How to express breast milk with your hands and a breast pump: instructions

Breast milk is the best nutrition for the baby. Lactation begins in all women in different ways. This is due to the individual characteristics of the body. However, in most mothers, milk "comes" 3-4 days after birth. Many mothers and women who are just preparing to become mothers are interested in the question of when to express breast milk.

Milk comes quickly, the child does not have time to eat everything. That is why women have pain in the chest, there is a risk of lactostasis. To avoid this, it is necessary to regularly express breast milk and prevent its stagnation in the mammary glands of a young mother. But at the same time, women need to know how to express breast milk with their hands in case of stagnation and with the help of a breast pump.

So that this process does not cause unpleasant emotions and takes a minimum of time, and the resulting food can be used to feed a newborn baby, you need to know how to express and how to store expressed breast milk.

What is decantation. When to express

Straining is the process of extracting breast milk. It must be carried out if:

• mother needs to go away and she is not going to interrupt breastfeeding and transfer the baby to the mixture;
• the mother cannot feed the baby and the only way to feed the baby is to use a bottle;
• the mother is sick and cannot feed the baby in person;
• mom goes to work;
• nipples are injured, as a result of which the feeding process causes discomfort to both the baby and his mother;
• there is a "stagnation" of milk, lactostasis or there is a risk of its occurrence;
• not enough milk is produced.

If breast milk is not sufficiently produced, pumping is recommended regularly to improve lactation and the amount of milk delivered. In addition, expressing milk is a necessary necessity if the baby was born prematurely and has no sucking reflex or muscles are not so developed, he can’t get the required amount of breast milk.

In addition, expressing milk is necessary if a woman has a flat nipple and the baby cannot properly capture it.

Methods for expressing breast milk

There are two main ways to extract breast milk: using a breast pump and manually.

Each woman chooses the method that she likes best. However, it is worth noting that most young mothers give their preference to the first method. In their opinion, the use of a breast pump greatly simplifies the process of expressing breast milk and eliminates trauma to the nipple, as well as the appearance of painful sensations.

By the way, an important condition is the correct choice of such a device, since at present there are many varieties of breast pumps. And not everyone proves high efficiency.

Pumping Prohibitions

It is important to carefully study the necessary information on how to properly express breast milk in a bottle so as not to harm your own body. It is important to remember what is strictly not recommended.

1. The so-called decantation "to the last drop" can lead to excessive production of milk, and, as a result, to the occurrence of "stagnation" of it in the mammary glands of women. This makes the woman uncomfortable and can cause health problems.
2. Many women are interested in how often breast milk needs to be expressed. The number of expressions should not exceed three. Otherwise, an excessive amount of breast milk will be produced, resulting in a risk of lactostasis, which is fraught with serious consequences.
3. The development of hyperlactation can lead to decantation, carried out immediately after the completion of feeding the baby.
4. For the same reason, it is strongly recommended not to perform decantation at night.
5. Specialists strongly recommend that young mothers not to resort to decantation in the first day after the "arrival" of milk, since at this time the formation of lactation occurs. During this period, it is necessary to express only a small amount of milk so that the breast becomes softer and the newborn baby can easily get milk from it.

Subject to the above conditions, decantation will not harm the female body.

Which breast pump to choose

Currently, there are several types of breast pumps.

1. Pump pumps are the simplest and cheapest manual breast pumps. Represented by a nozzle on the chest and a pear or rubber pump. Decantation occurs by compressing the pump. Products of this type are produced with a calf in the kit and without it. It is worth noting that this is far from the most popular type of breast pump, since when using it, many women have painful sensations and cracks in the nipples.
2. Syringe - the most common type of breast pump. They are two cylinders. Caring for such a device is quite simple, but it is quite compact and takes up little space.
3. Piston The design of such breast pumps is somewhat more complicated than the above two. The constituent elements are a lever and a silicone nozzle on a female nipple. A bottle is necessarily included in the kit - also a component and one of the main elements of a piston breast pump. When the lever is pressed, the silicone pad on the chest is in close contact with the breast and the process of expressing milk is activated.
4. Electric. The most effective models, the use of which helps young mothers to save time on expressing breast milk for a newborn. The most important thing is to correctly place the pad so that the nipple is in the center.

It is worth noting that the most expensive are electric breast pumps. Their cost, as a rule, exceeds 3000 rubles. A manual breast pump can be purchased at a lower cost.

Before choosing a device, you need to understand how to properly express breast milk with a breast pump. Despite significant differences, the principle of operation of all breast pumps is the same and consists in creating a vacuum around the female nipple.

When using mechanical breast pumps, female hands are involved to varying degrees in the process of pumping milk. That is why the process of decantation takes a lot of time, and upon its completion the woman gets tired hands.

Electric models are much more expensive than their mechanical counterparts, but their use does not require any effort from a woman. Just click on the button and follow the process.

Hand pumping

This method of obtaining breast milk requires some skill, and in addition, it is very painful. Many women note that with frequent manual pumping, cracks form on the nipples, and irritation and redness appear around the halo.

15 minutes before the pumping process begins, you need to drink a glass of warm water or warm tea. After this, you need to massage your chest. A warm shower is also a good way to stimulate lactation.

Immediately before decanting, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

How to express milk manually

The thumb is placed on the areola from above, about 3-4 cm to the base of the nipple. The index and ring fingers at this time should be positioned below, retreating a few centimeters from the nipple. Expression should occur by squeezing the chest with your fingers in the direction of the ribs. It is necessary to do the above movements with confidence, but carefully.

To improve the process of expressing breast milk, before starting the main process, you can put in front of you a photo of the baby or perform pumping while sitting in front of the baby.

You need to understand that the process, conducted for the first time, may be accompanied by painful sensations. Fingers need to be moved in a circle. This is necessary in order to remove milk from all lobes of the mammary gland.

If milk has got on the breast and it has become wet, it is necessary to suspend the pumping process and thoroughly dry the surface of the breast with a clean napkin or towel. Then you can continue.

Many young mothers are concerned about how much breast milk can be pumped at a time. Decantation should not occur until the last drop, but before the feeling of emptying the mammary glands.

A woman should make sure that her fingers do not slip onto the surface of the nipple in order to avoid injury.

Rules for storing breast milk

It is necessary to observe certain rules for storing breast milk so that this infant food product does not lose its beneficial properties.

It is not recommended to store expressed milk on the refrigerator door. For these purposes, it is better to choose places where the smallest temperature fluctuations are observed.

Tanks for storing breast milk must be sterilized. In addition, they must indicate the exact date and time (preferably) of the pumping.

Where to express breast milk. Storage tanks

A prerequisite for storing breast milk is the right choice of capacity. Currently, there are several types of such.

1. Special disposable bags. The main advantages of such containers are their sterility and the presence of a tight fastener. In addition, this container has a measuring scale, which allows you to determine the volume of expressed milk. In addition, plastic bags have special fields on which you must write how much milk was received and at what time. You can buy disposable bags for storing breast milk at any pharmacy at an affordable price. The average price of one package is 20 rubles. Most often they are sold in packaging (15-20 pieces each), and not individually. It is worth noting that, for the sake of economy, some mothers purchase kits that include a breast pump with all its components, several removable nozzles for the nipple, and several disposable bags for storing breast milk.
2. Special plastic containers for storing breast milk. The volume of such containers ranges from 150 to 220 ml. Sterilizers must be thoroughly sterilized before use. They have a measuring scale. The main advantage of plastic containers is the possibility of reusable use. However, the cost of such containers is quite high. The average cost of such containers reaches 120-150 rubles.
3. Glass container. Also needs pre-sterilization.

Scientists have proven that it is possible to store expressed milk without compromising the quality of the product in both glass and plastic containers. You can use not only specialized containers, but also glass jars from baby purees, as well as containers designed to store food, which do not contain biphenol-A.

Storage time

The shelf life of expressed breast milk directly depends on the conditions in which it will be stored.

1. In distant areas of the refrigerator, milk can be stored for no more than 8 days. In this case, all the beneficial properties of the drink will be preserved. It is strongly discouraged to store breast milk on the refrigerator door. It is better to choose areas closer to the wall where the temperature fluctuations are the smallest.
2. In a freezer with a common door, expressed milk will retain its properties for 14 days.
3. In a freezer with a separate door, breast milk can be stored for up to six months.
4. At room temperature up to 15 degrees, expressed milk can retain its beneficial properties for a day. After that, it becomes unsuitable for consumption by a small child.
5. At room temperature above 15 degrees, breast milk can be stored for up to 6 hours. The shelf life is due to the presence in it of substances that impede the reproduction of microbes.

Before freezing, it is necessary to cool the milk to room temperature.

It should be noted that defrosting of breast milk should also occur under certain conditions. It is advisable not to resort to the use of a microwave, but to use a water bath for this.

Instead of a conclusion

Decantation helps young mothers to improve lactation, as well as prevent stagnation of milk and the development of lactostasis. But in order not to harm the body, you need to know how to properly express breast milk with a breast pump and manually in a bottle.

Before starting the process, you must thoroughly wash your hands with soap to prevent the entry of pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms directly into breast milk. It is important to carefully express the milk to prevent injury to the nipple and prevent irritation.

In order for expressed milk to retain its useful properties for a long time, you need to competently approach the choice of capacity for its storage and take into account several important nuances.

The container in which it is supposed to store expressed breast milk must be sterilized before use. It is strictly forbidden to use containers containing Bisphenol-A for these purposes. It is strongly recommended to give preference to special containers for storing breast milk, which can be purchased at any pharmacy at an affordable price.

It is highly discouraged to place expressed breast milk on the refrigerator door. For storage, it is better to choose the most remote places from the door. It is there that the temperature fluctuations are the smallest, which means that the risk of milk losing its beneficial properties is minimized.