Winnie writes:

> I suppose with the right setup, some very adept moms might be able to hand
> express both at the same time, but I think that would be logistically
> difficult for most.
>

In 1992 in a NICU in Swaziland, I watched mothers hand express milk for their
hospitalized premature babies. The mothers roomed there in the hospital, and
came to the nursery every three hours to express and to visit their babies.
There was a table in the middle of room. Each mother put two small plastic
cups--similar to US medicine cups--on a small plastic tray--about 8" x
12"--on the table. Then she leaned over enough to be able to aim the sprays
of milk into the cups, and simultaneously expressed both breasts. One mother
was sitting on a bench, not leaning over, and expressing one breast into a
cup she held with the other hand, and I commented that she looked more
comfortable because she was sitting up straight. But the bent-over mothers
all said they liked their way best, and they liked having the small cups
because they could fill them up fast and that made them feel good.

Probably it was helpful to be doing it all together in the same room. You
know how research has shown that women who live together or work together
often find their menstrual cycles getting synchronized. Maybe women who
express together find their let-down reflexes doing the same thing.

Maybe one of the barriers to maintaining milk production in Western
workplaces is that milk expression is presumed to be something one does ALONE.

Chris Mulford, RN, IBCLC
working for WIC in New Jersey
Co-coordinator, WABA Women & Work Task Force

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