Learning to express breasts with hands

Every lactating mother at some point in her “career” feels the need to express milk. Of course, we find it easier than our mothers and grandmothers, whom Soviet punitive pediatrics forced to squeeze "dry" after each feeding. Today there is enough information about the proper organization of breastfeeding, which does not need routine pumping. Nevertheless, sometimes knowledge of how to express breasts can be of great benefit.

Why express breasts

There are two types of expressions of milk from the breast: for the sake of the breast or for the sake of milk.

Expressions for the sake of the breast are needed when the supply (production) of milk exceeds the demand (needs of the baby). Milk arrives, but there is no one to suck it. Perhaps mom at work or breastfeeding is over. For prophylaxis mastitis it is necessary to express without fanaticism, only when discomfort (compaction) is felt, only until this discomfort disappears. We must not forget that milk will come as much as was spent.

A goal is also possible - lactation support. If there is no one to consume milk, its quantity will steadily decrease. You can express breast milk manually instead of sucking, or parallel to it, if the baby sucks inefficiently. The demand-offer rule works the same way. The more often and more abundantly expressed, the more milk will be produced again.

Expression for the sake of milk pursues one goal - obtaining a food product. They are needed when there is demand (baby), but there is no supply (mother and her breasts). Again, mom expresses herself at work for relief, but the baby remains at home and wants to eat. So, he needs to leave the food, which first has to be obtained.

How to express breasts with your hands

Training

This stage can be skipped if the purpose of the manipulation is to avoid stagnation, because such a decantation occurs at high tide, when the chest is bursting with milk, and it begins to flow from the first touch.

Exception: if there is already lactostasis, and it is difficult to determine. In this case, before decanting, it is necessary to stretch the mammary gland for about 15 minutes with neat circular movements-rubbing with the tips of 4 fingers.

In other cases, you should first call the tide. There are many ways to do this, but for each specific woman, some of them will work perfectly, while others will be completely useless:

• You can take a warm shower or just put a warm wet towel on your chest;
• Facilitates the return of milk is also a warm drink for 10 minutes;
• Lean over and shake your chest;
• Do a breast massage;
• Think about the baby, his voice, smell (if he is not nearby). This psychological technique helps a lot.

Probably the easiest way to get milk is to give the baby a breast so that he works on it, and at the same time express another breast, as the tide comes to both glands simultaneously. And no one else will call milk so well as its "master".

Step-by-step instruction

First, prepare a clean container for milk, wash your hands, take a comfortable pose.

1. Grasp the areola with your palm so that the thumb rests on top and the rest on the bottom.
2. Use your thumbnail to glide from top to bottom in the direction of the nipple circle and back without taking your finger from the skin.
3. Help yourself with your lower fingers, gently squeezing your chest.
4. When you see jets, not drops, this is a sign that everything is done correctly.
5. Gradually move in a circle, moving your palm to express other milk fractions.

Photo instruction:(all pictures are clickable)

Video: How to express breast milk with your hands?

Pumping Technique by Marmet

Important points

• The first few minutes during pumping, breast milk can be excreted very weakly - drop by drop, it is very important not to stop pumping, and after some time the milk will run in trickles.
• When the milk has stopped flowing, you can move your fingers to another position or move to the second breast (and then from it to the first one again)
• Strain out one breast for at least 5-6 minutes, until the milk stops flowing; then go on decanting the second. Proper and complete decantation on average takes about 20-30 minutes. Do not try to express milk in less time.
• When expressing with your hands, you do not need to make great efforts and do not compress your chest very much.
• You do not need to pull and push strongly on the nipple - this will not facilitate the flow of milk, but rather can lead to nipple cracks.

If you experience pain while expressing, then something is going wrong. Do not continue so as not to get injured.

Beginning nursing mothers always want to squeeze the milk out of the nipple completely, even if theoretically they know that there can only be leftovers. Nevertheless, sometimes it seems that at least something flows from there, while the torment of the chest itself can be completely fruitless. Just do not imagine that you do not have milk, and leave the nipple alone. If you have recently given birth or simply have never expressed before, at first it may not be easy for you - you need to “breast” the breast. In this case, it can be unpleasant for you, even if you are doing everything right. Just before you start decanting, spend 15 minutes for massage (can be combined with a shower), and it will go much easier.

Of course, the risk is great to run to the store for a breast pump, which, as it seems, will do everything by itself. Once you press a button (or crush a pear), a liter of milk will miraculously pour out of your chest ... If you think so, disappointment is inevitable. From an undeveloped breast, a breast pump will be as difficult to extract milk as your hands. However, the hands are much more careful. Breast can become swollen from frequent use of breast pumps, and areolas grow in size, while your own hands have no side effects.

How to store expressed milk:

Breast milk should be stored in a closed container, at room temperature for about 6-8 hours, and in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. We read in great detail about the storage of expressed milkin this article. Important nuances in decantation: what you need to know we wrote here.

Further:How to express breast breast pump?

Manually expressing breast milk - how to do it right? Tips for parents - Union of Pediatricians of Russia