Benefits of expressing

Breastmilk is one of the most precious gifts you can give your baby and expressing plays an invaluable role in supporting and prolonging breastfeeding.

Of course, it is possible to fully breastfeed a baby for many months without expressing a single drop, but it has many benefits that should be considered. It offers you much more flexibility, being a really convenient way of ensuring your baby still receives all of the fantastic nutritional benefits of breastmilk when you can’t actually be there physically yourself. You may be returning to work, baby’s dad may decide he would like to give a feed, or, you may just decide to treat yourself to a long overdue night out!

There are also other practical benefits to expressing which you may not know about. If a baby is too small (premature) or sick to take the breast directly, mum can express her colostrum/breastmilk for her baby and bottle feed instead. Or, if a newborn is failing to latch on for some reason, expressing can help encourage your milk to come in and reduce the need to give formula milk. Make sure you ask your midwife for extra help if you are having difficulty getting your baby to take the breast though.

Furthermore, when your milk does come in and the breasts temporarily feel overfull, you can use a pump if your baby is not ready to feed and you are feeling a bit uncomfortable. Later, once breastfeeding is established, expressing can help encourage and build up your milk supply, in addition to your baby suckling. You will then have a store of milk to use as and when you wish.

Expressing milk is really easy with practice, although it is best to wait four to six weeks after the birth to let breastfeeding become established before you start, unless a healthcare professional recommends otherwise. Philips AVENT offers two types of pump to help you - manual and electronic - and the choice is really down to personal preference. For mums with just one baby, I recommend the manual breast pump or the Single handheld electronic version. Both allow you to express directly into an AVENT Feeding Bottle or pre-sterilised VIA Cup for storage in the fridge or freezer. Both these breast pumps work quickly, gently and quietly. They also feature the unique patented petal massage cushion and a silicone diaphragm, which work together to imitate the way your baby breastfeeds, making them extremely comfortable and efficient to use.

So remember, expressing can give you the best of both worlds – it ensures baby always gets the very best in nutritional feeding and at the same time allows you the freedom to choose how.