Expressing breast milk

Posted on 26 August 2014

Lactation consultant Erica Neser shares her advice on how to express breast milk.

I recently became a new mom. I’m on maternity leave, but I’ll be going back to work soon. How do I express my breast milk?
Erica advises that when you’re first starting out, expressing by hand is often the best method. It’s useful if you need to relieve pressure when your milk comes in, in the first few days, but it’s a bit tricky to explain in words.

The best and easiest way for moms to learn about hand expressing is to consult Google for some fantastic videos on YouTube, like these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGu9J7Yl61w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N284EWy8xj8

A good quality breast pump is also useful if you want to maintain breastfeeding when you go back to work. Expressing with a pump is easy and not painful. If you have any concerns or questions, always consult a midwife or lactation consultant.

 

 

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