How to express your colostrum Stage 1: Getting Started - Hand Expressing

Massaging your breasts before expressing helps with your ‘let-down’ and milk flow.  

• With warm hands, massage all around your breast gently with your fist or a flat hand. Move from the outer part of the breast towards the nipple. 
• Follow this with gentle ‘nipple rolling’.  
• Do this for two to three minutes. 

                                        
Tip: Nipple stimulation helps produce the milk making hormone ‘prolactin’. 

After you have massaged one breast: 

• Put your hand in a C-shape about 3cm back from the base of the nipple.  
• Push back towards the chest wall, compress firmly for a few seconds, taking care not to slide your fingers towards the nipple.  

Hand expressing  

• Release the pressure, then repeat, building up a rhythm.  
• At first, only drops may appear, but keep going as this will help to build up your milk supply.  
• If colostrum (milk) does not appear, release the pressure, and adjust your fingers forwards or backwards. 
• Having someone, such as your partner, to help collect the drops will make this easier for you so you can focus on expressing. 

Tip: You may not express more than a drop or two in the early days, but the stimulation will help make your milk.  

• Collect the drops in a syringe to start with (syringes are in your expressing pack). The drops of colostrum are perfect for your baby. 

• When no more drops appear, move your fingers around and try a different section of your breast, and repeat.  
• Work all the way around your breast. 
• After about five minutes repeat on the other breast.  
• If no drops appear, stop and try again in an hour or two. 
• You can ask your midwife or maternity care staff to help. 

Aim to express 8-10 times in 24 hours, including once at night when the milk making hormone is usually highest. The more often you express, the more milk you will make.  

Hand expressing is the most effective way to remove colostrum in the first two to three days. Removing colostrum stimulates your breasts to make more milk. You can introduce an electric breast pump too for additional stimulation (see separate leaflet). 

Tip: You do not need to express at regular intervals, such as every three hours. Express whenever is convenient for you including once at night with no long gaps (remember eight 8-10 times in 24 hours). 

The amount you express from each breast varies from time to time and day to day.  

• Expect to express small amounts to start with. 
• Think of it as ‘putting in your order’ – telling your breasts you would like them to start making more milk. 
• If you have more than one baby, you may need to express 8-12 times in 24 hours to build up your supply.

• Expressing at your baby’s cot side. 
• Looking at a picture of your baby and/or smelling a muslin or bonding square from your baby’s cot.  
• Listening to relaxing music while you express.  
• Eating and drinking healthily for your own well-being. 
• Resting and sleeping when you can. 
• Talking to staff about any concerns you might have about you or your baby as stress can affect your let-down. 
• Kangaroo care or skin to skin contact with your baby.  
• Expressing within 30 minutes of having skin to skin contact - this can increase the amount of milk you express at that time. 
• Keeping a record of when you express and how much milk there is. 
• Keep a handwritten record or record on a pumping tracker app on your phone.   

Examples of apps

IOS:

Android:

Aim to express 500-750mls in 24 hours by day 21 after your baby is born. Your milk will increase gradually. It is easier to maintain your supply if you reach this volume in the first 21 days even if it is much more than your baby needs every day.   

Your local breastfeeding support team – search your local area online. 

In the orange folder ‘Breastmilk and Breastfeeding Information’ in your baby’s nursery. 

NHS - Expressing breast milk by hand  

La Leche League  

Baby Friendly Initiative  

BLISS  

National Breastfeeding 24hour helpline