thaw it slowly in the refrigerator or at room temperature
Methods for giving expressed breastmilk
It is best to avoid introducing a bottle until breastfeeding is well established. Drinking from a bottle, requires a shallower latch and different tongue and jaw movements than breastfeeding. The flow of milk from a bottle is much faster than from the breast, which may result in overfeeding or the baby developing a preference for the bottle.
In the early days and weeks, if you need to supplement with expressed breastmilk or formula, try using a small cup or spoon instead of a bottle. You can express the breastmilk directly into the cup or the spoon.