Expressing colostrum antenatally can help to give your precious little one the best start to life.
Having a stash of antenatally expressed colostrum on hand immediately after birth is of huge benefit when you are waiting for your milk to come in and you need a break from your newborn shredding your nips! It’s also super handy should you and bub need to be separated for any reason post birth, to ensure they can still receive that liquid gold in those critical early days.
Our Basic Colostrum Expressing Pack has everything you need to start expressing.
The basic pack includes:
- 5 x 1ml syringes
- 5 x 3ml syringes
- 5 x 5ml syringes
- 15 x syringe caps
- 15 x syringe labels
- 1 x breast heat pack with cover
- 3 x collection cups
- 1 x Super Boober freezer storage bag
How to use the Colostrum Expressing Pack:
- Find a calming space to express where you won’t be distracted – you need to be as relaxed as possible. It can be helpful to listen to or watch something that stimulates your oxytocin – things like listening to babies babbling/crying or watching something like ‘One Born Every Minute’. Set your space up with a warm tea, syringe, cap and collection cup.
- Heat your breast heat pack. Remove the fabric sleeve and either place the heat pack into hot water for 3 minutes or microwave in small increments until sufficiently warmed. DO NOT OVERHEAT. Always place back into the fabric sleeve once heated and before applying to your skin.
- Get comfortable in your calm, expressing space and place the heat pack around your breast. Leave in place for 3 minutes before starting to express (keep it in place with a maternity bra over the top). After this time, shift the heat pack to your opposite breast while you start expressing on the first breast.
- Firmly slide your fingers from your outer breast towards your nipple to help improve colostrum flow. Repeat a few times all over your breast.
- Place your thumb on top and your fingers on the underside of your breast. With your other hand, hold the collection cup under your nipple to collect your colostrum. Gently squeeze your fingers and thumb together and down in one motion. Repeat in the same spot several times before repositioning your fingers/thumb around your breast and repeating the same motion. DO NOT PINCH YOUR NIPPLE. Always squeeze your breast tissue towards your areola, but not on it.
- Continue circling your breast until the beads of colostrum cease or it becomes too painful.
- Swap breasts and repeat on the opposite side.
- Once you have finished expressing your colostrum for that sitting, use a syringe to collect it from the cup. Place a red cap on the syringe and put one of the collection stickers on it that includes your name, DOB and collection date/time.
- Store your colostrum filled syringes in the black Super Boober freezer bag and freeze immediately, or place in the fridge for use within 24 hours.
- To defrost, simply fill a cup with WARM WATER ONLY and allow the colostrum filled syringe to sit in it for 5 minutes to thaw. Use immediately. Syringes must not be reused – use a new syringe for each expressing session. Sterilise collection cups for re-use.
Note: seek doctor/midwife clearance before starting to express antenatally.
