EXPRESSING AND STORING BREAST MILK
If you will be missing one or more feedings with your baby, you should plan to manually express or pump your milk. Expressing your milk takes some planning ahead. The following steps will help you to best utilize your time.
- Wash your hands.
- Get in a comfortable position in your favorite chair, or prop yourself up in bed with several pillows.
- Make sure you are in a relaxed environment. Sometimes looking at a picture of your baby will help you relax.
- Massaging your breasts before you pump is beneficial. This technique stimulates the breasts to "let the milk down" and makes it easier to pump. The easiest way to do this is to support your breast against the wall of your chest with one hand. With the other hand, begin gentle circular massage with two or three fingers. Begin at the back of the breast and massage towards the nipple. Perform this technique all around both breasts before you begin to pump.
You need to choose the method of expressing milk that best suits your needs. Manual, hand pumps, or electric pumps are all very effective ways to express breast milk. To manually express your milk, you should perform the above steps. The following steps should then be done.
MANUAL EXPRESSION
- Position the thumb (above the nipple) and first two fingers (below the nipple) about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches from the nipple. (Be sure the hand forms the "C" and the finger pads are at 6 and 12 o'clock in line with the nipple). Your fingers are positioned so that the milk reservoirs lie beneath them.
- Push straight into the chest wall. Avoid spreading the fingers apart.
- Compress fingers together.
- Roll thumb and fingers forward at the same time. This rolling motion compresses and empties the milk reservoirs.
- Repeat rhythmically to completely drain the reservoirs. Position - push - roll - etc.
- Rotate the thumb and fingers to other milk reservoirs (example: fingers are 3 and 9 o'clock) until the breasts are emptied.
HAND OPERATED PUMP
When choosing a hand operated pump, you will need to decide which kind will work the best for you. There are a variety of models available on the market now. Also available are the battery-electric breast pumps. If you are interested in this type of pump, you may want to purchase the model with an A.C. adapter since these are more efficient. Instructions are included with each pump. Once again, before pumping begin with the relaxation and massage.
ELECTRIC PUMP
Using a commercial electric pump is the most efficient way to pump. This is also the costliest of the options. As with the other methods, begin by relaxing and massage your breasts. With the electric pump, you have the choice of single or double pumping your breasts. Double pumping allows you the timesaving benefits of emptying both breasts at the same time.
The following are guidelines for safe collection and storage of breast milk:
- Wash hands before touching breasts or containers.
- Pump or express milk into clean PLASTIC containers.
- Transfer milk to a clean plastic container for storage.
- Label container with the date.
- Breast milk can be stored safely in the refrigerator for 24 hours, in the front part of the freezer for up to two weeks, or in the back of the freezer for up to six months.
To thaw frozen breast milk, place the sealed container in a bowl of warm water for 30 minutes or hold under warm, running water. Swirl container to blend fat which may have separated and risen during thawing. Feed thawed breast milk immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
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