Many moms dream of breastfeeding! But there are moments when expressing milk is necessary, whether for storage or for donation to milk banks. Learning how to express breast milk is fundamental, so how about taking an intensive course through this post? Human milk banks have as their main activity the collection of donated milk from women who express their surplus milk for donation. But the milk banks and collection sites also provide guidance to new mothers who are starting to breastfeed, so they can breastfeed correctly and express milk for their own baby1.
To help reduce breastfeeding difficulties, you can have a breastfeeding consultation: I recommend scheduling a pre-consultation with a breastfeeding specialist to receive personalized guidance suited to your and your baby’s needs. Click here to learn more!
Storing breast milk at home is an excellent option. Moms who need to leave their babies at home can express breast milk, freeze it, and leave it with the caregiver at home. Remember that fresh breast milk keeps for around 15 days in the freezer in sterilized glass jars with plastic lids. To last longer, the milk should be pasteurized by a human milk bank. Many women still have doubts about how to express milk from the breast without losing milk and also without feeling pain. The correct way of expressing breast milk can really help save time and effort for moms.
Manual Expression of Breast Milk
It’s very simple to express breast milk by hand. With clean hands and breasts washed with water and neutral soap, hair tied back, and preferably a mask. Initially, a massage is essential to loosen milk knots in the breast’s alveoli by massaging in a circular motion around the breast. To express breast milk, your hand should form a “C” shape with your thumb on top of the areola and the other fingers underneath the breast. With your thumb and index finger, press gently toward the chest and then move one finger lightly toward the other without touching. Perform this movement in all directions to ensure milk is expressed from the whole breast.
The right hand should express the right breast and the left hand the left breast, and there should be no pain with this movement. With this “C” movement, the milk will come out easily. If it doesn’t come out after a few movements, or if you feel pain, then the breast hold for expressing milk is incorrect. At first, it usually takes a few movements for the milk to start flowing, but if your breasts already have an established milk supply, the milk will spray out instantly from full breasts2.
Compressing the nipple is also a practice that should be avoided; compressing the nipple narrows the milk ducts and milk won’t flow properly. Expressing breast milk should last 3 to 5 minutes per breast, alternating each breast, until you reach 20 to 30 minutes per breast. The same container can be used to collect milk from both breasts, but if you have a high milk supply, you can use two containers, one for each breast.
Pumps for Expressing Breast Milk
Traditional breast milk pump costs around R$ 25
Breast milk can also be expressed using pumps sold in various places, including pharmacies. The simplest ones can cost around R$25; these tend to be more painful during extraction due to the suction force, but they are effective—their main downside is really the pain3.
Comfortable manual milk pump, costs around R$80
Nowadays, new models of breast milk pumps are available on the market. They are more practical due to their design and the way they suction, reducing or even eliminating any discomfort. Manual pumps have a trigger format that makes expressing milk much easier, and they cost on average R$80 depending on the brand, domestic or imported.
Another option is the electric milk pump, which is also a great choice, as it is much faster and painless; the only downside is the price. Prices can be as high as R$ 400, with more affordable options around R$ 160 for domestic brands. There are larger pumps that can express milk from both breasts simultaneously, but their price matches the convenience. They are a good deal if you’re traveling abroad for baby shopping, as they are financially much more accessible. With practice, manual breast milk expression becomes faster. No matter the method, the important thing is to offer the best you can to your baby, or to the babies who receive your donation—breast milk. Knowing how to express milk is very important, and if you face major difficulties, just get in touch with the nearest human milk bank. They will certainly advise you on how to collect breast milk. Find a milk bank here at LOBALE, clear your doubts, or become a breast milk donor.
See also: Human Milk Bank – From Collection to Pasteurization
Photos: 50 mais saúde, NUK, Geoffrey Wiseman
