Squeezing my Colostrum out?

NellyRoche · January 2016

Hey all

Just a quick question... Im 27 weeks- I haven't started leaking out Colostrum (pre milk) naturally until I qently squeeze my breasts (It stops when I release my grip) (no, I'm not going out of my way to squeeze my breast to let it out!).. I'm just curious if it's bad to squeeze out the Colostrum?
Thanks x

allisshiney · January 2016

Many woman breastfeed throughout pregnancy. I plan on pumping closer to my due date to build up a small milk stash.

kitteh81 · January 2016

I don't see the big deal, but then again I have nursed toddlers through two pregnancies, both of which I went postdates by a week or more. I don't think that the extremely minor nipple stimulation that occurs when hand expressing can push a normal, low-risk pregnancy into early labor.

It's not "bad" to squeeze out the colostrum. Your body will continue to make it until the placenta detaches, which triggers the body to begin producing mature milk. That said, I don't really see the point in expressing colostrum, and I would definitely refrain from pumping to create a stash, for a variety of reasons. But unless your doc has given you reason to be concerned about preterm labor, I really wouldn't worry about it.

amm0512 · January 2016

I started hand expressing colostrum at 37 weeks to built up a stash before DD was born. I bought a pack of 5mL syringes and froze whatever I expressed each day. I ended up with 25-30 syringes by the time of my RCS at 39+1. As one PP said, you'll find info that nipple stimulation can induce labor. My advice is to wait till 37 weeks so you'll be considered full term, and know there is a risk if you begin hand expressing that you could start having contractions.

kitteh81 · January 2016

And here's a relevant excerpt from an article (citing Actual Scientific Research) on the subject of nipple stimulation, prenatal nursing, and oxytocin release:

"The well-protected uterus
The specter of breastfeeding-induced preterm labor appears to spring in large part from an incomplete understanding of the interactions between nipple stimulation, oxytocin, and pregnancy.

The first little-known fact is that during pregnancy less oxytocin is released in response to nipple stimulation than when a woman is not pregnant.5

But the key to understanding breastfeeding during pregnancy is the uterus itself. Contrary to popular belief, the uterus is not at the beck and call of oxytocin during the 38 weeks of the “preterm” period. Even a high dose of synthetic oxytocin (Pitocin) is unlikely to trigger labor until a woman is at term.6

Instead, the uterus must actively prepare in order for labor to commence. You could say that there are two separate states of being for the uterus: the quiescent baby-holder and the active baby-birther. These states make all the difference to how the uterus responds to oxytocin, and so, one can surmise, to breastfeeding. While the baby is growing, the uterus is geared to have a muffled response to oxytocin; at term, the body’s preparations for labor transform the uterus in ways that make it respond intensely to oxytocin.

Many discussions of breastfeeding during pregnancy mention “oxytocin receptor sites,” the uterine cells that detect the presence of oxytocin and cause a contraction. These cells are sparse up until 38 weeks, increasing gradually after that time, and increasing 300-fold after labor has begun.6,7 The relative scarcity of oxytocin receptor sites is one of the main lines of defense for keeping the uterus quiescent throughout the entire preterm period—but it is not the only one.

A closer look at the molecular biology of the pregnant uterus reveals yet more lines of defense. In order for oxytocin receptor sites to respond strongly to oxytocin they need the help of special agents called “gap junction proteins”. The absence of these proteins renders the uterus “down-regulated,” relatively insensitive to oxytocin even when the oxytocin receptor site density is high. And natural oxytocin-blockers, most notably progesterone, stand between oxytocin and its receptor site throughout pregnancy. 8,9,10

With the oxytocin receptor sites (1) sparse, (2) down-regulated, and (3) blocked by progesterone and other anti-oxytocin agents, oxytocin alone cannot trigger labor. The uterus is in baby-holding mode, well protected from untimely labor.4"

https://kellymom.com/pregnancy/bf-preg/bfpregnancy_safety/

DrillSergeantCat · January 2016

Jessie42613 said:

This whole thread is such a huge wtf to me. Stop playing with your tits people, seriously.

Only because you say so Internet Stranger!

ivyvines6 · January 2016

I started leaking at around 20 weeks and my dr said it's no big deal and not to worry about it. He also said that nipple stimulation is an old wives tale started to make women feel like they had control over when they could go into labor. /shrugs

kitteh81 · January 2016

Jessie42613 said:

This whole thread is such a huge wtf to me. Stop playing with your tits people, seriously.

Don't you judge me and my choice of pastime

<img src="https://37.media.tumblr.com/9e8e07e5f6aecb54931ec3c9a8d6e575/tumblr_n4oj4ub0Bz1rlb6iho1_400.gif" alt=""><img src="https://37.media.tumblr.com/9e8e07e5f6aecb54931ec3c9a8d6e575/tumblr_n4oj4ub0Bz1rlb6iho1_400.gif" alt=""><img src="https://37.media.tumblr.com/9e8e07e5f6aecb54931ec3c9a8d6e575/tumblr_n4oj4ub0Bz1rlb6iho1_400.gif " alt=""><img src="https://37.media.tumblr.com/9e8e07e5f6aecb54931ec3c9a8d6e575/tumblr_n4oj4ub0Bz1rlb6iho1_400.gif" alt="">https://37.media.tumblr.com/9e8e07e5f6aecb54931ec3c9a8d6e575/tumblr_n4oj4ub0Bz1rlb6iho1_400.gif

DrillSergeantCat · January 2016

Jessie42613 said:
Were you seriously playing with your nipples during labor? That is such an uncomfortable and awkward thing to picture.

Then don't picture it.

Ceridwen77 · January 2016

NellyRoche said:
Hey all

Just a quick question... Im 27 weeks- I haven't started leaking out Colostrum (pre milk) naturally until I qently squeeze my breasts (It stops when I release my grip). I'm just curious if it's bad to squeeze out the Colostrum? (I have milky white coming from one breast and yellow coming from the other).

Thanks x

Why are you hand expressing your colostrum? Nipple stimulation releases oxytocin, which causes cervical ripening and potential to induce labor. Do some research and you'll see that studies show that women who hand express colostrum trend to giving birth to babies with lower birth weights/shorter gestation.

Hand expressing while pregnant can benefit women with type 1 or gestational diabetes, but only while done later in pregnancy and under the advice and monitoring of an obgyn. You need to talk to your doctor and stop doing this if you are just doing it for funsies.

nbc2015 · January 2016

Why would you *want* to express your colostrum??? IMO, everything happening in our bodies is happening for a reason, so I wouldn't go messing with your bodily functions at this point. I would leave well enough alone if I were you.

PugsandKisses · January 2016

Change your screen name if that is your real name.

imakeeff0rts · January 2016

Yeah...you need to stop doing this. Get some preast pads and leave well enough alone. The first PP gave you every reason why you should not do this.

fwtx5815 · January 2016

NellyRoche said:
Hey all

Just a quick question... Im 27 weeks- I haven't started leaking out Colostrum (pre milk) naturally until I qently squeeze my breasts (It stops when I release my grip) (no, I'm not going out of my way to squeeze my breast to let it out!).. I'm just curious if it's bad to squeeze out the Colostrum?
Thanks x

I don't quite understand how you're squeezing your breasts to the point where they leak, but you aren't going out of your way to make this happen? What other reason do you have to be squeezing them..?

I would stop if I were you.

Ceridwen77 · January 2016

kitteh81 said:
I don't see the big deal, but then again I have nursed toddlers through two pregnancies, both of which I went postdates by a week or more. I don't think that the extremely minor nipple stimulation that occurs when hand expressing can push a normal, low-risk pregnancy into early labor.

It's not "bad" to squeeze out the colostrum. Your body will continue to make it until the placenta detaches, which triggers the body to begin producing mature milk. That said, I don't really see the point in expressing colostrum, and I would definitely refrain from pumping to create a stash, for a variety of reasons. But unless your doc has given you reason to be concerned about preterm labor, I really wouldn't worry about it.

Well it's all fine and dandy that you don't think hand expressing colostrum will do anything, but I think it's irresponsible of you to give this advice considering there is actual scientific research that says otherwise. What are your credentials?

NellyRoche · January 2016

Thanks for your message x

kitteh81 · January 2016

Ceridwen77 said:

kitteh81 said:
I don't see the big deal, but then again I have nursed toddlers through two pregnancies, both of which I went postdates by a week or more. I don't think that the extremely minor nipple stimulation that occurs when hand expressing can push a normal, low-risk pregnancy into early labor.

It's not "bad" to squeeze out the colostrum. Your body will continue to make it until the placenta detaches, which triggers the body to begin producing mature milk. That said, I don't really see the point in expressing colostrum, and I would definitely refrain from pumping to create a stash, for a variety of reasons. But unless your doc has given you reason to be concerned about preterm labor, I really wouldn't worry about it.
Well it's all fine and dandy that you don't think hand expressing colostrum will do anything, but I think it's irresponsible of you to give this advice considering there is actual scientific research that says otherwise. What are your credentials?

@Ceridwen77 can you cite your actual scientific research? From what I can see, there's a dearth of research on the subject and what few studies were done either suffer from low sample sizes or questionable experimental design, or both.

I did find one study on prenatal colostrum expressing in type 1 diabetic women, with the purpose of using the colostrum to feed the newborn instead of resorting to formula use, since babies with diabetic mothers often suffer from hypoglycemia. That study did indicate that infants of type 1 diabetic mothers who have practiced prenatal colostrum expressing have lower birth weights and shorter gestation time, but also emphasized the fact that "those attempting to interpret these results should note that this study had low sample sizes and restricted participants to mothers with diabetes, which means that generalization of these results to non-diabetic mothers would be inappropriate." Mothers with type 1 diabetes are already at risk for preterm labor, so to extrapolate the results of studies based on their data to the general population is disingenuous at best.

Again, there simply isn't enough research on the subject, and if prenatal expression of milk were really that risky, then all of the women nursing toddlers through their pregnancies would be rushing in droves to the maternity ward with preterm labor. That's not happening. And I'm willing to bet that nursing a nipple-twiddling toddler releases more oxytocin than hand expressing,but again there's a dearth of research on the subject.

Here are some articles on the issue of antenatal milk expression, if anyone is interested:

https://breastfeedingusa.org/content/article/expressing-milk-birth-tool-use-special-circumstances

https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/antenatal-expression-colostrum

imakeeff0rts · January 2016

amm0512 said:
I started hand expressing colostrum at 37 weeks to built up a stash before DD was born. I bought a pack of 5mL syringes and froze whatever I expressed each day. I ended up with 25-30 syringes by the time of my RCS at 39+1. As one PP said, you'll find info that nipple stimulation can induce labor. My advice is to wait till 37 weeks so you'll be considered full term, and know there is a risk if you begin hand expressing that you could start having contractions.

37 weeks isn't full term anymore. ACOG now defines "full term" as 40 weeks.
And again - check with your doctor, not some random internet strangers who have obviously conflicting opinions on the topic.

Jessie42613 · January 2016

This whole thread is such a huge wtf to me.

Stop playing with your tits people, seriously.

ecwk · January 2016

@kitteh81
DED

cmerribury · January 2016

I don't understand why you would want to express colostrum, since it's the most potent and pure form of breast milk possible. Keep that gold in, leave your girls alone, and you'll be fine.

cmerribury · January 2016

@kitteh81 I can't tell if that's Katherine Heigel?!

DrillSergeantCat · January 2016

@cmerribury it's Jaime Pressly

kitteh81 · January 2016

cmerribury said:
I don't understand why you would want to express colostrum, since it's the most potent and pure form of breast milk possible. Keep that gold in, leave your girls alone, and you'll be fine.

Your body continues to make it until the baby is born, after that the quantity is limited. So it's not really a precious, finite resource until baby arrives. If it were, there'd be nothing left by the time my new squish is born, with the amount my toddler has been nursing lately.

cmerribury · January 2016

DrillSergeantCat said:

@cmerribury it's Jaime Pressly

Ahhh, thanks!

cmerribury · January 2016

kitteh81 said:

I don't understand why you would want to express colostrum, since it's the most potent and pure form of breast milk possible. Keep that gold in, leave your girls alone, and you'll be fine.
Your body continues to make it until the baby is born, after that the quantity is limited. So it's not really a precious, finite resource until baby arrives. If it were, there'd be nothing left by the time my new squish is born, with the amount my toddler has been nursing lately.

I mean, I get that...but why waste it? One you squeeze enough to express it and realize that's what's going to happen, wouldn't you stop unless you had a reason (nursing toddler for instance) to continue doing it? I'm sorry, it just seems illogical to me. Perhaps she only did it once or twice to see what would happen, I don't know, I wasn't there. But I think the advice to quit it is sound.

kitteh81 · January 2016

I dunno, I remember being a mixture of sort of scared of my body's new capabilities and also really curious about it when I was a FTM. I remember noticing that something was starting to happen in the girls, and checking periodically to see if it was still producing, and I noticed that the colostrum started out sort of clear and sticky and became increasingly more thick and yellow/gold. It's interesting, and I don't think there is anything wrong with being familiar with our bodies and bodily functions. But the point I'm trying to make is that there really isn't any harm in doing it, which is what the OP asked about.

skruhmin · January 2016

Knottie9983816 said:

I started leaking at around 20 weeks and my dr said it's no big deal and not to worry about it. He also said that nipple stimulation is an old wives tale started to make women feel like they had control over when they could go into labor. /shrugs

I can honestly say that nipple stimulation during labor definitely brought on contractions, so it definitely does do something - not saying it will put you into labor or anything

Jessie42613 · January 2016

skruhmin said:

Knottie9983816 said:

I started leaking at around 20 weeks and my dr said it's no big deal and not to worry about it. He also said that nipple stimulation is an old wives tale started to make women feel like they had control over when they could go into labor. /shrugs

I can honestly say that nipple stimulation during labor definitely brought on contractions, so it definitely does do something - not saying it will put you into labor or anything

Were you seriously playing with your nipples during labor? That is such an uncomfortable and awkward thing to picture.

kitteh81 · January 2016

I was nursing my toddler at 41 weeks pregnant with my last when I went into labor, and continuing to nurse her DEFINITELY kicked my labor into high gear, so I think I personally experienced the fact that oxytocin receptors in the uterus increase exponentially after labor has commenced. It might be awkward for someone to picture, but I'd take nipple stimulation over pitocin for increasing the strength of contractions any day. You can use a pump and get a similar effect.

skruhmin · January 2016

Jessie42613 said:

Knottie9983816 said:

I started leaking at around 20 weeks and my dr said it's no big deal and not to worry about it. He also said that nipple stimulation is an old wives tale started to make women feel like they had control over when they could go into labor. /shrugs

I can honestly say that nipple stimulation during labor definitely brought on contractions, so it definitely does do something - not saying it will put you into labor or anything
Were you seriously playing with your nipples during labor? That is such an uncomfortable and awkward thing to picture.

When you're stalled in the middle of labor and desperate, yup. And yeah, just don't picture it.

skruhmin · January 2016

Can't help myself. This thread. Just can't get this out of my head (Thanks First Trimester!)

Squeezing my Colostrum out?

Best Answers

Answers

Choose Another Board

Search Boards