Though colostrum production begins as early as 16 weeks pregnant and should begin to be expressed right away after birth (with some moms even experiencing occasional leakage later in pregnancy), its look and composition differs significantly from your later breast milk.
Milk production generally begins around the midpoint of pregnancy, somewhere between weeks 16 and 22. At this stage your body is producing what's known as colostrum—a yellowish milk that's rich in calories and disease-fighting antibodies—which will serve as baby's first food after birth.
Because some mamas may experience leakage while others don't, there is no set rule for when to start pumping during pregnancy. It can be anywhere from two months before birth, to a few weeks. For mamas that plan to exclusively breastfeed, you may not want to begin pumping right away.
Risks to mother and baby
By stimulating their nipples and expressing milk while pregnancy, women could bring on regular contractions of the womb and give birth early. This is because nipple stimulation leads to an increase in the hormone oxytocin, which plays a role in both milk let-down and contraction of the womb.
Your body begins producing colostrum between 12 and 18 weeks in pregnancy. Most people will produce anywhere from a tablespoon to an ounce of colostrum within the first 24 hours of delivery. This slowly increases until transitional milk comes in around the third or fourth day.
Generally speaking, breastfeeding your husband or partner is OK. It's not perverted or wrong if you want the person you are intimate with to breastfeed, or if they ask to try breastfeeding or taste your breast milk.
Colostrum production can start as early as the beginning of the second trimester of pregnancy. If you notice small drops of clear or yellow fluid leaking from your breasts or staining your bra while you're pregnant, that's colostrum.
It's safe for your partner to touch, play with, or caress your breasts during pregnancy, as long as it feels good to you.
It can also be referred to as 'colostrum harvesting' and is advocated by some NHS Trusts. Mothers are normally advised to wait until around 36 weeks before starting antenatal expression. Mums who are having multiple births may sometimes start sooner as giving birth earlier is more likely.
Do you need to prepare your nipples for breastfeeding? No. Your body is already preparing for breastfeeding. Thanks to hormonal changes in pregnancy, women are capable of producing breast milk by the end of their second trimester.
Relax, hold your baby skin-to-skin, and massage your breasts before feeding to encourage your milk to let down. Take care of yourself. Get plenty of rest, eat well, drink enough fluids, and let others help you.
Many pregnant women are encouraged to express their colostrum milk late in pregnancy before baby is born. Reasons for this could be: women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) or pre-existing diabetes. twin/triplet pregnancy.
Bottom line: If you're having a low-risk pregnancy, it's probably safe to use a breast pump while pregnant, but always talk to your provider first. More on getting ready for breastfeeding and pumping here.
Colostrum is very concentrated. At birth, your baby's stomach is about the size of a marble, so they will only need a small amount of colostrum to receive all the nutrients they need. You can collect and freeze your colostrum during the last few weeks of your pregnancy. This has many benefits for you and your baby.
There can be benefits to expressing and storing colostrum during pregnancy in case it is needed after birth. If there is a risk of premature birth or of your baby having feeding problems, the person providing your maternity care may recommend you express and store some colostrum.
Superfetation is a rare event that involves getting pregnant a second time while you're already pregnant. It's so uncommon that cases of superfetation often make headlines. Your body does a good job preventing subsequent pregnancies once an embryo is developing inside your uterus.
The breasts of pregnant women change in size and appearance due to the effects of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Alveolar cells of the breast begin to secrete colostrum in the twelfth to sixteenth week of pregnancy. This is called lactogenesis I.
Sometimes a mother has a health condition that may temporarily delay the large increase in milk production usually seen between 3 to 5 days following birth. These mothers may not begin to produce large amounts of milk until 7 to 14 days after giving birth. If this happens to you, don't feel discouraged.
If you're having a straightforward pregnancy, there's no reason to start hand expressing colostrum, your rich first breast milk, before you give birth. Colostrum is packed with nutrients and antibodies that nourish your baby and protect them from illness.
For pregnant people who do need to remove colostrum, hand expression can sometimes be more effective than expressing colostrum with a pump. This is because colostrum exists in such a low volume (even 5 to 7 milliliters of colostrum is good nutrition for a little one) and is a slow-moving liquid, Syms-Brown explains.
Bovine colostrum contains estrogen, which is a hormone that may negatively impact the development of some cancers. If you are at risk for breast, ovarian, or prostate cancer, talk to your doctor before using a bovine supplement.