In my work in the hospital, I try to encourage moms to hand express in
the first 3 days for several reasons.
1.      I think that everyone should know how to hand express.  Last
year when there was that huge power cut in the North East, hand
expression was the way to go for many moms.  It is not rocket science,
and it helps moms get to know their bodies.
2.       Usually, if you are pumping or expressing for a preemie, the
amount that you get in the first 2-3 days is very small.  If you express
it by pump into a bottle, it barely covers the bottom of the bottle, but
if you hand express into a sterile test tube, it looks like a huge
amount!! Psychologically, this helps moms to continue.  Also, you lose
less milk that way.  In pumping, most of the drops stick to the sides of
the flange, and may never even make it to the bottom of the bottle.
3.      Hand expression can be done everywhere.  In our hospital, we
have the Medela classics in the NICU.  Some moms can't get there if they
are after CS or a difficult birth.  They can hand express in the
meantime and don't waste any precious time.
4.      By the end of the 3rd day, when the milk squirts across the room
instead of dripping into the container, then I might encourage the mom
to start pumping mechanically, but many prefer to continue hand
expression.  The sound of the milk spray when it hits the bottom of the
container is music to them!!

So, I would vote in favor of hand expression for any moms who are not
breastfeeding in the first few days, for whatever reason.  Even if her
baby is with her and not really interested in feeding, she can express a
small amount of colostrum on a tiny spoon just to let him know what is
on the menu.  This fulfills the ABC of breastfeeding: feed the baby,
maintain the milk supply, then fix the breastfeeding.

Esther Grunis, IBCLC
Lis Maternity Hospital
Tel Aviv, Israel

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.687 / Virus Database: 448 - Release Date: 16/05/2004


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

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html