How to express milk without a breast pump?

After the baby is born, it supplements nutrition by eating breast milk. Some babies are not very skilled in breastfeeding or the mother cannot feed the baby anytime and anywhere, so they will use a breast pump to express the milk in advance. However, not everyone uses a breast pump to express milk. There are other ways to express milk, such as manual expression or hot bottle expression, etc. The following is a detailed introduction on how to express milk without a breast pump.

Manual milking method

1. Preparation: First, use the six-step hand washing method to wash your hands thoroughly, prepare a small bowl for collecting milk, a milk remover and other supplies, and clean and disinfect them.

2. Standing posture: You can sit or stand when expressing milk, with your chest slightly tilted forward and the milk flowing towards the nipple. Do what makes you comfortable. Don't lie on the bed because the milk will flow backwards.

3. Milk ejection reflex: Next, stimulate the milk ejection reflex by applying a hot towel to the breasts. After a few minutes, massage the breasts. Hold up the breasts with one hand and use the other hand to slowly rotate and massage from the base of the breast toward the nipple. Apply a little force to any lumps to help keep the milk ducts unobstructed. After the massage, you can gently pat the breasts to help the milk ducts expand and help the milk flow from the base of the nipple to the nipple, and then move the container close to the breasts.

4. Press: When expressing milk, use your thumb and index finger to gently press down towards the chest wall. Do not press too deep, otherwise it will cause blockage of the milk duct. The pressure should be applied on the breast tissue below the areola between the thumb and index finger, that is, it must be pressed on the milk sinus below the areola, repeatedly pressing and releasing.

This operation should not cause pain, otherwise the method is incorrect. Press the areola in the same way in all directions to squeeze out the milk from every milk sinus in the breast.

5. Do not squeeze the nipples, as squeezing the nipples will not produce milk. Squeeze one breast for at least 3 to 5 minutes. When the milk is less, squeeze the other breast. Repeat this several times.

6. You can use a breast pump or express milk by hand, but manual expression is the most convenient method.

When choosing a breast pump, do not choose the one with a rubber ball on the back, because the rubber ball is difficult to disinfect and can easily cause infection in the child.

Hot bottle milking

For some mothers with severe breast swelling and pain, it is difficult to express milk by hand due to tight nipples. In this case, hot bottle milking can be used. Take a large-mouthed bottle with a capacity of 1 liter (note that the diameter of the bottle mouth should not be less than 2 cm), fill the bottle with boiling water, and pour out the boiling water after a few minutes. Wrap the bottle in a towel and cool the mouth of the bottle in cold water. Put the bottle mouth on the nipple to prevent air leakage. After a while, negative pressure is formed in the bottle, the nipple is sucked into the bottle, and the milk is slowly sucked into the bottle. When the milk flow stops, gently apply pressure to the skin around the bottle and the bottle can be removed.

However, this method will cause some pain and is not recommended unless necessary.

Breast pump

Breast pumps are available in stores. Squeeze the rubber ball at the back half of the breast pump to create negative pressure in the breast pump. Cover the wide mouth of the breast pump on the skin around the nipple to prevent air leakage. Release the rubber ball and the milk will slowly flow into the breast pump container. Wait until there is no pressure and then repeat squeezing the rubber ball. When there is a lot of milk in the breast pump, pour the milk into the prepared container.

When mothers use a breast pump, they need to be careful to control their rhythm. If you feel nipple pain or you are unable to express milk, stop using a breast pump.

Mothers should use the breast pump manually in a gradual manner, from slow to fast. After using the breast pump, you must soak it in hot water or use a microwave to disinfect it.