Denise  says,
*************************************************
AND research also
supports expressing should start within 6 hours of  birthing to optimise
lactation ... so you may as well give that expressed  milk to the infant as
put it in the fridge. If, from 6 hours to 24 hours, the  mother expresses 2
to 3 hrly there would be few mothers who wouldn't achieve  the minimum 7 ml
(hand expressing, that is).



*********************************************

Why are we waiting 6 hours?  If it is important for the baby to go to  breast
within the first hour of birth, isn't it just as important for the mother  as
for the baby?  Then why don't we start expressing (if baby can't/won't
nurse) within the first hour?  Most hospitals don't wait to feed the baby  if he
can take oral feeds, and most of them end up getting formula rather than  the
bolus of colostrum that is now being reabsorbed because no one thought to  get
it out.

Remember that Nancy mentioned the burst of oxytocin which is related to the
pressure of the infant's head on the transvaginal vault during pushing.
Oxytocin is no respector of myoepithelial cells -- and it is doing its work on
the myoepithelial cells of the alveoli as well, just pushing that colostrum
along so the baby gets a nice lovely feed.  But if it isn't used -- like an
unsqueezed sponge, the colostrum goes back up the ducts and it takes awhile for
the the hand expression/pump to get it back down again.

I vote for pumping/expressing within that first hour of birth.

Jan

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