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Prenatal Expressing of Colostrum at 30 Weeks Pregnant

My Colostrum Harvesting Diary at Week 30 of Pregnancy - Week commencing 12th January 2021

My last day of expressing was 10th January 2021. 

12th January - I did not feel the need to express.

13th January - Hand expressed 6ml of colostrum in the evening. About 10mins each side. I did feel as though I could have expressed a little more but I did not as I only wanted to relieve the discomfort, not to stock up.

14th January - I did not feel the need to express.

15th January - Hand expressed 2.5ml of colostrum in the evening. About 5 mins per side.

16th January - Hand expressed 6.4ml of colostrum in the evening. About 10 mins per side. I had eaten alot over the past two days - snacking on chocolates and oaty cereal bars mostly which is why I think I've expressed so much in one go 😂

17th January - Hand expressed 6.4ml of colostrum again this evening at about 10mins per side. 

18th January - I did not feel the need to express.

Total expressed for the week: 21.3ml

Am I Ignoring the Risk of Premature Labour by Continuing to Prenatally Express Colostrum?
I don't feel that I am. I am very aware of the risk of premature labour however I am proceeding with caution when expressing and only doing it to relieve discomfort at this stage.

In my ongoing weekly research, I have come across a couple of sites which state that nipple stimulation does not bring on contractions in a healthy and stable pregnancy, however nipple stimulation could bring on contractions and increase the risk of premature labour in women who do not have a healthy pregnancy or are likely to have complications during labour. The La Leche League International refers to a study which corroborates this. Also the website Breastfeeding.Support has written an interesting article which gives a fairly balanced view on expressing colostrum while pregnant. The site states a number of sources for both for and angainst antenatal expressing of colostrum.

As I mentioned in my week 28 blog, there are many medical sources online which state that women should not even attempt to think about hand expressing or expressing colostrum prenatally/ antenatally before 36 weeks pregnant. But let's be realistic here... A little nipple stimulation doesn't necessarily mean I'll have my baby tomorrow. In fact, I have been expressing for 3 weeks and have had no signs of pre-term labour.

I'm still struggling to understand why many medical sources will say not to express colostrum prenatally and only a few promote it. How can there be such a gap in information for women? Obviously many women are very well educated and want to make an informed decision about whether to express colostrum before birth, however the issue I have is how can women be expected to make that decision when there's very little information out there to access on the subject?

So I continue to record my experiences in my blog as bit of a guinea pig and search for information online that relates to other women's experiences...

My Disclaimers

Firstly, I'm not a medical professional; I am simply a mum second time round and I'm just documenting my experience, that is all. This blog is not intended to be taken as advice or guidance in any way, but if it helps somebody make a more informed decision because they have read a bit more information on my experience then I'm glad to be of help. I would strongly advise people to talk to their medical professional first before expressing colostrum antenatally to ensure it is safe to do so.

Secondly, I need to provide a bit of background information about myself. I am 32 years old, I am a low risk pregnancy due on 23rd March 2021. I started producing colostrum naturally from week 27 of my pregnancy which is when I noticed the discomfort in my breasts, hence why I discovered how much I was producing and thought it was worthwhile saving. I already have a 14 month old boy who was initially breast fed but is now bottle fed cow's milk - this small gap between the pregnancies may have a part to play in influencing my body chemistry second time round. 

Thirdly, this is a personal blog, not a scientific one. I'm simply documenting my thoughts, feelings, actions and anything useful that I can find, mostly for my own benefit.

__________
Read my week 31 blog to find out about the next installment of my colostrum harvesting diary.

Links to My Blogs on Antenatal Expressing of Colostrum










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