Karen Graham LLL <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I nursed 6, have small breasts, never felt a letdown ever, never 
>leaked or dripped a drop.  Could not express for my first.  Trial 
>and error worked for me, I really needed to rotate my fingers around 
>and get the rhythm down.  I remember talking to a full time working 
>mom in S.Chicago who was a LLL leader (she didn't tell LLL at the 
>time) who expressed by hand.  I also remember being told to heat up 
>a canning jar and put my breast inside and when the pressure started 
>to change, milk would come out! I never tried it.

This canning-jar method used to be in old literature. It was often 
suggested for engorgement where it was hard to get any milk out. Any 
wide-mouth jar will do, that can withstand hot water without 
cracking. Fill jar with hot water to heat the glass. Pour off the 
water. When just cool enough to not burn the skin, place the jar over 
the breast. Apply a cool wet cloth to the outside of the jar to cool 
the glass. A vacuum will develop inside the jar, applying very gentle 
suction. The warmth also seems to help the let-down occur. Milk will 
start flowing.

This is more for relieving engorgement rather than collecting milk.

I also learnt to hand-express by experimentation, and not until I had 
my second child. Then I wondered how I had found it difficult. It 
really does seem to be a knack. I have witnessed a wide range of 
techniques, not just one, by different mothers, as others have 
mentioned. I have conducted workshop sessions on hand expressing for 
health professionals a few times and had demonstration mothers, and 
each one did it differently. When talking to mothers on the phone, I 
describe basically how to do it and suggest they experiment on 
themselves in the shower or bath. The warmth of the water helps with 
let-down and they don't need to be concerned with catching any milk 
that spurts out. This way, they can practise the best way for them 
and learn for later when they intend to collect the milk. In 
face-to-face situations, props like knitted breasts can be useful to 
demonstrate to mothers.
-- 
**************************************************************************
Joy Anderson, South Eastern Suburbs Group WA. Counsellor since Jan 1987.
Married to Keith, kids Craig (1984) and Keryn (1987).
Group treasurer, group projects (name and address stickers; Helpline 
and library stickers), local assessor, manager of Publications 
Portfolio, member of Booklet Revision, Proofreading and Approval, 
Website and New Breastfeeding Information Working Groups 
mailto:[log in to unmask]

'Never forget... breastfeeding is a confidence trick.' - WHO handout
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