Expressing milk

[BubbleOne]

Does anyone know if you can start expressing your breast milk as soon as you want or should you wait a couple of weeks?
I've heard conflicting things regarding this matter. Some say you should wait 2 - 3 weeks whilst others don't seem to mention having to wait at all.
Really want OH to be able to feed baby from day one.

 

[beanie]

I too want OH to be involved in feeding asap, but I have been told that it is best to wait for a couple of weeks before expressing. During the first 6 weeks your body adapts to supply to demand and expressing during this time could interfere with this. But that is only one bit of information I have found out, I don't know if anyone else has any views on this?

 

[Urchin]

I found it quite hard to express full stop. I had lots of milk, and a few leaky boob moments, but actually using the pump trying to get a reasonable amount out was really hard and VERY time consuming.
Plus the baby feeds a lot at first, if you want to take out milk to save for later you may find you have none left for the next feed.

As far as actual medical recommendations though, I'm not sure.

 

[minikins]

I was encouraged to express in the hospital the day after Dominic is born, if you express in the early days it is supposed to help you start off with a good supply.

 

[mommy]

If you are planning to breastfeed we were told my the nurse not to introduce the bottle before 4- 6 weeks.

The explanation for this is that if you want the baby to latch properly his/her mouth has to be wide open. For a bottle or a soother the baby purses their lips. They will try to use the smaller sucking action on your nipple which will lead to them not getting enough milk and sore nipples.

If you are not breastfeeding expressing might prevent engorged breasts.

Hope this helps.

 

[Kerry]

The standard advice given is not to express till breastfeeding is 'fully established' which for most women is usually 2-3 weeks.