Pumping to induce?

Question

39 weeks & 4 CM dilated. Induction set for 11/22 . Does pumping help to induce or should I totally avoid?

Answer

Nipple stimulation causes uterine contractions.  I've been hand-expressing some milk for the past few days. I did 15 mins on each side (including warming my breast up) at first, and now its 15 mins per side x2. My midwife advised not to do it for more than an hour total at a time though. Usually I have cramps and contractions after but so far still pregnant 😒
It's great to harvest colostrum, whether you're planning on breastfeeding or not. The nipple stimulation can encourage natural labouring, but there's also plenty of health benefits for colostrum especially if your baby ends up in the NICU or has trouble feeding/latching.
I would start with hand expressing and then move on to using a pump. It's easy to hurt your nipples with a pump and end up sore/bleeding. It took me about a week to get anything out at all, now I can get 1ml - which doesn't sound like much but you're literally collecting drip after drip in a syringe 😅 1ml is pretty good.

Answer

My OB told me pumping can help but to do one side at a time for no more than 8 minutes each so you don’t over stimulate.

Pumping to induce?

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