Hand Expression, Pumping and Milk Storage

There may be many reasons as to why a parent may want to or need to express breastmilk.

Some reasons why a parent may need or want to express breastmilk include:

Baby is unable to latch the breast
Baby requires additional supplementation
Baby is premature or is sick
The breastfeeding parent is separated from baby for a longer duration
The breastfeeding parent is trying to increase milk supply
The breastfeeding parent is returning to work
The breastfeeding parent decides to use alternate methods of feeding such as: cup, bottle, or spoon feeding

Expressing breastmilk can be done by hand expression or by a breast pump.

Hand Expression

Hand expression is a skill that can take some practice. Hand expression can be used in the late stages of pregnancy to collect colostrum. For more information on this click here

Some instances in which you may need or want to hand express include:

When you are first starting out, sometimes it is reassuring to see your milk
You are experiencing engorgement. Hand expression before or after a feed can help to soften engorged breasts (What is engorgement? See Healthy Parents, Healthy Children)
Treating cracked nipples. Express a small amount onto cracked nipples and let air dry.
Expressing a small amount of breastmilk prior to latching baby can encourage them to latch

Pumping

Pumping (hand or electric) is not always a necessary part of breastfeeding but may be used if you wish to store milk for later use. Some parents also choose to exclusively pump and feed expressed breastmilk to their baby.

Other situations in which pumping may be necessary include: