Learn How to Properly Hand Express Breast Milk

Avoid Using these Motions While Hand Expressing Breast Milk

  • Don’t squeeze the breast.  Instead hold the breasts gently while using the downward motion used to express breast milk.  This will avoid bruising on your breasts.
  • Don’t pull on the breast or nipple.  Doing so many cause unseen damage to your breast tissue.
  • Avoid sliding your hand on your breasts, this can cause your skin to burn similar to a rug burn.

Tips for Expressing Breast Milk

  • Relax.
  • Find a comfortable chair.
  • Allow yourself at least 20-30 minutes.
  • Hold a picture of your baby to help trigger milk let down.

Catching Expressed Breast Milk

If you planning on using the breast milk that you are expressing, you should use a sterile bowl or container. The best container for this method is a wide mouthed container. Once you have finished expressing the breast milk, transfer the milk into a sealed bottle or storage bags designed to store breast milk.

When Should I Hand Express?

Hand expression is great for mother’s who exclusively breastfeed and don’t need to express breast milk on a regular basis.  If you have to pump multiple times a day or for an extended amount of time, you might want to invest in a breast pump.  Hand expression is great for:

 

 Video Demonstration of the Marmet Hand Expression Technique

Names used in this article are fictional characters.

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Have you ever had to manually express breast milk?