Expressing your breast milk

There may be times when you need to express breast milk for your baby (i.e. if you are going out, returning to work or if your baby is preterm, unwell and unable to breastfeed). If you have given birth to a preterm baby, you’ll produce breast milk that is different to mothers who have birthed at full-term. Your breast milk will have a different amount of some nutrients, making it especially important for your preterm baby.

If you’re unable to breastfeed your baby, then expressing breast milk is the next best option. The principle behind expressing breast milk is to copy as closely as possible what occurs with normal breastfeeding. Expressing by hand or using an electric pump needs to commence as soon as possible after the birth of your baby. The earlier you start, the easier it will be to sustain your milk supply long term.

You can read more about expressing your breast milk here.