Expressing before birth?

Question

I had my 37 week appointment today with my midwife and she gave me the go ahead to express my breastmilk.
Problem is I don't know if I should or not?
What benefits does it have? 
Is it worth doing or should I wait?
I've heard it can make contractions worse during labour.
I have no idea whether to bother with it or wait till bubs is here. This is my first baby and my mum never expressed before birth.

Answer

I wouldn’t do it. You don’t need to, in all honesty. I breastfed for nearly 2 years and didn’t pump before my son’s birth. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Answer

My baby needed a little help gaining weight in the beginning and I was happy I had frozen colostrum to supplement with instead of formula until my milk came in. But I also leak a lot during pregnancy so might as well save it. I actually have two ziplock baggies full of colostrum syringes I didn’t end up using.

Answer

My midwife also mentioned this recently and to start around week 26 she said it will only be colostrum and it’s useful in case you get separated from bub after birth or if the birth is long or stressful they can use it to top up the babies glucose levels. Apparently milk doesn’t come in until after the placenta is delivered. This is my second and I hadn’t heard of it with the first so I was quite interested in what she was saying as my first did need some extra colostrum due to a very long birth. She said it also helps to bring on labour naturally 
Haven’t decided if I will or not yet though

Answer

My friends who did it recently found it really helpful to help them work through early breastfeeding issues without baby losing weight. One gave one syringe as baby hadn’t had a wee to make sure he was getting sufficient liquid whilst she was waiting for latch advice which saved her being readmitted to hospital.
It’s got a laxative effect too so can be good to give a little syringe if baby isn’t pooing enough. It can just give you a buffer in those early days to help avoid supplementing with formula.
It’s also called liquid gold for a reason as it’s so valuable with immunity cells in. I didn’t express with my first but I’ll try and get a handful this time

Answer

I did not n wont this time around. Other than walking as much as possible the only thing i did to start labour was membrane sweeps. I also never understood the pumping before baby is born as i heard the first stuff is the best thing babh can have, i didnt want to breast feed but the nurses said atleast get this stuff out by hand and give it to baby its the best and i had like 1/8 of a tsp if even close to that! so i mean would that not be what comes out before baby gets here and with that small amount how would u even freeze that?

Answer

It's completely up to you, if you feel that it's not for you at this current time that's totally fine. The baby will get colostrum from you either way. The only reason I'm doing it (once every few days) is just incase the baby is still fussy after a feed and my nipples need a rest. I just want a little extra to fall on nothing too extreme.

Expressing before birth?

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