To express breast milk manually, you must take advantage of the moment in the morning, after breastfeeding from one breast or after an ejection reflex. Gentle massages should be performed, pressing and releasing the areola. Never press the nipple, or squeeze the breast too much.

Why is it good to learn to express breast milk manually?

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Manual removal is a simple and inexpensive technique that mothers can get into breast milk. It is very versatile since they can apply this technique anytime and anywhere they need it, even if they don’t have an extractor device or accessory. In addition, skin-to-skin contact, rather than the plastic of breast pumps, is more favorable for breast milk production.

There are women who make a lot of milk, more than it consumes your baby, so that one occurs congestion breast. When the breasts are so full of milk, they hurt. In addition, it is annoying because there may be spills. It is best to express breast milk in these cases, and manual technique is a good option.

Expressing breast milk is also necessary when the mother takes a drug that is not compatible with breastfeeding and has to empty the breast.

Also, in case you cannot breastfeed the baby directly, such as due to an illness, you can express the milk and feed it using a bottle.

Expressing milk helps the breasts produce more and better quality milk. It is normal that in the first attempts, it costs a little, it is always easier to use extractor equipment, but then with practice, this technique will be much easier.

How to perform manual expression of breast milk?

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The extraction should be done by massaging the breast slowly starting with the outer areas until reaching the nipple.

The hand should be placed on the areola. The thumb should be up. Two other fingers should be placed under the breast, staying under the nipple. You have to press, always gently, backwards, and then press the areola with your fingers. It should be pressed and released while maintaining a rhythm.

The milk will begin to fall, so you should always have a container, it can be a cup or jar, and place it just below the breast.

To obtain milk from different positions, the position of the fingers around the areola must be changed.

Never press on the nipple, it can be painful. Nor should it slide on the chest, as this will cause bruising.

To make the manual expression of breast milk easier, some tips should be taken into account:

Perform extraction after an ejection reflex.
After breastfeeding from one breast, express milk from the other immediately or at the same time if you have the help of another person.
Take advantage of the time when they wake up in the morning to express milk when production is most abundant.
Wash hands properly before extraction. Nails must be short and disinfected.
To relax and improve milk production before pumping, it is recommended to take a warm shower.

 

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