In response to the query re: collection of colostrum I thought that perhaps my experience as an NICU nurse may be of benefit...

When there is an indication to begin priming every drop of colostrum is literally like a drop of gold. However, you are right that often more colostrum collects in the pump flanges than the bottle. Also, if milk is being collected in sterile water bottles the colostrum tends to dilute if there is any water remaining on the bottom of the bottle. As such, I find that when I get a new mom pumping for her baby I reinforce the idea that the pumping provides valuable stimulation to the breasts for milk production but also let her know that for the first few days she may not be able to collect a great deal of colostrum using the pump alone. I prefer to also teach hand expression and, depending on the amount of colostrum the mom is able to express, I will show her how to draw up the beads of colostrum directly off of her nipple into a syringe. The colostrum can also be dripped into a medicine cup and then drawn up into a syringe but it is still easy to lose a few drops in the corner
s of the cup. It is important that the mom understands that this hand expression would follow, not replace, regular pumping sessions.

Dru Antoniuk RN, BScN, MA, BA 
 
> Date:    Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:10:45 -0500
> From:    Jessica Griffin <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Collection of thick colostrum
> 
> I'm a lactation consultant at a busy tertiary high risk center. We 
> have=20=
> recently experienced a new strain of NEC that is killing our 
> premature=20=
> infants more quickly.  Our neonatologists would like the moms to 
> pump=20within 2 hrs of delivery as they want to prime the infant's 
> gut ASAP.  It=
> =20
> seems like initially the pump is not able to extract the colostrum 
> due to=
> =20
> its thickness, and most of the precious drops end up around the 
> breast=20=
> shield uncollected. Any suggestions on the best way to retreive 
> this=20valuable colostrum. We thought maybe hand expression into a 
> medicine cup=20=
> 
> and then using a 3cc syringe to draw it up.

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