Pumping. Choosing a breast pump and learning how to pump your breast correctly Causes of a blockage in the mammary gland
The birth of a child is the most important event in the life of parents. Along with it come new joys and worries that have never been encountered before. A special responsibility falls on the shoulders of the mother, because if she decides to breastfeed the baby, she must monitor her nutrition, the baby's reactions and the correct application. In addition, there are a lot of related nuances. Especially often, young mothers are worried about the question of whether it is necessary to express milk after each feeding.
Pros and cons of expressing breast milk
The opinion of most modern breastfeeding experts on the issue of pumping is the same - it cannot be used regularly and constantly. This point of view is based on the knowledge that the female body produces exactly as much milk as is necessary to feed the baby. This is inherent in nature itself, as well as in other mammals.
Arguments for expressing milk regularly
Supporters of mandatory pumping after feeding are of the view that the child should be fed in accordance with the regimen, that is, up to 8 times in 24 hours. Only in this way will milk be produced by the female body in sufficient quantities. Feeding according to the regimen involves the complete sucking of milk by the baby, which means that there will be no excess left.
If you feed at will, the baby may not suck it out completely, which means there will be excess, signals will go into the hormone system, and there will be less milk. To maintain lactation, you will have to express every “incomplete” feeding so that there is enough milk next time.
Thus, the answer to the question of whether it is necessary to express after each feeding in this interpretation is positive - yes, if you want to maintain lactation. But in practice, women are often so tired of doing this all the time that fatigue and nervous tension lead to a refusal to breastfeed.
Arguments Against Regular Expression of Milk
When a child is guided by his own needs, he will never demand the breast exactly 6 times a day after a certain time. In the first 7 days of his life, he sleeps much more and rarely eats, but in the second week the number of attachments exceeds 8 times a day. However, he is not always hungry. This is a way to calm down, eliminate discomfort, which is not always explained by the feeling of hunger.
The body of a woman is not designed to accumulate milk, it will produce it constantly with proper stimulation. Such stimulation will be feeding on demand. There are practically no risks associated with the loss of lactation, which means that the question of whether it is necessary to express milk after each feeding is answered in the negative. There will simply be nothing to express, but there is an opportunity to acquire hyperlactation when the body decides that there is not enough milk.
Do I need to express milk after every feed? there are arguments for and against this procedure, each woman should decide for herself whether she needs systematic breast emptying, it is necessary to consult a pediatrician and a mammologistThe need for regular expression of breast milk
With the existing freedom of choice, there are cases when it is necessary to express milk regularly:
- when the mother and the newborn are separated, if desired, to maintain lactation;
- if necessary, mothers leave the child for a while;
- with symptoms of lactostasis;
- with diseases of the child that make it difficult to apply;
- after childbirth, when milk begins to come in large quantities.
Immediately after childbirth, it is necessary to express both after feeding and between them, but not completely. Pumping should bring the relief of a full breast, but not give the body a chance to take it as a sign of lack of milk.
Rules for pumping when milk comes in
After childbirth, the baby is applied to the breast on demand. Hourly feeding and separate stay of mother and newborn are almost a thing of the past. At the same time, you can also apply according to the needs of the mother herself, when she feels that the breast is full and it is time to feed.
There are situations when the child is sleeping and does not want to be applied, and in the meantime there is a lot of milk. Then mom can express it. As a rule, such pumping is permissible up to 3 times a day. Similarly, you need to act after feeding, if the baby has eaten very little.
It is also necessary to express during hot flashes within a month from the date of birth. Gradually, lactation will improve.
Expression of milk when mother and baby are separated
Pumping after each feeding is relevant in a situation where the child is not constantly with his mother. In this case, the self-regulating system "mother - baby" does not work, which means that efforts must be made to maintain lactation.
During feeding, it is important to attach the baby to the breast correctly, to feed from both breasts to stimulate the flow of milk. If the child ate very poorly and did not eat, then after feeding it is necessary to express.
If on the 4th day after birth there is still no milk coming, then you need to express up to 8 times a day with 8 feedings.
After a week of joint stay of mother and child, the need for pumping disappears.
There are several ways to express milk:
- manual;
- using a breast pump.
Each mother chooses the option that suits her. The first method is economical, but the second is faster and less labor intensive, unless you have opted for a manual breast pump.
Remember that the question of whether to pump after each feed should be decided individually with a doctor or lactation consultant. Breast milk is important for the baby, so you need to properly adjust lactation. Excessive pumping, as well as insufficient, lead not only to disruption of the feeding process, but also to mother's health problems.
Try the following tips to stimulate the breast milk ejection reflex:
1. Follow the established pumping routine.
One of the most effective tips is to create a routine. Pump in the same place, in the same chair, drink the same drink. Every time prepare everything you need in the same order, use psychological techniques to relax. All this stimulates the ejection reflex of your breast milk.
2. Before pumping, take a few minutes to massage your breasts.
Start at the armpit and massage this one point on the chest in a circular motion with the opposite hand. Then move your hand slightly and massage again. Continue the massage, gradually moving around the breast, and spiral down to the areola (This is similar to how you or your doctor checks the chest for lumps). End the breast massage with a series of strokes from the chest down to the nipple, also repeating your movements around the entire chest. Then massage the other breast. If your milk flow slows down during pumping, a few minutes of breast massage will help restart this process.
3. "Fill the pump"
Drink a couple of glasses of water right before pumping.
4. "Pump yourself up"
During the process, imagine mountain streams or rivers rushing towards the ocean. Or imagine that you are a fountain of breast milk or any other image that will help your milk separate and drain into a breast pump.
Bring a baby blanket or item of clothing from your child. Enjoy its scent. (Or ask the host family for a photo of your milk baby and look at it - approx. per.)
6. Find out what your child is doing.
Before expressing breast milk, call the babysitter and ask what your baby is doing. (The same technique can be used for milk babies - approx. per.)
7. Listen to music.
In order not to be distracted during the process, try listening to music. Enjoy your favorite music while pumping, or listen to the soothing sounds of nature: the ocean, the rain in the forest - whatever you like best.
If your nipples are already a little sore, then try the following:
8. Try setting the suction level on the breast pump to a lower level.
If your nipples are inflamed, then try reducing the suction power on the breast pump or changing its mode if the device has several options. Make sure the nipple does not rub against the flange while pumping.
9. Apply a small amount of emollient
Apply a lanolin emollient to help soothe and heal sore nipples.
Tips for pumping more breast milk
If your task is to collect as much breast milk as you want, then try the following:
10. Pump as often as your baby eats.
Usually it's once every 3 hours (or more often - approx. per.). If You're Worried About Your Breastmilk Enough, Do This more often . Frequency stimulates the milk ejection reflex more effectively than increasing the time of each expression.
11. Add another early morning pump.
Early morning is the time when you have the most breast milk. If you're trying to create a "strategic stock" in the freezer, then this is a good time of day to hit the target.
12. Check your breast pump.
Sometimes the most powerful advice is the most obvious. Have you assembled the device correctly? Is the bolt or any other parts worn out? Check with the manufacturer (the phone can be found on the instructions). If you bought or rented a breast pump from a lactation consultant or La Leche League leader, she may be able to advise you on how to replace worn parts.
13. Try pumping one breast while your baby suckles the other.
The baby will start the milk ejection reflex and it will be easier for you to collect milk from the other breast. (Easier to do this with an electric breast pump than with a manual one)
14. Double pumping.
For most women, double pumping (from both breasts at the same time) is the most helpful recommendation. thus usually it turns out to express more. Blood prolactin levels are also higher if you stimulate both breasts at the same time. It is best and easiest to use good quality electric breast pumps for this, but some manual pumps can be operated with one hand. Get 2 of these breast pumps and you can do double pumping by hand.
15. If pumping is not good, try a different pump.
It is best if you try a breast pump an order of magnitude, or even two orders of magnitude better quality than the one you are using. Rent a clinical machine for a week or two. Perhaps the difference will surprise you! (Some women are more effective at pumping with their hands. We do not recommend using all exclusively clinical breast pumps, as it may seem from the text - approx. per.)
How to make expressing breast milk more comfortable
Try these few tips to make the process easier and more convenient.
16. Wear two-piece clothing for easier access to your breasts.
One of the tricks that make life easier for moms is to wear comfortable clothes. It's easiest to pump (just like breastfeeding) if you're wearing a loose top that can be removed separately from the bottom. There are cute and comfortable nursing clothes on sale with special hidden openings for the breasts.
17. Lean forward while pumping.
This will prevent milk droplets from getting on your clothes.
18. Double pumping with one hand.
Try leaning over the table to hold the pump using the edge of the furniture and use one hand to hold the flanges of the pump against your chest. You will have a second hand free for turning the pages of a magazine or eating. Or try using a footstool or a thick book to raise your knees so that you can rest your collecting bottles on your knee as you lean forward.
In order to determine whether it is necessary to express, you need understand the physiology of lactation. Provided that the mother breastfeeds the baby when he needs it, the body produces exactly the amount that the child needs at the moment. The whole process is controlled by the mother's hormonal system.
Under what conditions does the formation of breast milk occur: the physiology of the process
The hormone prolactin is responsible for lactation. When a baby begins to suckle, a signal is transmitted along the nerve endings of the areola to the pituitary gland, which produces prolactin. The more often and more actively the child sucks, the more the hormone is formed and the greater the amount of milk will come to the next feeding. If the child is rarely brought to the breast and given a nipple, it starts to pile up, which reduces the amount of the hormone in the future. You can increase the inflow by more frequent attachment of the baby to the breast.
Oxytocin is responsible for its release directly during the feeding period. It acts on the muscles surrounding the mammary gland, which contract and push the accumulated fluid to the nipple. If there is less oxytocin, both feeding and pumping will be very difficult even if the breasts are full. This physiological aspect can completely debunk the myth of the need for full pumping. After all, the next time, not only the amount needed by the child is formed, but also the volume that was pumped last time. An increase in the production of this product is called hyperlactation, which entails the development of lactostasis and, in the future, mastitis.
Breastfeeding Tips: Should I Express After Feeding?
The first and most basic recommendation is not to wash your breasts before and after feeding, while using any hygiene products. It would be better to use clean water. Strong smells of gels or soaps can scare the child. Best of all, if the breast will have a milky smell.
Mother's milk is conditionally divided into two types: anterior and posterior. The fore milk is bluish in color. It provides the baby's need for liquid, rich in protein and milk sugar (lactose). There is no need to constantly express after feeding, sometimes it can even lead to unpleasant consequences for the baby. If a woman pumps after each feed, the baby receives mainly foremilk only, which can lead to excess lactose in the intestines. The child's digestive system can't handle that much sugar, causing fermentation and stomach pain. The stool becomes greenish and liquid.
You can avoid such consequences if the child also receives hindmilk. It is thicker and more oily. It contains a large amount of the enzyme lactase, which breaks down milk sugar and helps it to be better absorbed. In addition, there are a lot of nutrients in the back that the child needs. Therefore, weaning the baby from the breast before the hind milk begins to stand out is not worth it. After feeding, be sure to squeeze out another drop and lubricate the nipple. This simple technique will help to avoid cracks.
Do I need to express milk after feeding?
Nature does not provide for such a frequent production of large volumes of milk in women, which is provoked by frequent pumping. There are two options for feeding babies:
In the case of an established lactation process, when the mother is healthy, the baby is full-term, he grasps the nipple well and is correctly applied to the breast, both methods of feeding will be acceptable, and pumping may be practically not required.
When is it necessary to express?
First of all, before pumping, you should prepare the dishes. It must be washed clean and sterilized. Then the woman herself should prepare for pumping. Significantly facilitates the process of pumping relaxing environment close contact with the child and positive emotions. Stress and a bad mood make it difficult for the flow of milk. It is recommended to take a hot shower before pumping and rub the body with a towel. A warm drink will also help facilitate the pumping process.
If the mother has no experience with pumping yet, it is advisable to contact a breastfeeding specialist or a doctor. The midwives in the maternity hospital can also help with the first pumping. With the correct technique of the process, pumping will be successful and painless.
Expression also has a beneficial effect on massage of the mammary glands towards the nipple. It will stimulate the production of the hormone oxytocin, which will help increase the flow. Squeeze the breast when pumping should be in the areola, since the accumulation of milk occurs there.
Can be expressed as using a breast pump, as well as manually. If a woman chooses to use a breast pump, she will need to ensure that it is clean and sterile before each pumping, and that her nipples are not cracked. The device will work best with full breasts. During pumping, you should press the funnel tightly, change the position of the nipple relative to the breast pump and take short breaks. With the correct use of the device, the process of pumping is greatly facilitated, however, if the breast becomes soft, the milk will have to be pumped out by hand. Movements should be performed smoothly and slowly, without applying extra effort. Otherwise, it may have a bad effect on the milk alveoli.
Milk is expressed until the breasts are completely soft, which can take from twenty minutes to half an hour. No lumps should be felt in the mammary glands. If hardened area found, it must be purposefully kneaded. In the initial stages of pumping, it may be that the milk stops flowing, although the breasts feel full. In this case, you need to take a break and either start pumping the other breast, or get a little distracted and rest.
How much breast milk should be expressed?
The amount of milk you need to express will depend on your goals. If it is necessary to stimulate lactation as much as possible, it will be necessary to express the breast completely. If pumping is carried out to ensure a supply of milk for the future, the volume required for one feeding is necessary. With stagnation, it is recommended to express very little to relieve tension in the chest.
Methods for storing milk depend on the period of time for which it is planned to store it:
Each woman will have to decide for herself whether to express herself after each feeding or not. However, no specialist will recommend pumping after each feeding. After all, the milk comes the more - the more a woman expresses it, which is not always necessary and takes a lot of time and effort.
When?
Alas, many young mothers meet grandmothers who remember their own youth, who insist that after each feeding you need to express your breasts “to the last drop”. The most frightening arguments are given, from the disappearance of milk to mastitis. Indeed, 30-40 years ago there were such recommendations! There was a good reason for them: after all, at that time it was proposed to give the breast to the child six times a day, changing each time, that is, the child was applied to one breast only three times a day ... Of course, with such rare breast stimulation as mastitis (in the beginning), and "disappearance" of milk (then) became a very real threat, from which constant pumping could really save. But if we feed the baby on demand, then there is no need to pump after each feeding!
However, sometimes it is necessary to express milk. All such cases can be divided into two broad categories:
- either mother has too much milk, and it is necessary to get rid of its excess;
- or the mother has a need to express milk to stimulate lactation and supplement the baby.
The second situation arises when the mother needs to leave milk for the child at the time of care (for example, to work, to study, etc.); or transfer milk to the children's ward of a maternity hospital or hospital; either increase the production of milk in this way (then the expressed milk is also fed to the baby); or to supplement a child who sucks sluggishly and is not gaining weight well. It is in these cases, on the contrary, that one should try to express as much milk as possible - even a little more beyond the moment when the milk no longer stands out.
If your baby sucks well and puts on weight, feeds on demand, there are no seals and discomfort in the chest - then you do not need additional pumping!
When milk is expressed in the body, the same processes are triggered as when feeding a child, but weaker - after all, pumping is only an imitation of the natural feeding process. However, both during feeding and when pumping, the hormone oxytocin helps milk to be released, and in the process of breast stimulation, the hormone prolactin is produced, which determines the amount of milk. From here follow two important rules that a nursing mother needs to know about pumping:
- To make milk more willing to leave the breast, you need to help the oxytocin reflex.
- Pumping itself stimulates further milk production.
It is important to try to relax and think about the baby, how nice he is, how wonderful that he is fed by your milk. You can easily massage, stroke the breasts, shake them a little by leaning forward so that the milk flows out more easily under the influence of gravity. Many mothers notice that it works great for them if their husband gives them a back massage. And after that, you can begin the process of decanting.
The easiest and most affordable way for every mother to pump is manual. The most popular pumping technique is as follows: place your thumb on the upper border of the areola (or about 2.5-3 cm from the nipple), and the index and ring fingers opposite it, on the lower border, so that the fingers are in position 6 and 12 hands on the clock . Slightly squeeze your chest back, towards the chest, then roll them forward and, when the milk is squeezed out, relax your fingers. Repeat everything again. Move your fingers in a circle so that the milk comes out of all the lobes. Do not try to act on the chest with force: the breast tissue is very delicate, and it can suffer from strong pressure or friction. If the breasts are not damaged, there are no cracked nipples or engorgement - pumping should be painless! You can see the manual pumping technique in more detail in an animated picture.
If you have to express more than once if necessary, but from time to time, many mothers prefer to use a breast pump. Interestingly, a study conducted in US clinics showed that pumping with both hands and a breast pump, and not just one, gives the best effect, and optimally - with preliminary gentle breast massage (Morton J. Et al, 2009 Nov., Combining hand techniques with electric pumping increases milk production in mothers of preterm infants)
Today, in any pharmacy or children's goods store, you can see many different models of breast pumps, up to a hands-free device that leaves the hands of a working mother free. How to choose the optimal model? First of all, you should not even consider the simplest breast pumps made of a glass tube with a rubber “pear”: for most women, they cannot express anything, and for some, they also affect the chest so painfully that bleeding cracks form on the nipples. One of the very essential requirements for a breast pump is the ability to adjust the pumping force so that the milk is expressed, and at the same time it does not hurt. This is really important! If a woman experiences pain during pumping, then the stress hormones produced during this block the oxytocin reflex, and milk flow worsens (what is commonly called “milk from the nerves is gone”). Painful pumping can create more problems than it solves.
The second essential requirement for a breast pump is that it must be well sterilized. Some cheap models of breast pumps are immediately labeled on the box like "not subject to boiling or sterilization." There is no point in such a purchase, in fact, this is a disposable device: if the breast pump cannot be sterilized before use, then there is a risk of infection, because the remnants of breast milk preserved in some bend of the structure will be a rich environment for bacteria to multiply.
Manual breast pumps are ideal for occasional, not too frequent pumping. Funnels can be different in hardness (moreover, simple hard plastic funnels are more suitable for some mothers, and someone considers soft plastic or silicone funnels with a massaging effect to be better for themselves) and in size - with large or very small nipples, it is better to choose exactly the right diameter funnel, otherwise milk may be expressed poorly or painfully.
If you have to pump regularly, especially several times a day, you should think about using an electric breast pump, which saves a lot of mom's time and effort. The best of the electric breast pumps are clinical devices. You can’t buy them, this is expensive professional equipment, but in large cities there is usually a rental service for such breast pumps. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that only the motor of the breast pump is rented, and the pumping kit is purchased separately! The transfer from one woman to another of a simple breast pump is unsafe: the causative agents of some diseases that may be in breast milk die only with deep sterilization by autoclaving, and simple boiling may not save you from any hepatitis.
As for household electric breast pumps, although they are not as convenient and effective as clinical pumps, they can help a mother who is tired of frequent manual pumping. In addition to the requirements for the possibility of sterilization and easy adjustment of the pumping force, also pay attention that the motor of the electric breast pump does not come into contact with milk (if the milk floods the motor, it will simply stop working), and, optimally, that the device can reproduce the rhythm in which the baby sucks . The closer the pump is to sucking the baby, the better it will free the breast and stimulate lactation. The reference should be precisely the semblance of sucking a child!
Where?
The question is not as simple as it might seem. The first thing that comes to mind for most mothers is to use ordinary baby bottles for expressed milk. But not all of them are suitable for storing milk!
Bottles made of plastic called polycarbonate - the material most commonly used to make bottles - are unfortunately not safe for babies. During heat treatment (in the process of sterilization) and with active washing with a brush, they begin to release a substance called Bisphenol A into their contents. We have already written about it in detail, but in this article we will repeat briefly: this is a derivative of phenols that accumulates in the body of a child and with time has toxic effects on the nervous and genitourinary systems. In a number of countries of the world, the production and sale of polycarbonate bottles was generally banned for reasons of child health safety, but in Russia, mothers are in no hurry to inform them about the dangers of such products. However, manufacturers producing bottles made of neutral materials suitable for storing breast milk must label them as “Bisphenol A free” or “% BpA”.
The second safest and even more convenient storage option is special sterile bags for creating a breast milk bank. Breast milk bank bags do not need to be processed in any way (they are sterile and disposable), milk can be expressed directly into the bag, there is a place on it to sign the pumping date, it is very compact and takes up little space in the freezer.
Using glass bottles or jars is also a completely safe option for children's health. But the peculiarity of the glass is such that the most valuable fatty fractions of milk stick to it and remain on the dishes themselves, so the baby does not receive enough nutrients from his mother's breast only because of the use of glassware. And when freezing milk, glass often cracks.
What to do next?
The main way to store expressed milk is to cool or freeze it. Expressed milk stays fresh and retains its value much longer than formula due to the high amount of antimicrobial and antibacterial factors in breast milk. Chilled breast milk, compared to fresh, loses its qualities, but only slightly. Deep freezing allows you to store expressed milk for a very long time, while although it loses some of its useful properties, it still remains many times richer in composition and value than any mixture.
Freshly expressed breast milk can be given to the baby for several hours without special measures for safety. A little trick: during storage, milk can separate into bulk and thick cream rising to the top. If you are sure that the baby will eat the entire portion, mix gently; and if he often does not eat the whole portion, then it is better, on the contrary, not to mix, so that the baby is guaranteed to receive the valuable fatty part of breast milk.
If you are going to use milk within the next week, then do not freeze it, but store it on the refrigerator shelf: all this time it remains fresh and at the same time does not lose many immune properties, which still happens to some extent when breast milk is frozen. If you decide to freeze milk, then before placing it in the freezer, cool it in the common compartment of the refrigerator. Be sure to mark the date of pumping! After that, position the portion of milk in the freezer as far as possible towards the far wall, where the temperature fluctuations when the door is opened are negligible.
When defrosting, a portion of milk moves from the freezer first to the common chamber of the refrigerator, and then it is heated in a warm water bath or simply under a stream of warm water from the tap. Milk is heated only to body temperature - approximately 36.6 ° C: higher temperatures destroy enzymes and reduce the immune properties of breast milk. The temperature of the milk is usually checked on the wrist - the drop should feel neither cold nor hot.
Milk should not be heated on the stove or in the microwave: it is very easy to overheat, and most of the valuable anti-infective factors will also be destroyed in the microwave. In addition, so-called super-hot zones are created in the microwave oven, which can remain in the milk even after mixing: unfortunately, there have been cases when babies were burned by such milk.
Frozen milk often has a somewhat soapy odor and sometimes changes color. This is completely normal, as some of the fatty acids of breast milk manifest themselves when frozen. Most children do not react to changes in smell. Often, mothers are worried if milk has deteriorated during storage? It is very simple to understand this: spoiled milk has a pronounced smell of sour milk.
Of course, when a mother anticipates absences from home in advance, it makes sense to start building a breast milk bank in advance, replenishing her freezer in portions per day. And if the mother does not have such an intention, literally two or three portions will come in handy just in case of a fire, from the unexpected need to go on business without a baby to adding to the first complementary foods. Have a good feeding, not burdened by constant pumping!
“If you want to breastfeed, don’t be lazy and express milk after each feeding!” For many decades, doctors have professed this doctrine, believing that it is a prerequisite for good lactation and healthy mammary glands in the future. Confidence in the need to express breast milk was so great that mothers spent all the time from one feeding to the next, complicating their lives.
Do I need to express milk?
The myth about the total benefits of diligent pumping of breast milk is based on the observation that if you “take” all the milk from the breast to the last drop, then more will come. But this rule has other characteristics as well. Firstly, it works only with a single use: if, after the morning feeding, the mother expresses her breast to the last drop, then the next day there will really be more milk. If the woman does not repeat the procedure, the volume will gradually return to normal anyway. The second circumstance: when the baby himself suckles the breast, the amount of milk formed and eaten is approximately the same. Expressing valuable liquid, a woman breaks the natural balance between the need of the child and the amount of milk produced. They always express more than the baby would have eaten, so there will be too much milk for the next feeding, the breast will overflow, but the baby still will not eat more than he needs. If you do not express the remnants, there will be a threat of lactostasis. Mom sets to work, and in response to her efforts, milk will again come more than necessary.
A vicious circle of expressing breast milk will form, which cannot be broken painlessly. Milk, not demanded by the child, is a signal for the pituitary gland to reduce the production of hormones responsible for breastfeeding. The answer will be to reduce the amount of "baby food". Noticing that there is less milk, the mother takes measures: she spends even more time pumping, stretches out the breaks between feedings in order to “accumulate milk”, introduces supplementary feeding ...
As a result, the child suckles even less, and the mammary gland is deprived of the natural necessary stimulation. The normal feeding scenario is violated, and the baby gradually becomes artificial ... The conclusion is obvious: continuous pumping is fraught with complications, and it is better not to start it. It leads to the stagnation of unclaimed milk, which threatens the health of the mammary glands, and prevents normal lactation.
When should you express breast milk?
But it is not worth excluding pumping breast milk completely from the life of a young mother. A normal breastfeeding cycle for a baby lasts at least 1 year. During this period, a nursing mother will more than once find herself in circumstances where pumping is indispensable. More often than others, three situations are repeated, and each involves its own pumping tactics.
History first. First arrival of milk.
Usually milk appears in the breast on the third day after childbirth. And it is not always possible to guess how much it will come. Sometimes the receipts are so great that most of them remain unclaimed by the newborn and complicate the life of his mother, who has not yet recovered from childbirth. A woman's breasts increase in size, become heavy, if you press on the glands, pain is felt, they lose their usual softness and become rough. If measures are not taken in time, inflammation develops: the temperature rises, health worsens.
What to do? With engorgement, a cabbage leaf compress helps well. It has a cooling effect by absorbing vapors from the surface of the skin. Wash a few large fresh cabbage leaves with warm water and cover the entire gland with them for about an hour. The next point of help should be a gentle massage and pumping. One or two sessions will soften the breast, helping to normalize milk production.
Since at the time of the rapid arrival of milk, the breast becomes very painful at the slightest touch, one must prepare for pumping. Start by massaging the least affected areas, gradually expanding the area of influence. Try to relax, take long exhalations - this will help bring the mammary gland out of the state of "shock", then the elastic muscle tubes - the milk ducts - will begin to contract more actively, and the milk will flow by itself.
After 7-10 minutes of massage, try to place your fingers with a pinch on the areola and squeeze and unclench them rhythmically several times. If a drop of milk stands out, start pumping - manually or with a breast pump, if not - continue the massage.
When expressing milk with your hands, place your palm with four fingers under your chest so that the index is on the areola below, and the thumb is on top. When you squeeze all your fingers, the nipple should move forward. Now lift your chest, press it against the chest and squeeze and unclench your fingers around the areola several times. If milk leaks, continue pumping until the flush stops. To ensure that the lobules of the gland are emptied evenly, move your fingers around the circumference of the areola.
Important details. Pumping with a breast pump has an important advantage: the resulting product is easier to store, because the milk goes directly into a sterile bottle or bag for freezing milk. When working with hands, a certain amount of valuable liquid is sprayed. Trying to express milk for the future, do not get carried away. Too much pumping will lead to the fact that tomorrow there will be even more milk, and you will wake up again with painful breasts.
The second story. Stagnation of milk leads to lactostasis.
First, the mother discovers a small lump in her chest, which, when pressed, hurts, as many women say, like a bruise. With lactostasis, the milk ducts, which are supposed to push milk out, lose their elasticity and stop contracting. No more fluid is formed than usual, but it cannot come out. If you do not take action, redness will appear. If you continue to do nothing, mastitis will begin - inflammation of the mammary gland.
What to do? An excellent remedy for the treatment of lactostasis is the same pumping. It must begin with a similar chest massage - it will soften the seal, restore blood flow in the stagnation zone and activate sluggish ducts. Painful sensations should be avoided: the answer to pain will be an even greater spasm of the ducts and aggravated lactostasis. The entire gland should be massaged - not much, but rather deeply. First, make several stroking movements along the gland from the periphery to the nipple, lift it up, tap with your fingers from below, from the side, approaching a particularly sore spot. To make your fingers glide better and not injure delicate skin, apply nipple cream on them.
Important details. It is necessary to move on to pumping itself when you feel a surge of milk (usually this causes heaviness, itching, tingling in the chest) or you see that it has begun to drip. You can express manually into a wide bowl, leaning over a low table: this way the chest is in a position that stimulates outflow.
History the third. The child is not gaining weight
The baby is already a month old, he sucks normally, and nothing bothers his mother. But on the very first visit to the doctor, it turns out that in a month the baby almost did not gain weight. It turns out that he does not have enough food and urgently needs supplementary feeding? The reason for the misunderstanding is that an inexperienced mother cannot always determine when her baby is just sucking her breast like a pacifier, and when she is eating. She does not notice that the baby is just lying with a nipple in her mouth, smacking her lips, and does not swallow anything. This behavior forms a sluggish milk order. If you put up with this tactic, then pretty soon the chest will empty, the baby will turn away from it, and lactation will stop almost immediately.
What to do? Milk is released in waves in response to the suckling of the breast by the baby. It is advisable not to allow long breaks between tides. If the baby falls asleep at the breast, shake it up, raise it to a vertical position for a few seconds, offer one or the other breast. To activate the flow of milk, you will have to spend your free time on stimulating massage and pumping. At first, these procedures should be taken several hours a day: 3-4 sessions of 30-45 minutes will be required. After a few days you will notice an improvement and the duration can be shortened. During massage and pumping, you should be comfortable: sit comfortably, turn on calm music, tune in to pleasant thoughts about the baby. Breast massage - stroking, shaking, tapping - should be alternated with squeezing-unclenching the nipple for 1 minute. As soon as the gland becomes soft, express some milk and start feeding.
Important details. It is not your job to express a large amount of milk, save the main portion for the baby. After all his efforts, he would surely be able to finally dine on his own.
If a mother has managed to collect milk by expressing it as needed, then sooner or later she will be able to create her own “milk bank” in the freezer. The product will definitely come in handy when you need to leave for a long time or take medicine that is incompatible with breastfeeding.
It is worth preparing for the rapid arrival of milk. A day after the birth of the baby, fluid intake should be limited - drink a little and only non-carbonated water. Soups, tea, compotes exacerbate thirst. When milk production returns to normal, the bans can be lifted.
