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Expressing Milk (Colostrum) before Birth - Benefits and Risks
Pregnant women are likely to notice some milk leaking from the breasts towards the conclusion of their pregnancy often referred to as colostrum or the first milk. It can vary from being yellowish to clear and is quite thick in appearance. Colostrum is rich in antibodies and ideally should form a newborn baby’s first feed. Some pregnant women may be inclined to store this milk during pregnancy so that it can be provided to their neonatal baby if immediately needed particularly if the woman has diabetes. However, the practice of collecting colostrum is not commonly encouraged as it may result in certain complications which can be hazardous for both the mom and baby.
What is Antenatal Expression of Colostrum?
Colostrum is the early milk which starts formulating in some pregnant women after the completion of the second trimester. Colostrum is full of antibodies and therefore vital for a newborn baby as it may help fight various infections. A small quantity of colostrum is generally adequate for a newborn baby until the mother’s milk starts flowing in larger volumes which usually happens on the second day after delivery.
Antenatal expression of colostrum means extracting and collecting colostrum or the first breast milk during pregnancy before the birth of the baby usually by hand. Sometimes a newborn baby may need extra milk feed even before the mother’s milk can ensues. Such an occurrence may arise in case a pregnant woman who has diabetes delivers a baby with reduced blood sugar and may require milk instantly to address the issue. Availability of colostrum expressed antenatally may allow the benefit of feeding the newborn with the essential breast milk rather than having to use formula milk. It is desirable to avoid giving infant formula milk to a newborn baby as the first feed as it is commercially manufactured and may lack crucial protective nutrients that a baby usually needs after his birth.
Other factors which may make a pre-birth expression of colostrum necessary may include babies who are born with cleft lip or palate thereby making holding on to the breasts difficult, babies with congenital conditions like cardiac complications or Down syndrome. In such cases having a readier supply of breast milk in the form of stored colostrum may prove extremely beneficial.
Is It Safe to Express Milk Before Delivery?
Expressing colostrum before birth third trimester may flow in small drops and can be a cause of distress for some pregnant women. Many medical practitioners also have concerns regarding the exercise of hand expressing breast milk before birth. The body of a woman releases oxytocin when a baby breastfeeds which helps the uterus to revert to its original size after delivery. Pitocin which is the natural form of oxytocin is responsible for triggering labour in women. In case a woman pumps her breasts during pregnancy there is a possibility that it can induce early labour and the baby may arrive before his full term gets over. A baby being born before his due date may not ready to be exposed to the outer world yet and is likely to be at a higher risk of infections and health issues. Preterm labour and early delivery can even endanger the survival of the newborn baby. Therefore, it may be detrimental to activate pumping too soon when pregnant.
Many pregnant women believe that pumping their breast during pregnancy may cause the breasts to produce more milk after delivery. But this notion holds no truth in it. In fact, you may make your nipples sore before your baby is even born. In case a pregnant woman may want to bring on labour by stimulating her breasts it is advisable to refer to a doctor first for proper advice and guidance.
Benefits of Pumping Breast Milk During Pregnancy
Colostrum with its high levels of immunoglobulins can provide an infant with considerable immunity. It is easily digested and may ease the early passage of baby’s first bowel movement which can help prevent jaundice. Some of the benefits of pumping breast milk during pregnancy can be:
In the instance of a baby developing jaundice right after birth and quitting breastfeeding the pumped-up breast milk collected and save during pregnancy can be given to the baby.
A pregnant woman with diabetes (existing or gestational) can consider expressing and storing her breast milk while pregnant in case her baby is born with hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and may urgently need a milk feed after his birth in the absence of which he is at a greater risk of seizures or damage to the brain.
There is always an option of feeding infant formula to newborn babies while waiting for the mothers' milk to start coming in. But it may be great if the mother has saved colostrum during her pregnancy and has it ready to nurse the Colostrum which may act as the first immunisation for the newborn baby is a better choice when compared to infant formula which can pose issues for the immature gut of the baby.
Pumping your breasts when pregnant may enable you to get familiar with the practice of hand expressing before the arrival of the baby in case you are required to do this in future. Familiarisation with hand expressing techniques may help enhance breastfeeding efficiency.
Some women may like to collect colostrum during pregnancy as a precautionary measure in case they experienced a low milk production during their previous delivery, have undergone a breast surgery earlier or are suffering from medical conditions like a polycystic ovarian disease, multiple sclerosis (a disease which affects the nervous system and the brain) which may make establishing breastfeeding hard.
How to Express and Store Colostrum?
Helpful points to keep in mind while expressing and storing colostrum include:
In case a pregnant woman has been advised to accumulate colostrum when pregnant she may stimulate her nipples gently by hand to pump a few drops of the liquid instead of using breast pump before birth.
The amount that dribbles from the breast may vary from a few drops to about a teaspoonful. It can be collected easily either straight in a syringe or into a sterilised container.
In case the flow seems to be reducing stimulate the nipples by rotating your thumb and fingers about the areola which may resume the supply.
Switch to the other breast after three to four minutes or when the flow slackens.
You may express from each breast twice in each expressing session.
It is possible to collect colostrum until three times every day using the same syringe. Bear in mind to store the covered syringe in the refrigerator between uses.
At the finish of the accumulating day, collect all the samples in a ziplock bag and freeze them.
You can clearly label the cup or syringe detailing the time and date of the expression. You can sign on the label to confirm the right identification later on.
It may be feasible to keep the frozen colostrum in the freezer for about three months or until 12 months if stored in a deep freezer.
You may transport your frozen expressed colostrum to the hospital using a cooler pack filled with ice bricks for maintaining the temperature at the time of your delivery.
Risks to Mom and Baby
Expressing colostrum before birth may have the following risks for mom and baby:
Stimulation of nipples for expressing milk when pregnant may increase the production of the hormone oxytocin, a hormone which helps to initiate uterine contractions and milk let-down.
Regular contractions of the uterus before the conclusion of the full term of pregnancy may result in early labour and pre-term delivery of the baby.
Premature infants are at high risk of getting late-onset sepsis (symptoms include unstable body temperature, problems in breathing, lack of interest in feeding) and other dangerous infections which are usually related to considerable sickness.
Early labour may also force a woman to go in for a caesarean and increase her chances of unnecessary complications.
Exciting the nipples for hand expressing breast milk during pregnancy may cause excessive contractions which can hinder the blood flow to the growing foetus and negatively impact its development.
FAQs
Some of the frequently asked questions related to expressing colostrum while pregnant can be:
1. When Can I Start Expressing Colostrum?
Many pregnant women may ask, can I start breast pumping before birth? It is desirable to express colostrum by hand in preference to using a breast pump. Using a pump may be impractical for the small measure of colostrum which gets released. Also, the vacuum of the pump can intensify inflammation of the areola delaying milk supply.
Usually, you can go ahead with expressing at about 32 to 36 weeks of gestation. In some pregnant women, colostrum may start getting produced at the end of the second trimester of their pregnancy while some pregnant women may not draw up colostrum until after the birth of their baby. However, please consult your doctor for assistance and direction before commencing expressing. In case you begin to feel contractions any time during an expressing session immediately stop and seek medical assistance.
2. How Often Can You Pump Colostrum?
You can hand pump colostrum when pregnant two or three times a day. Start stimulating one breast for a few minutes until the colostrum flows and then shift to the other breast repeating the same exercise.
3. When is Expression of Breastmilk Not Recommended?
Expression of colostrum is generally not recommended in the following conditions:
In case a pregnant woman has a history of experiencing preterm labour or her current condition indicates a similar possibility.
If a woman has a history of suffering cervical incompetence or her present pregnancy shows parallel symptoms.
In case a woman has been administered a suture in her cervix to avert early labour.
If expressing breast milk causes any discomfort to the pregnant woman it is best to avoid doing so or seek medical assistance.
Breast milk has numerous health benefits for babies. Extracting and saving early breast milk or colostrum may help you avoid giving infant formula to a baby after his birth as it carries potential health risks and can facilitate successful breastfeeding after delivery. Having said that it is important to check with your doctor before beginning expressing colostrum during pregnancy to prevent any occurrence of probable difficulties in future.
Also Read:
Tips to Prepare for Breastfeeding before Delivery
Breastfeeding with Small Breasts
Tips for Breastfeeding with Large Breasts Read more
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Forget Baby Talk, Speaking to Your Baby in Parentese Can Make Him Smarter!
In parentese, a truck is not just big, but it is ‘Biiiig’ and a room is not just dark, but it is ‘Daaaark’. Speaking Parentese is not the same as a baby talk. Babies don’t necessarily need baby talk to learn language, but parentese can actually make the babies smarter and help them grasp the communication skills faster.
Have you ever seen a baby reacting excitedly when an adult talks to a baby in a normal voice and plain sentences with a blank face? Most probably, not! Whereas we see babies smiling, giggling and wiggling in response to our high pitched sing-songy voice. Long-tailed pronunciations, exaggerated facial expressions and rhythmic voice are what characterize ‘Parentese’. This way of speaking that we naturally tend to use is a special language used by parents and adults to talk to the babies.
Do Babies Respond more to Parentese ?
Babies are naturally drawn towards music and rhythm rather than the plain speech. Musical speaking stimulates their audio sensory receptors and helps them remember the sounds of the words, rhythm of the speech and faces better. Other than that, it is simply fun and entertaining to listen to something that sounds nice. So yes, babies do respond and learn more from Parentese.
Tips to Speak in Parentese Effectively
Use proper words, but elongate the vowels. Like ‘Baaabeee’, ‘Sweeetyyy’.
Use high pitched voice and rhythmic tone.
Speak as though you are reciting a poem.
Make it sound melodious to retain baby’s attention.
Use shorter sentences and speak slowly.
Take pauses to give the baby a chance to process your speech.
Use clear pronunciations and stress differently on confusing words.
Keep an eye contact and keep on a smile.
Widen or squint eyes, cringe your nose, or raise eyebrows to stress on the emotions.
Talk to your baby as much as you can. To keep things interesting, you can also use parentese when you are reciting nursery rhymes or reading a story book out loud.
Cautions to take when Speaking Parentese
Most importantly, do not confuse Parentese with baby talk. Baby talk is just something that jumbles up the words and basically, makes them non-sense. Baby talk can confuse the babies rather than helping them with language development. Parentese uses proper words and pronunciations, only spoken in more entertaining manner to the baby.
Don’t omit articles, conjunctions, gerunds from the sentence. Let the baby hear the sentence that is grammatically correct and meaningful.
Remember that babies are not dumb. They do not need to hear just sounds instead of words. Don’t always say ‘Choo Choo’ instead of ‘Train’. Though use the sounds to make the word more interesting.
Don’t underestimate the influence of a smiling face when speaking to a baby. Smile makes them feel loved and makes you more appealing to them.
Benefits of Speaking in Parentese to Babies
Speaking in Parentese holds the baby’s attention for a longer time. Longer they look at your face and hear to what you are saying, more information they are gathering to be processed.
Exaggerated expressions teach them how to decode different emotions.
Babies learn to associate changes in sounds to changes in your facial expressions.
Babies try to imitate you a lot quicker when you speak in Parentese. This encourages them to try to speak early. They often respond to your speech with cooing and babbling sounds.
So, next time you talk to your baby, go ahead and act silly. Use your ‘eeeee’s and ‘aaaa’s to your baby’s advantage and make all kinds of cute, funny faces you want. You are actually teaching them a very important life skill of expressing themselves through language. Read more
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Developing The Knack of Understanding Feelings through your Child’s Eyes
Children usually think, see and feel the things around them from a different perspective. Looking at the world from their eyes, and learning to take cues can help you tune into their feelings and emotions.
Feelings and emotions are as natural to children, as they are to adults. The only difference probably is that as adults, we learn to comprehend what we are feeling, whereas for children, it is difficult to communicate the same. Learning to think like a child will help you to understand your little one's feelings. Children whose emotions are handled supportively grow up to be confident human beings, and get to learn how to express themselves.
At his age, a preschooler would not see a situation from the same perspective as yours. For example, if you rebuke your older child for doing something inappropriate, your preschooler may think that he may too face the same level of consequences in future. For understanding a child, you first need to become a child yourself or remember the days when you were a child. This will give you cues and signals as to what your child is feeling and how to respond to situations.
Here are a few questions you must ask yourself before you step into a child’s shoes, and measure the intensity of their emotions:
Which instances have influenced you the most as a child? Think about both negative and positive situations.
How did your parents tackle your actions, feelings and emotions during your childhood?
Were they supportive of your feelings? In what way?
Were you were able to express yourself clearly and freely as a child?
Which things you would have wanted your parents to change about their behavior towards you while you were growing up?
Are you happy with your upbringing?
Which of your childhood memories or experiences would you want to pass over to your child?
Ways to Learn to Understand your Child’s Feelings
Remember that your preschooler is still in the growing up phase of life. To always expect logical actions or appropriate behaviour from him may not be the right thing to do.
Children are also thoughtful individuals, who go through a myriad of emotions. Respect your child, his individuality and his feelings.
Always pay careful attention to what your child is trying to communicate. Keep your eyes and ears open; let your parental instinct be the right judge to a situation.
Understanding a child requires patience. It may not be always possible to know why he is upset or what is troubling him, but keep trying. You will get there!
Like adults, children too need someone to lend a listening ear or talk their heart out. Being present with them can build their trust in opening up to you.
Empathize with your child- Using magic words such as “I know how you feel right now” or “I can understand” can make your child feel much better.
Make collaborative decisions regarding any situation pertaining to your child. Seeking his opinion will help you to view that situation from his perspective.
Let your child know that he is safe, and can always rely on you for support and right guidance.
Understanding a child’s feeling through his eyes can make him feel good about himself and also help you in responding to his needs effectively. Read more
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1 hour ago
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Dr Ghouse
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1 hour ago
A. please check the temperature can be a viral infection. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
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Expecting Mom due in 4 months
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Q. #asktheexpert
why are my vomitings not stopping even in 5th month of my pregnancy. and constant headaches.
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1 hour ago
A. this is seen in some people which my continue in second trimester also. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
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A. if it is induced one then there can be chances. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
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Q. what should I eat for a healthy baby in my 3rd month of pregnancy.kindly suggest a healthy diet routine
POOJA KOTHARI
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Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
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Dr Ghouse
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A. no exercises vigorously only moderate walking ok. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
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I am 28 weeks pregnant and feeling breathlessness and Always tired ... is this normal ?
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A. this cannot be normal always better to see the doctor once. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
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