Help, please!

[Who2021]

Hi, there! I am a first time mum and I am here after some advice about pumping colostrum before c-section. My midwife recommended to start but I cannot do it. I tried with a manual pump and with my hand, and nothing came out from my breasts. I really want to breastfeed my baby boy.

Is that means that I won't have milk?

I know that after delivering through c-section the milk will be delayed a few days, how will I feed my baby boy if I won't have milk?

Any advice, please?

[Purpledoggy]

It can take a few days to get any colostrum out - how many days have you tried it for? You won't get enough to use a manual pump - we're talking tiny droplets about the size of a small pimple come out, at least to begin with. My first day over 24h I think I got 0.1 mL but I worked up to about 1mL a day over a couple of weeks. This is not a huge amount by colostrum standards but when my milk came in I had a really strong supply. Not being able to get any colostrum does not in any way mean you won't have an adequate milk supply so don't fret! Someone in my NCT group gave up after a few days of getting nothing at all and she and her baby were absolutely fine.

I found that thinking about my baby helped to get the colostrum going as you need a milk let down reflex (this is why doing it too much can trigger early birth in rare cases, as it is the same hormone). Make sure you are nice and relaxed, maybe after a bath or something else you find really relaxing. I lay back in bed against comfy pillows and concentrated hard on my baby, how much I loved him, how much I wanted to meet him, imagined breastfeeding him. There is also a knack to being able to get any droplets - if you haven't already, watch some videos on youtube or attend a colostrum harvesting seminar eg on the My Expert Midwife page. You may need to play around with where to squeeze - I had to squeeze a little closer to the nipple than some videos showed, some need to squeeze further back. The main thing is to keep trying and don't get too frustrated! If it doesn't work it's not a big deal - it's fairly uncommon to need it anyway. I took in about 10 mL to hospital and it will have all ended up in the bin! xx

[Who2021 in reply to Purpledoggy]

Oh, wow, thank you very much Purpledoggy for your support and much more information. It is true, I tried only a couple days to harvest colostrum, I did myself comfy and a good shower. But I do not have any syringes, my midwife didn't have due to lack supply and also, none of the information about harvesting. I will take your advice and check online and I will try to empower me with some patience and not to stress myself.Thank you, Purpledoggy!

[Purpledoggy in reply to Who2021]

Are you in the UK? If so ‘my expert midwife’ sells syringes with an online seminar as a package. Or you can just get the syringes on amazon. Good luck! Xx

[Who2021 in reply to Purpledoggy]

Yes, I am in the UK. I already bought from Amazon just half hour ago.Thanks.