Hand expression
Hand expressing is a method of manually removing milk from your breast - using your hand!
Why hand express?
Hand expression can be a great skill to have! It can be used to help increase supply, protect supply, feed a sleepy baby, and can be especially useful in the immediate newborn period.
Great times to use hand expression:
collecting colostrum during pregnancy: using hand expression has become a popular way to have a colostrum on hand in case baby needs a supplement in the first few weeks of life! (check out my post on colostrum to learn more)
immediately postpartum
newborns tend to be sleepy for the first 24 hours of life! If your baby is struggling to wake to eat, hand expression can be used in order to collect colostrum and feed baby via syringe or spoon - this ensures baby eats and will protect your milk supply
hand expression can also be useful if your baby needs to supplement in the hospital for any reason: preterm, low blood sugars, jaundice, in the NICU, etc.
while you may be set up with a breast pump in these situations, using the technique of hand expression can actually be more efficient than an electric pump when removing colostrum!
if you experience dips in your supply: hand expression after pumping or breastfeeding baby can help boost supply
hand expressing is also one of the only research-backed ways to increase the fat content of breastmilk! (when comparing milk expressed manually to milk removed by an electric breast pump, the milk that was manually (hand) expressed was higher in fat content)
hand expression is also a great way to start the flow of milk before latching your baby, especially if they are fussy at the breast and want milk faster!
when experiencing engorgement:
if you experience engorgement, hand expression is a great way to relieve pressure, especially when milk is coming in or when weaning (see my post on navigating engorgement for details)
How to hand express:
wash your hands well
grab a clean bottle or container to express into
start with gentle breast massage
form a C shape with your hand
place your pointer finger and thumb on your breast, well behind the nipple/areola (thumb above areola and pointer finger below areola)
press your fingers back toward your chest wall
compress you finger and thumb together
move your fingers to another place on your breast and repeat the process
Sources:
Higher Fat Content in Breastmilk Expressed Manually: A Randomized Trial
