In today’s modern world of electronic breast pumps, many moms don’t know the value of hand expression and hands on pumping. In fact, many moms are unaware of how to hand express breast milk, especially in comparison to more well-known methods of expression such as the manual breast pump or electric breast pump. Why is this method important and worth your while? Will it help you express more milk to save or donate?
Our present day life is all about technology. Many moms make the assumption that the most technologically advanced breast pump is going to give them the best yield. They don’t realize that their own two hands might actually perform better than a machine, especially in the early days of breastfeeding when mom is producing thicker colostrum.
Pumped colostrum tends to spray and stick to the sides of the bottle, but hand expressing into a spoon to feed directly into the baby’s mouth is a great way to save every valuable bit. It is also not always convenient to transport a breast pump, and electricity is also not always a reasonable option depending on your location. The ability to hand express breast milk is always a convenient choice available to moms without any extra costly equipment or components – all you need are your own two hands!
Is there a right way to hand express breast milk? Not necessarily. Lactation consultants and YouTube videos can certainly help you find a technique that works well for your body, but every mom is going to have a different preference for hand expressing milk. Hand expressing breast milk and hands on pumping are thought to be more effective at draining the breasts, increasing your yield of breast milk, and increasing the fat content of your milk.
Electric pumps alone do not seem to drain breasts nearly as effectively as your own two hands. If you have a premature baby, especially, every drop of breast milk can make a world of difference for them. Breast milk is truly a gift to your child and yourself.
Hand expressing your breast milk is a great tool that can also be used in tandem with pumping. Pumping alone doesn’t drain the breasts nearly as well, so consider these steps to effectively use both methods to do so.
How to do Hands On Pumping
- Massage your breasts.
- Double pump with an electric pump and hands free bra such as the Simple Wishes Hands on Pumping. While you are pumping, squeeze your breasts throughout your session to drain as much milk as possible.
- Remove your pump equipment and massage your breasts again. If particular areas feel fuller than others, concentrate on those.
- Hand express and compress your beast simultaneously, or use a manual pump on one side while you massage and compress your breast with the other hand. Switch sides and continue until both breasts are fully drained.
Regardless of the technique you are using to express your milk, storing breast milk properly is very important. Many moms opt to freeze their milk in breast milk storage bags, which are easy to store in the freezer. Milk can last up to six months in a self-contained freezer unit and up to 12 months in a deep freezer. Other moms use breast milk storage containers in the fridge or freezer as an alternative to the bags. Fresh milk is good for 3-8 days in the fridge; the exact life expectancy of the milk will vary with each mom.
Some moms with an oversupply will opt to make a breast milk donation to babies in need, either through hospital milk banks or directly to other local moms. If you are interested in donating, this is a fantastic and selfless gift that you can give to other babies in need. There are some great resources online to help you connect with the right people.
Hands on pumping and hand expression are two great tools for nursing moms to use to express their milk. Though they seem more intimidating to many moms than the typical breast pump, know that they are valuable techniques that are worth your while to practice and learn.
Many moms try hand expression during the late stages of pregnancy to help their milk come in faster and collected colostrum for their babies, did you try this method, and if so what was your experience?
