How to Manually Express Breastmilk

Mother and child learn how to nurse together and it is common for problems to occur during the learning process. Whether it's a slow let-down reflex or a bad latch onto the breast, manually expressing breastmilk helps alleviate problems by stimulating let-down and allowing the mother to express milk into a bottle. Learn the proper technique to manually express breastmilk.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Wash your hands and find a quite place to relax and focus on expressing your breastmilk. Have a bottle or other proper breastmilk storage container nearby.
2. Stimulate the let-down reflex (when breastmilk flows down from the milk reservoirs) by massaging your breast from the top down to the nipple with a light patting motion. This stimulates the milk in the milk ducts and gets it moving down toward the nipple.
3. Prepare to manually express the breastmilk by using your thumb and first two fingers around the areola. Place the thumb at the 12 o'clock position and the fingers at 6 o'clock. Be careful not to cup the breast.
4. Push into the chest wall. If you are well endowed, lift the breast first and then push back into the chest wall.
5. Move the thumb and fingers forward, rolling them toward the nipple. This pushes the milk out of the nipple. Continue this motion until the milk drips out instead of squirts out with force.
6. Repeat the rolling motion technique with the thumb and fingers placed at 11 o'clock and 5 o'clock; 2 o'clock and 8 o'clock; 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock. The entire process, once mastered, takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't squeeze or pull the breast while attempting to manually express breastmilk. This could cause an injury.