Expression of breast milk
Probably every mother at least once encountered such a thing as expressing breast milk. But for some it was a one-time experience, while for others it was a regular procedure. How to properly express breast milk?

How to express breast milk

Our mothers and grandmothers had no special options: they decant it manually if necessary. And in our time, a breast pump can not only be purchased at any pharmacy, but their choice is very large. What is the best — and correct — way to express breast milk?

– You can express breast milk with a breast pump and hands. Which method to choose depends on the goals that you are pursuing, says pediatrician, neonatologist, lactation consultant Lusine Chebotareva Any method is suitable for episodic pumping. You can pump with your hands anytime, anywhere. For example, if you are in the country and suddenly lactostasis occurs, you can help yourself if you know the manual pumping technique. In the event that the mother went to work, study, if the mother is separated from the baby, pumps to maintain or increase lactation, feeds with fully expressed milk, creates a milk bank – a breast pump is required for regular pumping in large volumes. Research shows that an electric double breast pump is the most effective for this purpose.

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Massage

Pumping is actually a simple procedure, especially if you get used to it. But be sure to know a number of rules and sequence of actions.

According to our expert, every pumping session should begin with a gentle circular massage of the breast.

– Milk is expressed most effectively at high tide. The tide is the work of the hormone oxytocin, it makes milk come out of the lobules into the ducts, explains Lusine Chebotareva. – In order to stimulate the tide, you can drink delicious warm tea, eat a snack, wrap yourself in a blanket, turn on your favorite TV series, relax and distract yourself as much as possible. And do not check how many milliliters turned out.

Manual pumping: sequence of actions

  1. Place your fingers opposite each other approximately at the border of the areola, stepping back a little behind the nipple. Imagine that the areola is a dial, the thumb will be at 12, the index finger at 6 o’clock.
  2. “Sink” your fingers deep into the chest, bring them together, and gently, with a rolling motion, squeeze the milk out of the ducts. The position of the fingers on the areola needs to be changed, to look for the most suitable for you, because the nuances of the anatomy of the breast for each woman are individual.

– Watch a pumping video on YouTube, it will help you “grab” the principle faster. It is better if you enter a query in English into the search, – recommends Dr. Chebotareva.

Expression with a breast pump

Important: do not forget about the first point – massage.

  1. When expressing with an electric or manual breast pump, it is necessary to carry out short-term shallow stimulation of the breast, imitating the sucking of the baby in order to cause a rush, and when drops or streams appear, start full pumping.
  2. It is most effective to alternate breasts if you are not pumping with a double breast pump, give 5-7 minutes to each.

– The whole process should not last more than 30-40 minutes. Better more often but shorter than less often but longer. If you combine with feeding a child, it is better to express in half an hour – an hour after feeding, our expert advises. – In any case, no matter how you pump, the process should not be painful, you can not injure the mammary gland with rough, uncomfortable pumping.

Popular questions and answers

How to store breast milk properly?

– You can store at room temperature, in the refrigerator and in the freezer – in each case, only the shelf life is different, – answers Lusina Chebotareva. – It is better to store in small portions, because milk cannot be reheated and frozen. At the same time, defrosted milk is not stored at room temperature for more than 2 hours. You can mix different portions by first cooling the fresher, “warm” portion in the refrigerator. Use food-safe containers or special breast milk bags to store milk. Be sure to sign the date and time on the container. You can not use containers for collecting medical tests, because. their safety in infants has not been established. They can release toxic substances into milk.

How long can breast milk be stored?

– According to the latest revision of the protocol No. 8 of the Academy of Medicine of Breastfeeding, milk can be stored at room temperature for a maximum of 4 hours, in the refrigerator for a maximum of 4 days. In the freezer for up to six months, but the less the better: this way a more complete range of lipids, microbiome, protective factors and other useful components of breast milk will be preserved, the pediatrician emphasizes.

What temperature should breast milk be for feeding?

– To feed the baby, it is better to warm the milk to body temperature. If, after dropping a drop of milk on the back of your hand, you don’t feel anything, this is a comfortable temperature, says Dr. Chebotareva. – However, there are babies who prefer cool or warmer milk. To warm up, you can use a container of warm water. But do not overheat: at high temperatures, as with intensive stirring, some of the healthy fats are destroyed. Treat milk like living tissue. It is better to avoid heating in the microwave, because it does not heat evenly, you can accidentally burn the baby, and with such heating, part of the microbiome, valuable lipids, and immune factors are also lost. It is better to give the baby fresher milk first. When defrosting, also take this into account – the slower you defrost milk, the less will be the loss of its valuable qualities. In any case, expressed and stored breast milk has unique qualities and continues to be the optimal product for feeding children, surpassing any alternatives to breast milk.

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