Warm your container of breastmilk by placing it in warm water. Gently swirl the bottle or container, and test the temperature of the milk before feeding your baby. The temperature should be lukewarm or around body temperature. It can also result in hot spots, which can burn a baby. All manual breast pump parts and detachable parts of electric breast pumps that come into contact with breastmilk need to be thoroughly washed and stored in a clean, closed container after each use.
Wash the breast pump parts in a clean wash basin using warm soapy water and rinse well. Do not place the pump parts directly in the sink. Air-dry parts or dry parts with clean paper towel.
Store covered until next use. Always wash your hands before expressing milk. If your baby is healthy , pump manufacturers generally recommend washing with hot soapy water.
Just like your milk, pumping equipment can safely be left at room temperature for short periods and refrigerated in a clean container or bag for longer periods, giving you more time for your baby. Successful expressing has a lot to do with your emotions and how you are feeling.
The hormone oxytocin causes the milk in your breasts to be released let-down. Oxytocin is released when you feel happy and relaxed. It can be difficult to relax if your baby is very ill and in hospital, or if you feel rushed or under pressure. Make a conscious effort to put your mind at ease and use your senses to help trigger milk release. Hold or sit near your baby, or look at a picture or video of him, listen to a sound recording or hold and smell an item of his clothing.
Relax your shoulders and take a deep breath to calm yourself before you begin. Try not to think about how much milk you are producing—instead, try distracting yourself by reading, listening to music or a relaxation CD, watching TV or even chatting on the phone.
Use your hands When hand expressing, the skin-to-skin contact helps stimulate the let-down reflex. Combine hand expression with pumping This can help you remove milk more thoroughly than with pumping alone. Each time you express start with hand expression to stimulate a let-down.
Finish by hand expressing into the pump flange, or single pumping with intensive breast compressions, switching between breasts until you feel that no more milk can be removed. Suction and cycling speed When using a pump, set its suction strength so it feels comfortable. Increase the cycling speed when milk flow slows and use a slower speed as flow increases again.
Aim for at least 3—5 milk releases during the session. If single pumping, switching between breasts several times can help trigger milk releases. It might help to plan when to express during the day e. Share this page Facebook Pinterest Twitter Whatsapp.
Expressing your breast milk There may be times when you need to express your breast milk. Expressing breast milk Expressing by hand Expressing with a pump Feeding advice Hints, tips and more help Storing breast milk.
Expressing your breast milk Expressing milk means extracting milk out of your breasts so you can store it and feed it to your baby later. Some mums may choose to cup feed their baby from early on.
Older babies can actually feed from a sippy cup from around months. Therefore, they do not always need to be introduced to a bottle. Of course, some mums need to introduce a bottle as they are going back to work earlier than 6 months.
If your baby will not take a bottle and this is the way you would like to feed them, you can find some more helpful hints here. Check out this post to get everything you need to know about which is the right pump for you based on your expressing needs. Follow this link to gain more insight into the importance of using the correct breast shields and measuring your nipples!
Here is all the information you need to know on storing, thawing and using your expressed breast milk. Do you have any questions about expressing breast milk? How has your breastfeeding journey been so far? For more information and to share your experiences visit us at our Medela Australia Facebook. Discover our new range of pacifiers — made in Switzerland.
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