Everything You Need.to Know About Raising a Newborn

Breasts change a lot during pregnancy. Tender boobs can be one of the first signs that yous're growing a lilliputian homo. And so they go larger and look a little dissimilar. The colour of the nipples and areola gets darker. Nipples may stand a niggling more to attention than usual. And from the 16th week of pregnancy, breasts begin to make colostrum.

Colostrum is the first milk produced by breasts, and it'southward pretty powerful stuff. It's packed with antibodies and immunoglobulins – all aimed at protecting teeny babes equally they enter a germy world. Interestingly, information technology likewise helps newborns get rid of their showtime bowel movement, the meconium.

Expressing colostrum earlier giving birth is condign increasingly pop, so here's everything you need to know about collecting to storing breastmilk before the babe is born.

Why express colostrum earlier nascency?

Colostrum is designed to be bub's first feed, only sometimes births don't quite go to plan. Which is why many mums are hedging their bets and storing their colostrum while nevertheless pregnant.

Lactation consultant Susan Shaw says babies born to mums with diabetes are at take chances of having depression blood saccharide levels after birth. So having expressed colostrum on mitt can avert the use of formula, and help stabilise a baby's blood sugars.

"As well, some babies take a strong family history of dairy intolerance or inflammatory bowel disease, and so having extra colostrum to utilise will be benign.

"Some babies are diagnosed antenatally with various conditions (cleft lip and/or palate, congenital atmospheric condition eastward.g. Downs Syndrome, cardiac conditions) which may brand it hard for them to breastfeed, and then they may be needing to have extra colostrum 0n hand to use if needed."

Benefits of antenatal colostrum expressing:

• Raises a baby's blood sugars
• Acts as a laxative to help pass meconium quickly
• Keeps bub hydrated
• Helps baby's immune system develop

When to start expressing colostrum?

While nipple stimulation can cause uterine contractions, there'southward no relationship between nipple stimulation and inducing labour, says Susan Shaw. With that in mind, she says daily expressing can start at 36 weeks.

Do non limited if:

Yous have a history of, or are currently experiencing, threatened or actual preterm labour, cervical incompetence or you have a suture put in your neck to prevent preterm labour.

How to express colostrum

• Utilize your paw to express a few pocket-size drops at a time
• Starting time with three to five minutes on each breast
• Build up to five to 10 minutes on each breast
• You tin use each chest twice during each session
• Use a sterile syringe to catch the colostrum drops
• Colostrum can exist collected two to 3 times every day, and y'all can employ the same syringe
• Stop expressing if having uterine contractions associated with expressing

Tips for expressing colostrum

• Relax – if nothing is coming out, take a intermission and attempt again another time
• Try expressing after you've had a warm bathroom or shower
• Put a warm compress on your breasts earlier starting to help increase circulation
• Massage breasts earlier expressing
• It shouldn't hurt and then brand sure you're non trying to express past putting your fingers too close to the nipple
• Beverage lots of water
• Try thinking of your bub, or looking at ultrasound pictures

What colostrum looks similar

Colostrum can await very dissimilar, both in colour and consistency. The color tin can be, stake, clear, yellow, cream, brownish or orange.

It can be pasty and thick or thin and watery.

Storing expressed colostrum:

For storage of colostrum at domicile you will need 1ml-5ml syringes, zip-lock bags and labels

• Colostrum can be stored in syringes in the fridge between expressing sessions
• Colostrum can be frozen, make sure you lot pop the syringe in a labelled, cipher-lock bag kickoff
• Frozen colostrum can exist stored for three months, or 12 months in the deep freeze.

How to have it to the hospital

If you're headed off to take your baby, put fresh or frozen syringes in a cooler pack with frozen water ice bricks. Once you go to hospital ask for it to be placed in a refrigerator. Once it defrosts it must be used within four hours and it cannot be refrozen.

Won't my colostrum 'run out' before baby is born?

The brusque answer is no. Your trunk will continue producing colostrum until your milk comes in, then information technology won't run out or be used up by the time bub comes forth.

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A real mum'southward story

Catherine Leask decided to limited her colostrum before birth, sharing her story with other mums-to-be in one of Mum's Grapevine'south Due Date and Baby Groups.

"I'd really stumbled on an article about expressing colostrum antenatally by accident! Information technology wasn't a 'thing' with my previous bubs (it'due south been a long time between bubs!) but I did know that expressing colostrum post birth was recommended in some hospitals.

"Beingness older, having a traumatic birth resulting in emergency caesarean last time, and booked for an constituent this time, I thought what a great idea – not that you lot desire anything to go wrong but yous certainly desire to be prepared. Better to have information technology and non need it than demand it and non take it!"

Catherine admits information technology was daunting at first, but after chatting with lactation consultants she felt more at ease.

"They prepared me well past showing me the technique on a crochet boobie! The kit supplied past them had everything I needed including a very piece of cake to follow teaching sheet. Initially, I managed to go one-half a ml, but past day three, I was filling the syringe in a few minutes. I could have easily filled two or three in the recommended x minutes!"

She says having the colostrum on hand helped her newborn settle and gave her a breastfeeding kickstart.

"We used the colostrum the following forenoon after bub was built-in. She slept for hours! I think expressing must have helped with bringing in my milk. The midwife mentioned that the process of labour triggers the milk coming in, even so, being a caesarean, milk can exist delayed a little. I definitely recommend the process but most importantly – go in touch with the lactation consultants at your hospital as they are the experts and a treasure trove of data and support!"

Similar with anything during pregnancy, every adult female is different and some won't be able to limited colostrum. That doesn't mean there'due south anything wrong, or that yous won't be able to breastfeed.

Want to be prepared for your breastfeeding journey? Here are 16 breastfeeding essentials to assistance.

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Source: https://mumsgrapevine.com.au/2018/02/expressing-colostrum/