How to express breast milk with your hands. Simple, effective and painless. Proper expression of breast milk. The most important rules and methods

Every nursing mother sooner or later has to face the need to express milk. This must be done correctly so as not to damage the chest and glands. There are 2 ways: manual and with a breast pump. Everyone chooses the method that he considers more suitable for himself.

Indications

The reasons why a mother needs to express milk can be different:

For whatever reason, mom needs to leave. There will be no opportunity to breastfeed the baby. In this case, you need to stock up on food for the child in advance.
The first time mothers face the need to pump is during the first postpartum rush of milk. During this period, the body can produce it in excess.
If during feeding the mother undergoes medication.
To maintain lactation, if for some reason the child cannot be breastfed (for example, the mother urgently had to leave for 1-2 days).
Expressing milk can be used to stimulate the glands.
If the nipples become excessively rough, this procedure will help develop the breasts.
If the child is weak, he does not have enough strength to suck on a hard breast on his own, they express a little milk to make the task easier for the little one.
With stagnation of milk (lactostasis).

To express milk, the mother chooses the method that seems most convenient to her. However, there is an increased risk of injury when using a breast pump. Also, special devices are not recommended for use with lactostasis and during the first week after childbirth, while the breast is being developed. The rest of the time, a breast pump will help speed up and simplify the process.

Preparation

When the breast has already been developed, there are no congestion, special manipulations and a special attitude will not be needed. However, at first, a little preparation is required before expressing breast milk. Each woman chooses those methods that will be most effective for her, because what is suitable for one mother may be completely ineffective for another. In most cases, all efforts are aimed at causing a rush of milk. For this purpose it is necessary:

Warm up your chest. You can use dry heat. A hot shower helps a lot, because it relaxes. Some may find it sufficient to apply a towel soaked in hot water.
10-15 minutes before the procedure, you should drink something warm.
Imagine your baby next to you, as detailed as possible: smell, voice, eyes, etc.
Shake and massage your chest a little.
If the baby has enough milk from one breast, then the other can be expressed during feeding.

More thorough preparation will be needed for lactostasis. In this case, stagnation has already occurred. Before expressing your milk, you need to knead and rub your breasts well. Then do a special massage. This will take 15-20 minutes.

Hand Expression Technique

Express breast milk only with clean hands. Before the procedure, they must be thoroughly washed. You also need to prepare the dishes in advance. It should be a container with a wide neck or a bowl. Dishes must be sterilized!

So, how to express breast milk with your hands?

It is necessary to prepare the workplace: process hands and dishes. Place the container at chest level so that you do not have to reach for it or bend over later. Take a comfortable position. You can express milk standing or sitting.
Grasp the areola with your fingers so that the big one is on top, and the rest are on the bottom. The position of the brush will resemble the letter "C".
The thumb and index finger should be brought together, squeezing the dark circle near the nipple. In this case, the fingers should not go beyond the border of the areola or come off the skin.
The remaining fingers support and also squeeze the breast a little, helping to express it.
First, drops will appear, then milk will flow in streams.
The fingers must be moved in a circle to free the other lobes of the mammary gland.

As a rule, it takes 10-15 minutes to express milk with your hands from 1 breast. But the procedure can take up to half an hour. A little practice - and this action will no longer cause difficulties or difficulties.

A few notes

In order to avoid problems when expressing milk, it is necessary to take into account a number of nuances:

Fingers should be clearly fixed in one place, they do not fidget back and forth on the surface. Otherwise, abrasions may appear on the skin.
Be sure to change the position of the fingers, because the mammary gland is divided into segments. Each of them should be expressed.
But at the same time, you need not to overdo it and stop in time, find out if the milk has run out. Further ineffective attempts will only injure the glands.
It is necessary to change the breasts when decanting: 5-7 minutes one, then the other. And so 2-3 times. Complete emptying will take at least 20 minutes.
Do not squeeze your breasts too much: the amount of milk expressed depends on the correct technique, and not on the strength of the pressure.
It is not necessary to pull the nipple back, as this can lead to cracks.
Fingers should lightly press only on the areola.
If the technique of decanting breast milk is correct, then the pain does not bother. If there is discomfort, then something is being done wrong.
Be sure to take a comfortable position so that you do not have to bend over, as this can lead to an overload of the back muscles.
Before the first pumping, you should consult with your doctor.

Advantages and disadvantages

Like any method, expressing milk by hand has a number of positive and negative properties. Of the undoubted advantages, the following can be noted:

no contraindications;
no investment required;
the woman herself regulates the whole process;
the risk of injury is minimized;
less discomfort than when using a breast pump;
when in contact with the skin, milk production is stimulated;
you can develop the chest only with your hands;
no side effects (for example, when using devices, the areola may increase in size, the skin becomes rougher, etc.).

There are a couple of drawbacks to this method:

for high-quality pumping, it takes quite a lot of time;
training in the correct technique is required;
not all women succeed in carrying out the procedure with high quality and emptying the glands, therefore, in some cases, the effectiveness of this method becomes very low.

What to do with milk?

Sometimes pumping produces quite a lot of milk. In this case, you need to decide what to do with it. It is best to store the product in the refrigerator in a sterilized container and tightly sealed so that harmful microorganisms cannot enter it. At room temperature, breast milk can be stored for up to 8 hours. It can be kept in the refrigerator for no longer than 2 days (but it is better to keep within 24 hours). You can also freeze it. In this case, the shelf life is extended to 4 months.

Expressing breast milk is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. After a little practice, this will be easy. When performing all movements, you need to monitor your feelings, listen to the body. It is important to learn to understand when to stop and when to continue.

Pumping is ideal for the prevention of congestion (lactostasis), as well as for increasing the amount of milk. However, if you feed the baby on demand (the interval between feeding is 2-2.5 hours) and you have the opportunity to be with the baby 24 hours a day, there is no need to pump, since the milk comes in exactly the amount that the growing baby needs. baby's body.

But there are a number of reasons why breast pumping is simply necessary:

Feeding according to the regimen. In this case, the baby is applied to the chest up to 6-8 times a day. That is why experts recommend after each feeding until the chest is completely relieved. Such a procedure is necessary so that the brain does not send signals about a large amount of milk, which can later lead to a decrease in the level.

If your child is away from you or you need to leave for several hours.

If you are taking medications that are incompatible with breastfeeding. In this way, you can continue feeding after the necessary course of treatment.

How to Express Milk Properly

There are 2 ways to express milk:
- manual pumping;
- mechanical pumping (using a breast pump).

To collect milk, you can use a sterilized wide-mouth bowl or a special container.

When hand expressing, you need to wash your hands first. After that, take the chest in the palm of your hand. Do this in such a way that the thumb is on top 4-5 cm from the areola (peripapillary zone). Now begin to carefully reduce the thumb with the index finger, massaging the area of the milk ducts.

In this case, your fingers should slide from top to bottom to the areola area. In no case do not squeeze the nipple. In the first minutes, milk may be weakly secreted, however, after rhythmic decanting movements, the reflex of its release will start, and the whole procedure will accelerate.

Manual pumping is very convenient if you do not use it very often and only occasionally bottle feed your baby.

Start pumping. Place the thumb of the second hand approximately 3 cm above the nipple, and the index and middle fingers 3 cm below the nipple. Make a pushing movement with your fingers, without releasing them from the nipple, towards you. After that, press the nipple away from you. Continue rhythmically moving your fingers until milk won't stop dripping. Then rotate your fingers around the nipple 90°C and continue pumping in this position. Do the same with the second breast.

Never squeeze your chest or pull it forward. So you injure her, bruises and cracks may appear on her, the skin will hurt.

If you are unable to express milk manually, purchase a mechanical or electric milk suction. However, remember that many refuse to help milk suction due to the fact that pumping with it seems painful to them, although faster and easier than with the help of hands.

When it is necessary?

Expressing breast milk becomes important in the following situations:

for feeding a premature or sick baby when he cannot suck on his own;
if the mother and child are in separate wards of the maternity hospital or children's hospital (for bottle feeding);
on the 3rd day after childbirth for the formation of lactation;
to maintain the volume of milk in the breast if the newborn sucks little and sluggishly;
for the prevention of stagnation with excessive swelling of the breast;
with strong rushes of breast milk between feedings, when the child does not have time to suck it out on his own;
to maintain lactation when a woman takes medications that are prohibited during breastfeeding;
if, for medical reasons, the mother cannot feed directly from the breast;
when a woman needs to be away from home for a period of feeding;
if you need to prepare complementary foods in breast milk (cereals, mashed potatoes).

Benefits of hand pumping

There are 3 methods for expressing milk from the breast: with a breast pump, using a warm bottle, by hand. Doctors recommend using the third method, as it has a lot of advantages compared to the others. Manual pumping does not require the cost of special devices; this method is available under any conditions. Using your own hands when pumping is more enjoyable than using a breast pump. In addition, skin-to-skin contact greatly enhances lactation.

The disadvantages of manual pumping include that the procedure is time consuming and may seem difficult for inexperienced mothers. It takes practice to master the right technique. With incorrect hand movements, the method will be ineffective.

Preparation

Breast milk is produced in groups of special cells called alveoli. From them, it enters the milky streams, which deliver it to the cavity under the areola. Stimulation of the alveoli leads to the production of even more milk, so it is important to activate this process before pumping.

There is no universal way to prepare for pumping that would be effective for any nursing mother. Every woman needs to find the right method for her.

For starters, you need to relax. You can lie down with your eyes closed to calm music, think about something pleasant, for example, about a baby. It is important that during the procedure a woman is not disturbed by bad thoughts.

Increased lactation contributes to a warm drink. You can use weak tea, compote, infusion of herbs allowed during breastfeeding, plain water. Drinks can even be hot.

For some mothers, the physical impact on the breast helps. You can massage this area yourself or ask relatives to help. No need to knead or squeeze the chest, it is enough to lightly pat it with the pads of your fingers. You can also massage the mammary glands with a warm shower, the effect will be maximum if, after water procedures, a heated towel is placed on the chest area. Pumping will be easier after massaging the neck and upper back.

Such a psychological technique is effective: you need to take the baby in your arms, play with him, and talk affectionately. When the baby is not around, you can look at his photo and think about him with tenderness, imagining his voice, smile, smell.

Correct technique

By acting in accordance with the step-by-step instructions and following the rules for expressing breast milk, you can achieve the maximum result of this difficult procedure. It is necessary to express as follows:

It is necessary to prepare sterile (washed and rinsed with boiling water) dishes with a wide neck. Hands must also be clean. Find a comfortable position, such as sitting in a chair or standing up against a wall. It is a mistake to assume that in an inclined position, the flow of milk will be stronger. This will not affect lactation in any way, and the back muscles will get very tired.

With one hand, you should grab the chest from below, and with the other, perform the necessary actions.
The thumb should be placed above the nipple, the index and middle finger below the nipple. The fingers should be about 3 cm apart, forming a "C".

First, it is necessary to make pushing movements with the fingertips towards the chest. After that, you should move your fingers to the nipple, lightly pressing on the chest. Milk ducts resembling peas should be felt under the fingers: you need to press on them. Sometimes it is necessary to change the positions of the fingers in order to extract milk from all the glands. Each breast can be pumped with both hands.
Movements should be rhythmic (pressed - released). If any area of \u200b\u200bthe chest hurts, you need to ease the pressure.

If a woman can breastfeed, but still needs some milk (for example, for the next feeding), it is best to get it directly when feeding the baby. One breast should be given to the newborn while decanting the other. After the baby is attached, the flow of milk will go much faster.

It is necessary to store the received breast milk in a sterile tightly closed container. If it will be used soon, you can leave it at room temperature for no more than 6 hours. In the refrigerator, expressed milk will not spoil in 2 days. For long-term storage, it can be frozen and kept in a freezer at -20 degrees for 6 months.

Actions in case of stagnation

Various causes can lead to painful congestion in the breast and disruption of the natural feeding process. If milk is not expressed immediately, mastitis may occur. It is best to do this manually.

Before the procedure, it is necessary to soften the chest under a warm shower or with a compress. If the body temperature is high, you should limit yourself to a preparatory massage. Then it is necessary to sequentially perform all the above steps, as in normal pumping.

Possible mistakes

Some inexperienced breastfeeding mothers do not act correctly during breast pumping. Strong squeezing of the mammary glands can lead to bruising. Pulling the nipples and the entire breast forward can injure tissues and stretch the milk ducts. As a result, milk will get inside the glands, which can lead to mastitis. No need to make sliding movements on the skin, so as not to hurt yourself.

A long procedure can get boring, and there will be a desire to go shopping for a breast pump. There is no need to do this. Using even an expensive automatic device does not guarantee proper pumping. Breast preparation will also be required before using the breast pump. In addition, the device acts less carefully, after its use, swelling of the mammary glands and an increase in the size of the areola are possible.

In order for the pumping of breast milk to be as effective as possible and not bring negative sensations to the woman, you should heed the valuable recommendations:

There is no need to stop when the milk is very weak during pumping. It is necessary to wait - soon it will run in trickles;
It will be possible to express all the milk from both mammary glands with your hands no earlier than after 20 minutes. If you stop the procedure before this time, you may not get to the most nutritionally “hind” breast milk;
If the last drops have ceased to stand out, you should switch to the second breast, and after 3-5 minutes, express the first one again;
To relieve discomfort after the procedure and to restore the shape of the breast, you need to apply a cold compress (wet towel) to it;
If your chest hurts while pumping, stop. To avoid injury, you need to consult a gynecologist or a breastfeeding specialist.

It can take a long time to learn how to express the required amount of breast milk with your hands. After mastering this skill, the process will be easier and faster than using a special device.

Despite the fact that a lot of information can be found about breastfeeding, the question of expressing milk still remains open. Not so long ago, newborns were fed strictly according to the regimen, every three hours. Now this practice is outdated, pediatricians advise to feed the child on demand.

In fact, feeding by the hour and hand pumping were highly developed in Soviet times, when there was very little time for maternity leave to care for a child. Young mothers were forced to go to work after the baby was three months old.

Many switched to artificial feeding, and those mothers who still wanted to breastfeed the child expressed their milk. In this article, you will learn all about how to express breast milk with your hands correctly.

In the modern world, parental leave has expanded significantly, mothers can safely breastfeed and grow their baby.

Only in some cases there is a need to express milk.

in the first days after the birth of the baby;
if there are blockages or inflammation in the chest;
there is a Rh factor;
if for some reason it is impossible to breastfeed;
if there is not enough milk;
if there is a lot of milk;
after alcoholic drinks;
after anesthesia;
after fluoroscopy.

After the birth of the baby, colostrum is first formed in the mother's breast, which he feeds on for three to four days. Then the milk comes in gradually.

If there is too much milk, the baby may not have time to empty the breast, and milk accumulates in it. At the same time, the woman feels discomfort, heaviness in the chest and other phenomena. In this case, it is necessary to express milk, as there is a risk of mastitis.

Newborns are often unable to actively suckle, even if they are brought by the hour to the mother for feeding. Therefore, to maintain lactation, mothers express milk and bottle feed babies until they learn to suckle properly.

Sometimes it happens that the Rh factor of the baby does not match the Rh factor of the mother. Then the child is immediately forbidden to breastfeed.

Doctors make sure that at least ten days have passed, only then it is possible to feed. Moms during this period will have to be patient and express milk. However, if the baby receives a blood transfusion, then breastfeeding is allowed on the same day.

With blockages or inflammation that occur due to the fact that inexperienced mothers did not express milk on time, it can be difficult for a child to take the breast and suck. The chest begins to hurt and one woman can no longer cope with pumping. In this case, she will have to ask for help from professionals who know how to properly carry out this process.

There are times when there is no way to breastfeed. For example, when a child is ill, or if the child was born weak. It happens on the contrary, my mother fell ill and was forced to take a lot of medicine. Or she has severe cracks in her nipples, or when she has to urgently go to work, or go somewhere.

Often, women who have just given birth feel that they do not have enough milk. This is especially true for first-timers. They start to get nervous in vain, and milk can really disappear from this. In this case, you need the help of a doctor, a specialist in this field.

And those mothers who have too much milk should remember that stagnation can lead to undesirable consequences. At the first stage, the baby should be applied to the breast more often, but if he cannot actively suck, then of course you need to use the manual pumping technique.

With alcohol poisoning, anesthesia or fluorography, putting the baby to the chest is the height of frivolity. It is better to wait until the harmful effects are over, only then feed the baby. In this case, the expressed milk should be poured out.

Breast preparation for pumping

To facilitate the process of expressing milk, women are advised before this, if possible, to take a warm shower or bath, drink hot tea, and do a light breast massage.

If a woman does not plan to breastfeed a baby, then the pumping process can be carried out in front of the bathroom sink, while a towel should be placed under the breast

If it is not possible to take a shower, then you can attach a heated terry towel to your chest, then be sure to wash it and your hands with soap and water.

How to hand express breast milk

We provide step by step instructions.

Step 1

Prepare breasts for pumping. To do this, with one hand you should support it from below, and with the other, massage in a circular motion from the ribs to the nipple.

Step 2

It is best to express while seated, leaning forward slightly.

Step 3

It is better to put the little finger of the hand that is closer to the chest that is being expressed under the ribs, and hold it with the rest of the fingers.

Step 4

The thumb should be placed three centimeters above the nipple and with the help of this finger and index finger, you can express milk. Milk comes from deep in the chest, so you should not press on the nipple.

Step 5

Then you need to squeeze and release the thumb and forefinger. This should be done rhythmically, perhaps the milk will not appear immediately, so you need to be patient.

Step 6

As soon as milk appears, it should be collected in the dishes prepared in advance. It can be a baby bottle or other container. It must be washed in advance, rinsed with boiling water, and it is better to sterilize.

Step 7

It is necessary to press on the chest carefully, but with pressure. The fingers should, as it were, glide over the chest, while the woman should not feel pain.

Step 8

As soon as there is less milk, the mother should change position and squeeze out the other breast.

This must be done until the woman feels that there is practically no milk.

Step 9

You can also help yourself by pressing on the entire chest towards the chest. This will result in the following decanting scheme. Push - squeeze - let go.

Step 10

There are breast pumps for expressing, but they do not always help to empty the breast effectively.

How to tell if you're hand expressing milk correctly

In fact, not expressing milk properly can hurt yourself. Therefore, in order not to make such mistakes, mothers must adhere to the following rules:

when decanting should not be any discomfort. If they still appear, then the pumping technique is incorrect;
you can’t sit in an inclined position for a long time, the back gets tired due to the load on the muscles, the maximum time is half an hour;
do not press on the nipple, this can lead to cracks, besides, it is useless, since there is no milk in the nipple;
you can’t handle the breast roughly, rub it, press it, all these actions can lead to injuries and the development of mastitis;
you can not express milk too much, this can lead to the fact that too much milk will be produced;
you can not refuse to express milk, even if the first attempts were unsuccessful.

It is known that how much milk a child eats, so much will go back to the breast, so improper pumping can lead to stagnation and inflammation of the breast.

Technique Marmet

This technique for expressing breast milk includes the following steps.

The fingers are placed between the areola and the skin of the chest;
The fingers are pressed in the direction of the chest, that is, it is necessary to feel the bags filled with milk, in which tuberosity is felt;
Then you need to strongly, without pressing on the chest, roll your fingers from the chest to the nipple;
It should be remembered that the movements should be smooth, the fingers should not fidget over the skin of the chest, they should stand in one place;
If the fingers fidget, abrasions on the skin may occur;
Rhythmically press on the chest until milk appears;
Express until there is less and less milk;
Switch to another chest.

In the body of a woman there is a reflex that is responsible for lactation. It's called oxytocin. The calmer the mother, the more oxytocin is produced. When pumping, it must be remembered that short, but frequent pumping produces lactation better than rare and long ones.

Pumping Mistakes: It's Important to Avoid!

Errors in pumping can lead to many serious consequences and complications.

First, mistakes can lead to stagnation of milk, which in turn leads to inflammation;
With strong pressure on the chest, mastitis may occur;
Due to the constant compression and friction of the nipples, cracks can occur;
All this can lead to the fact that milk will stop flowing, or at best stop for a while.

Hand pumping takes a lot of time and effort, many doctors recommend using a breast pump, but if you use it incorrectly, the consequences will be even more severe than if you pump your hands incorrectly.

It is important not to panic, not to be nervous, all this can lead to the fact that oxytocin will stop being produced and there will be very little milk.

What to do about stagnant milk

Milk stasis or lactostasis occurs when milk does not move in some part of the breast. As a result, a milk plug is formed, which leads to swelling of the breast, pain to reddening of the breast, and often women suffer from fever.

The reasons why milk stagnation occurs can be different. Incorrect feeding, long breaks between feedings, as well as improper pumping of the breast. How to deal with this phenomenon.

It is necessary to apply the baby more often to the breast, only the child can draw milk well and clean the ducts;
If there is no temperature, you can apply a hot towel to the blockage or take a shower;
Gently massage the place where stagnation is felt;
Express milk with your hands, pressing and massaging the clogged place;
Apply a short cold compress to reduce swelling.

After pumping, it is advisable to give the breast to the child, who can well suck out the remnants of stagnation.

Among folk recipes, cakes made from honey and flour are popular, as well as applying cabbage leaves to a sore chest.

What to do with expressed milk

To date, it has been proven that expressed milk, when properly stored, does not deteriorate, but remains just as useful. Express milk in a sterilized container. In the refrigerator, milk can stand without any damage for up to five days. It is better to store in a glass container that closes tightly.

It is also known that mother's milk, which is in a cool place (not in the refrigerator) for six to ten hours, prevents the formation of bacteria, therefore it is suitable for consumption.

Milk can be stored in the freezer for up to six months. The dishes in which you need to store milk in the freezer should be sterilized and dried. Some manufacturers produce special packages for breast milk.

But in no case should you use disposable bags or plastic bottles for freezing. Moms should remember to never process breast milk before freezing, especially not to boil it!

With this knowledge, women will be able to raise healthy and cheerful babies.

For more information on proper pumping, see the following video.

The most affordable way to express the mammary glands is considered manual. The process does not require cash costs and additional devices.

WHO does not recommend pumping, but in some cases this procedure is necessary. To do this, every breastfeeding woman needs to understand how to express breast milk with her hands.

The need for pumping

It is necessary to understand cases of far-fetched and real necessity.

False reasons

It has long been believed that artificial breast stimulation is necessary in the following cases (although today there are other opinions on this matter):

Breast development after childbirth. The answer to the question of whether it is necessary to pump the breast before feeding is debatable. If the child is healthy, does not separate from the mother after childbirth, and she does not receive drugs harmful to breastfeeding, then the newborn is able to stimulate milk production on his own.
Excess and deficiency. If there is enough milk, pumping will lead to breast fullness. The procedure will have to be repeated again and so on ad infinitum. If the baby has enough milk, it is not necessary to stimulate its flow. With a lack of natural food, first of all, lactation should be established by correcting the attachment and more frequent feeding of the child, and only in critical cases should practice pumping.
Pumping after feeding. Additional breast stimulation was needed when the women fed their babies on a schedule. This led to the disappearance of milk. Then the question of how to independently express breast milk with your hands after feeding was the most relevant.

forced necessity

There are few situations when it is necessary to express milk, but every nursing mother should know about them:

Prematurity. Babies born prematurely do not have a sucking reflex, but they can absorb their mother's milk. Such children need natural food, the nutrients of which contribute to growth and development.
Weak sucking reflex. In most cases, it is a pathology of the central nervous system. Lactation should not be stopped, milk should be expressed and fed to the child with a spoon or pipette (it is better not to use a bottle).
Lack of milk. The main lactation stimulant is on-demand feeding. But if for some reason sucking fails to increase milk production, then artificial stimulation should be resorted to in the struggle for lactation.
lactation begins. Is it necessary to express milk before each feeding, when after childbirth after 2-3 days it arrives intensely? If the newborn himself cannot cope with a large volume, it is not forbidden to release the breast a little before softening. However, it is better if the child regulates lactation himself.
stagnant states. May lead to mastitis. The problem is formed due to poor suckling, improper latch on or incorrect pumping.
Medicines incompatible with HB. If, for health reasons, the mother needs medication, then milk should be periodically expressed and poured out to maintain lactation.
Flat nipple. You can work on the shape of the nipple and stretch it out. Keep in mind that the nipple is the place from which milk flows, and the baby sucks the areola. Therefore, most often the shape of the nipple does not play a decisive role, if you otherwise follow the rules of breastfeeding.
Milk preparation. When there is enough natural food, then you can stock up on it for the future. It is important to know how to express and store breast milk >>>.

Breast preparation

The hormone oxytocin is responsible for the excretion of milk by opening the ducts in the breast. Prolactin depends on its amount and synthesis. Effective pumping is possible when reflexes based on these hormones are triggered.

10-15 minutes before expressing breast milk with your hands, it is worth preparing to cause a rush of milk. Every woman has different ways to do this, here are the main ones:

attach a towel to the mammary glands, after lowering it into warm water or just take a shower;
drink tea or another favorite drink, the main thing is that it be warm;
make a pleasant breast massage without sudden movements;
stimulate the flow of milk by bending down.

Important! A rush of milk will be ensured if you give one breast to the child, and you yourself express the other. This method is most effective, since the tide, when sucked by the baby, comes immediately to two mammary glands.

Manual pumping step by step

Breast milk expression technique called Marmet designed to secure the process and make it as efficient as possible. First you need to prepare a clean cup with a wide mouth for milk. It must be washed and sterilized by boiling before each decantation. The main stages of pumping look like this:

A comfortable posture is chosen, most often sitting. The cup is at chest level, the back is straight. It is not worth tilting the body, the muscles will tire so quickly.
The chest is held with one hand from below, the second strokes it towards the nipple.
The thumb is above the nipple at the border of the areola, and the index finger is opposite it from below. These fingers form the letter C, the rest support the mammary gland.
The thumb and forefinger press on the chest, then come together in a ring, pressing on the areola. The bottom line is to stimulate the milk ducts under the areola. Sometimes they are well palpable, then it is not difficult to influence them.
It is necessary to rhythmically repeat the movements described above. If they cause pain, then pumping is done incorrectly. To get milk from all parts of the breast, the fingers move around the circumference of the areola.

Expressing breast milk with your hands: a video with step-by-step instructions.

Other techniques

Warm bottle method

You need to know how to express breast milk with your hands into a bottle if the nipple is strained and the breast is inflamed. In this case, it is problematic to release milk on your own, it is not possible to apply the baby.

When the breast is relaxed with the bottle, you can express manually or with the help of your baby.

A glass bottle with a neck diameter of 4 cm or more is heated in hot water, then the neck must be cooled.

The areola is lubricated with petroleum jelly and a bottle is applied to it. The nipple will retract into the container and the milk will begin to flow out. The bottle is removed when the jet becomes weak.

Hardware pumping

If frequent pumping is necessary, it is preferable to use a breast pump. Store shelves are filled with electric, vacuum, piston models. Prices are different, instructions for use are attached.

Using a breast pump is convenient, as it saves time and effort. However, hands are more versatile: they are easy to wash, they are always there, no need to spend money. It is useful to know how to properly express breast milk with a breast pump and hands alternately.

You need to press on the chest confidently: with the right technique, milk should come out in streams.
Wondering how to quickly express breast milk with your hands is not worth it. The procedure should take more than 5 minutes. When the milk stops running, you need to switch to another breast, and then return to the first again. Pumping one breast can lead to a decrease in milk production. A full pumping should take at least 30 minutes.
If during pumping the skin is abundantly moistened and the fingers slip, you need to wipe your hands and chest, and then continue the procedure.
You need to express your breasts until relief, and not until the end. This is not possible, since milk is constantly arriving. In addition, to act on the chest often, but little by little, is much more effective.

What not to do

The procedure should in no case be painful. This indicates the wrong tactics.
Do not make brute force when expressing milk. Such an effect violates the integrity of tissues and provokes lactostasis.
There should be no "fidgeting" on the chest, this will cause irritation. Fingers should be carefully fixed in place.
You should not put pressure on the nipple: this will affect the flow of milk, but cracks may form.

If you can’t learn how to express breast milk with your hands on your own, you should contact your doctor or breastfeeding consultant for qualified help.

Proper breast pumping skills will prolong your baby's natural food intake and eliminate potential problems.