Your pregnancy is over and your baby is born. You are overcome with indescribable joy. Having rested from childbirth, you will be able to hold your little happiness in your arms. Now a new stage has begun for both of you, associated not only with joy, but also with some questions. First of all, Young mothers are concerned with questions about how to do it correctly, how often, whether it is necessary to express after each feeding, and so on.

No one today will dispute the importance of this process. irreplaceable by anything. Its value is difficult to overestimate. However, not everyone manages to establish this method of feeding. Why is this happening?

It is very important to try to put your baby to the breast immediately after birth. In the future, the mother must ensure that the baby is not supplemented with formula. Otherwise, he may refuse to breastfeed in the future. Should I pump after feeding? This question worries many. There are a number of indications for this. But some experts consider this unnecessary.

To begin with, I would like to note that after feeding you need to squeeze out a drop of milk and treat the nipple with it. This way you will protect yourself from cracks and infection. Whether you need to express after each feeding is up to you. But remember that it is not recommended for a nursing mother to wash her breasts in the usual way. Various gels, soaps, and so on should be excluded. Ordinary clean water is quite enough.

The breast should smell like milk, and the strong smells of hygiene products can scare the baby away. Thus, milk remains the only protection for the breast. In this case, pumping is justified and very useful.

Do I need to express in large quantities after each feeding? Some mothers try to empty their breasts every time of all the milk that is in it. Is this really necessary? Initially, the body cannot know how much milk the baby will need. Therefore, initially there is quite a lot of it. Naturally, a newborn is not able to eat it all. If you see that the baby is eating well and gaining weight well, then it becomes clear that he does not need more milk. By pumping, you give a signal to your body that there is not enough food. Thus, you provoke additional milk production, which is completely undesirable. Answering the question “is it necessary to express after feeding?” we can say no.

When you really need it:

1. The baby cannot breastfeed. He may be weak, premature, or sick. In this case, to prevent the milk from disappearing, the mother will have to express herself.
2. The mother feels unwell or is not yet ready to breastfeed due to the operation.
3. If there is a blockage of the milk duct. When examining the breast, painful lumps and lumps are revealed. This can be very dangerous for a woman's health. In this case, the question “should I express after each feeding” should not arise. This must be done along with In this case, the medical staff of the maternity hospital where you are should help you.
4. Mom needs to leave for a long time.

So, whether you need to express after each feeding is, of course, up to you to decide. However, experts do not recommend doing this without special reasons.

Expressing breasts after feedings is not always a mandatory and regular procedure.

This is necessary when feeding according to a regimen when the baby is fed 6-7 times a day to preserve milk. Usually a child, unless he is specifically taught to follow a routine, does not behave this way. But if he is accustomed to the regime, he can suck out the milk completely, there will be nothing to express.

The amount of milk will begin to decrease not due to a lack of pumping, but due to insufficient stimulation of the breast by sucking. Often a child, even when feeding according to a schedule, does not suck the breast completely, and the milk remains. The endocrine system will receive a signal that excess milk is being produced and there is no need to produce it. By expressing these remains you can support lactation for some time. Typically, it takes a woman a lot of time and effort to express milk, and often fatigue from pumping leads to giving up breastfeeding.

Under natural conditions, a child never latches on 6 times a day at regular intervals. It can be applied relatively rarely in the first week of life, but from the second week the baby’s need to suck appears more often than 6-8 times a day.

The baby's need to suck is not related to hunger. He just wants to suck in response to any of his discomfort, he tries to get rid of it this way, regardless of what it is caused by - a feeling of hunger or a desire to sleep, for example...

Under natural conditions, the baby is put to the breast on demand, quite often. When feeding a baby on demand, the baby constantly sucks out small portions of milk; there is no long-term accumulation of milk in the breast. When feeding on demand, the baby is attached to one breast for about 1.5-3 hours, during which time he sucks it out and begins to attach to the other. If the baby is fed according to a schedule, the breast can wait 6-8 hours for the next feeding; it is not at all designed for such accumulation of milk. The woman’s body “concludes” that no one needs milk.

When feeding on demand, a woman’s lactation and milk is produced according to the child’s needs, without excess or deficiency. There is simply nothing to express. This is technically impossible, because... breastfeeding is rarely less than 12 per day.

There are mothers who still try to pump after feedings, even putting the baby to the breast on demand. Usually they quickly get bored with this tedious task, but sometimes, unfortunately, they trigger the production of excess milk - hyperlactation. The mammary gland begins to produce milk for a very voracious baby or twins, because... The principle of milk production “according to the child’s needs” continues to work.

But still sometimes there is a need to express milk. Therefore, every woman should be able to express her breasts.

When should you pump your breasts?

1. To maintain lactation if mother and baby are separated for various reasons. Regular pumping can maintain lactation for a relatively long time. In such a situation, it is advisable to express 6-10 times a day, depending on the circumstances, for each breast for 10-15 minutes.
2. If the mother needs to leave the baby and leave milk for him during her absence.
3. If mom has formed lactostasis- blockage of the duct of a lobule of the mammary gland with a fatty droplet or milk clot. Lactostasis must be strained if the baby cannot resolve it.
4. When milk comes in after childbirth. At this time, most mothers are still in the maternity hospital and receive a recommendation to express to the last drops, otherwise they will allegedly suffer mastitis. Runs this way often hyperlactation- formation of excess milk. In this situation, you cannot express yourself completely!

What to do in such a situation?

1) Usually more milk comes in than the baby needs, and the excess must be “removed.” Therefore, just When your milk comes in, you can’t express everything without leaving any residue.! Substances that signal that excess milk is being formed appear in a full breast after about a day. If you express all the milk earlier than in a day, then the same amount will be formed.

2)When milk is actively coming in, you need to put the baby to the breast, as often as he asks, to apply at the request of the mother, when he does not ask, and the mother feels that it is time to suck the milk. And only in that situation, if the child does not want to suckle at all, for example, is fast asleep, but the mother already has pronounced discomfort in the chest, she needs to express the breast a little until she feels relief! Typically, the need for such pumping occurs no more than 1-3 times a day for 1-3 days.

If milk flows in the first 3 weeks after birth, you need to act the same way. During the first month after birth, in most women who managed to organize breastfeeding naturally, lactation stabilizes, periodic flows of milk disappear, and the breasts become soft.

Problems of nursing mothers who are separated from the child.

Mothers experience the most problems with breasts in the first days after childbirth when they are separated from their child. The baby is brought in, but according to the schedule, after 3.5 hours, and he does not always want to suckle. Then the mother, while feeding the baby, needs to focus on proper attachment to the breast and put the baby on both breasts for better stimulation of lactation.

A child kept separately is always fed from a nipple, and he may latch onto the breast incorrectly from the first day of life. Poor sucking does not empty the breast well. In the first days before the milk comes in, while the mother has colostrum, she can consider each feeding of the baby, during which he suckled, as pumping.

Mandatory pumping

If the baby was brought in and he did not suck or sucked sluggishly, she definitely needs to pump both breasts for 10-15 minutes each.

If there is no milk coming in on the 3-4th day after birth, then it is necessary to add two additional pumping sessions, for a total of 8 feeding-pumping sessions per day.

When the milk comes in and the breasts fill, the mother who is bringing the baby according to the schedule needs to be very attentive to herself, because... in this case it is possible to develop engorgement breasts The self-regulating mother-baby system does not work in such a situation, therefore, when filling the breasts, it is necessary to limit fluid intake to 3-4 glasses per day and express the breast twice, in the morning and in the evening, but not after 9 pm and before 9 am. If you express at this time, for example, at 12 am, you can stimulate lactation, because... The main hormone responsible for milk production, prolactin, has a circadian rhythm and is most produced at night in response to sucking or pumping. If the condition does not improve after a day, then once a day you need to express completely (in the morning or at night, after 9 am or before 9 pm), and during the day - only until you feel relief after or instead of feeding according to the feeding regimen, depending on the sucking activity child.

If the mother feels relief after the baby has sucked, there is no need to express.

When a mother ends up at home after being separated, the baby usually gets used to the routine and may have difficulty latching on to the breast. In this situation, mother and baby need consultation on breastfeeding, because... it is necessary to teach the child how to attach correctly, and the mother how to control the correct attachment and continue teaching the baby how to suck well, it is necessary to transfer the child to feeding on demand and learn to feed comfortably from different positions.
Expressing should be gradually abandoned, reducing the volume of expressed milk and the number of expressions. Usually the mother stops pumping within 3-7 days.

pediatrician, lactation consultant
Kazakova Liliya Valentinovna

The book "You and Your Baby" also answers many questions about breastfeeding.

How to express milk?

You need to choose a cup or mug with a wide neck, pour boiling water over it, wash your hands thoroughly and sit or stand comfortably, while holding the cup near your chest. The thumb should be placed on the areola above the nipple, and the index finger on the areola under the nipple opposite the thumb. Press your thumb and forefinger inward towards your chest. You should press on the area behind the nipple so that the pressure extends to the milky sinus under the areola. Press and release, press and release. It shouldn't hurt. If pain occurs, then the pumping technique is incorrect.

The milk will flow out and then start to drip. If the milk ejection reflex is active, the milk will flow in streams. In the same way, you should press on the sides of the areola to make sure that milk is expressed from all segments of the breast. You should pump a breast for at least 3-5 minutes after the flow begins to decrease, then proceed to express the other breast. Repeat this procedure sequentially with both breasts. It takes 20-30 minutes to express milk sufficiently. You can use a mechanical or electric breast pump.

Problems when pumping and their solutions

If breast engorgement is very severe, the breast is painful and the nipple is tight, manual expression is difficult. To start, you can use the warm bottle method. Find a milk bottle or a liter or 700 ml bottle, with a 3cm neck if possible, wash it, pour some hot water into the bottle to warm it up, then fill the bottle with hot water. Wrap the bottle in a piece of cloth and pour the water back into the pan. Cool the neck of the bottle and apply it to the area around the nipple so that the bottle seals it tightly. Hold the bottle, after a few minutes the bottle will cool down and the nipple will begin to slowly retract into its neck. The heat stimulates the oxytocin reflex and the milk begins to flow and pool in the bottle. When the milk flow weakens, remove the bottle. You don't need to hold it for too long so as not to damage the nipple. After some time, when the engorgement goes away, you can continue expressing by hand. Some women benefit from rest, general relaxation, warm drinks and a back massage before pumping.

How often and for how long should I express milk?

To maintain milk production in the breast, when the baby's mother is sick, if the illness is serious and does not allow feeding, it is necessary to express as much milk as possible. The frequency of pumping corresponds to the frequency of feeding.

To relieve breast engorgement, express only as much as necessary to avoid discomfort in your breasts. If your nipple is cracked, express for 1-2 days, and in between expressing, constantly treat the nipple to quickly restore breastfeeding.

Don't get carried away with pumping your breasts. Repeated pumping for even a short period of time can lead to the need for constant pumping or to the extinction of lactation.

If you completely stop breastfeeding, then, most likely, lactation will stop on its own, without any intervention. But measures to suppress lactation are not required in all cases.

The approach to breastfeeding has changed radically in recent years. If previously babies were put to the breast exclusively according to a schedule, today this practice is considered outdated and fundamentally wrong. It was replaced by on-demand feeding of the newborn, which, according to experts, fully meets the needs of the child’s and mother’s organisms.

However, young mothers still have a variety of questions about how to breastfeed their baby correctly, whether to express breast milk after or before feedings, and why to express.

Is it possible and necessary to express breast milk?

Despite the fact that stereotypes are increasingly becoming a thing of the past, many women still think that if they don’t express their milk, it will disappear. There is indeed some truth in this, but only if feeding is done by the hour, that is, in accordance with a strictly established regimen. If a woman puts her baby to her breast every 3-3.5 hours, then for 6-7 hours or longer one breast remains untouched, and subsequently less milk begins to be produced. This is because breast milk is produced in accordance with the baby’s needs: the more often and more he sucks, the more actively the milk comes.

If there is no “demand” for breasts for several hours, then this is perceived by the body as a signal to stop milk production due to unnecessary reasons. In this regard, pumping for some time allows you to maintain lactation at the desired level when feeding occurs on schedule

Therefore, if a child has unlimited access to the breast and receives it on demand, if the breastfeeding process is established correctly, the baby gets enough milk and he remains full and gains weight normally, then pumping the breast is not only not necessary, but also unsafe. This can lead to excessive milk production - hyperlactation, which is not very easy to combat. This is why you should not express breast milk.

Hyperlactation leads to stagnation and inflammatory processes in the breast, which can also occur when feeding according to a regimen.

However, there are certain situations when you need to express breast milk. And you should know about them.

Breastfeeding experts say that if the lactation process is established correctly from the first days after birth, then the need to express the breast is extremely rare. And yet, sometimes even such mothers have to pump their breasts:

• In the first days after birth . Milk does not arrive on the first day. First, the baby feeds on colostrum, and only after 3-4 days does milk begin to appear. It happens that a lot of it arrives at once, and the baby does not have time to empty both breasts. In this case, if mommy feels heaviness, discomfort and a feeling of fullness in the chest, the breasts become hard, then you can express it a little - just until you feel relief. Also, the need to express breasts may arise immediately after childbirth if the baby and mother are separated. To maintain lactation, a woman is forced to imitate the feeding process until the baby begins to fully attach to the breast. Even if the baby is brought to the mother for feeding according to the schedule, he still will not suckle the breast as expected, because newborns in such cases are bottle-fed. If the mother feels that the baby is not sucking or sucking very sluggishly, then she needs to express every time for 10-15 minutes. If, due to long intervals between feedings, a lot of milk accumulates in the breasts, then you can also express, but only a little.
• If blockages and inflammation occur . Sometimes, due to excessive milk secretion or for other reasons, the ducts of the mammary glands become clogged, forming seals. Firstly, it causes pain and discomfort to the woman and can even lead to inflammatory processes. Secondly, blockages make it difficult for the baby to suck, and he may refuse to breastfeed because of this. In this case, the blockage needs to be “strained”.
• If breastfeeding is temporarily impossible . It happens that, for health reasons, the baby is separated from the mother for appropriate therapy, or he is simply very weakened, and natural breastfeeding cannot temporarily be carried out. This happens in a number of other cases: if the mother is sick, if the birth took place with the use of potent medications, if a woman is treating deep cracks in her nipples, if the mother is forced to leave for a while or go to work, etc.. In such situations, milk must be expressed either to preserve lactation for the future, or to continue feeding the baby with breast milk in the absence of the mother, but then it is necessary to adhere to the rules for storing expressed breast milk.
• After fluorography, alcohol, anesthesia . Of course, if the mother’s body has been exposed to harmful effects, then breastfeeding may not be safe. In particular, it is recommended to express milk after taking certain medications, drinking alcohol, or undergoing x-rays. But it is better, of course, to avoid such cases.
• If there is not enough milk . Many young mothers face this problem. Breastfeeding experts assure that it can be solved very simply: a consultation with a competent specialist will put everything in its place. In the meantime, while the lactation process is improving, you can express your breasts after each feeding.
• If there is too much milk . Breasts that are full of milk begin to hurt, and can even become inflamed if the condition remains so for a long time. In this case, you can pump the breast a little, but first you should try to put the baby to the breast more often - perhaps he will solve this problem himself. If it is difficult for your baby to eat because milk leaks a lot, then you can express it a little before feeding.

If milk is expressed for further feeding to a child, then it is necessary to choose the right container for this, study the conditions for storing milk and other nuances, and observe sterility conditions.

Very often mothers have a question: is it possible to express breast milk into already expressed breast milk several times in one bottle? Opinions differ on this matter. Some experts are categorically against this practice, since the milk in each breast may differ in composition. Moreover, even milk expressed from one breast has a different taste and composition if some time has passed between pumping procedures. Other consultants admit this possibility, but at the same time draw attention to the fact that it is impossible to express milk into already expressed milk, but you can only mix different portions of milk with each other, but only after it reaches the same temperature (that is, when freshly expressed milk has cooled ).

What happens if you don't express breast milk?

So, let's summarize. Breast pumping is a very tedious, burdensome, unpleasant, exhausting and often completely unnecessary procedure for a nursing woman. Ideally, expressing breast milk is not necessary, but in some cases it may be useful. Here are a few points to consider:

• The hormone prolactin, which is responsible for lactation, is most actively produced at night. In this regard, in order not to increase the production of breast milk, it is better not to express your breasts between 9 pm and 9 am, and if there is an urgent need for this (for example, your breasts are very full), then express only the minimum.
• Accordingly, if pumping is done to enhance lactation, then it is best to do it around midnight and, of course, put the baby to the breast as often as possible at night.
• If you are producing excess breast milk, you should not express your breasts completely!
• You can resort to expressing breast milk only in isolated, isolated cases, and not on a regular basis. It is not possible for such a need to exist all the time. If there are “indications” for this, then, as a rule, with the right approach, the problem is solved within 2-3 days, a maximum of a week.
• It is not worth expressing breast milk when weaning a baby, since stimulation of lactation (which, in fact, is pumping) is completely inappropriate in this case.

We found out how to know that you need to express your breasts, and in what cases you need to express breast milk. We hope that these tips were useful to you.

Especially for - Margarita SOLOVIOVA

After each feeding, citing the fact that if milk remains in the breast, its quantity will begin to decrease and will not be able to satisfy the baby’s increasing needs. However, today it is known that such tactics are not entirely correct. The fact is that nature itself programmed a woman to breastfeed, so if the baby suckles regularly, milk will begin to flow in the amount that the baby needs at a given period of time.

Therefore, before thinking about how to organize expressing breast milk, it is necessary to ensure that the little one is regularly attached to the breast, and most likely, there will be no need for additional pumping. Moreover, you should not purposefully “accelerate” lactation, trying to increase the amount of milk by constantly pumping your breasts, because this can lead to problems such as mastitis. And the result is a vicious circle - if you don’t express, your breasts begin to hurt a lot, and if you express, then the next time the milk comes in even more. Therefore, if painful sensations and a feeling of fullness arise in the chest, then you can express a little, but do not strive to achieve complete emptying. Better yet, in this case, suggest

When you can't do without pumping

However, there are a number of situations in which pumping is desirable and even necessary. Firstly, this may be necessary in the first days after birth, when the milk comes in so quickly that the baby is simply not able to suck it all out. The most important thing is to remember that in this case you need to express for relief, and not until the breast is completely empty. Gradually, the breasts will adapt to the needs of the baby and everything will return to normal.

Expressing breast milk is also necessary if for some reason the baby cannot be put to the breast (as a rule, this is due to a serious illness of the mother or baby). In this situation, regular pumping maintains milk production and helps you return to breastfeeding later. If the child’s condition does not allow him to breastfeed (for example, due to prematurity or after surgery), then mother’s milk is given to him from a bottle, using a special syringe, or even through a tube. This gives the baby the opportunity to quickly gain strength and restore health.

If a nursing mother is often or periodically absent from home for a long time, then pumping will help ensure that the baby is fed during her absence. Expressed milk, which is much healthier for the baby than the best formula, can be stored in the refrigerator (for two days) or in the freezer (for 3-4 months).

Sometimes expressing breast milk is the only opportunity to organize natural feeding. If a baby has been feeding from a bottle for a period of time, he may subsequently refuse to latch on to the breast. And the mother is faced with a choice - switch to formula or continue to express and feed the baby her milk. Sometimes in such a situation, a consultation with a breastfeeding specialist can help, who will tell you what methods can be used to accustom a toddler to the breast. But such recommendations do not always help, and in addition, they cannot be implemented in all cases.

If for some reason you cannot do without pumping, it is important for the mother to know how to do it correctly (and it is best if they not only tell her how to do it, but also show her in practice). Because incorrect technique for expressing breast milk can lead to various problems: severe pain, congestion and engorgement. You can express either by hand or using a breast pump (mechanical or electric); to facilitate the outflow of milk, before the procedure it is good to drink a cup of warm tea or compote, and also take a warm shower.

There is an opinion among young mothers that to improve lactation, a woman needs to constantly express milk from her breast. Instead of devoting more time to the newborn, such women are forced to pump their breasts after each feeding. However, lactation consultants believe that this is not at all necessary, since the lactation process is best regulated by the child himself. But excessive pumping can lead to hyperlactation, which can cause a lot of inconvenience and problems. Let's try to figure out whether it is necessary to express milk, in what cases and how it should be done.

When should you express milk?

It is believed that a child, by sucking a certain amount of milk from the mother’s breast during feeding, gives the female body a kind of signal about how much milk should be produced in the future. If the baby begins to eat worse, then the amount of milk produced also decreases. Thus, wise nature has provided for the natural regulation of the lactation process.

With normally established lactation, when the baby is fed on demand and he sucks milk well and latches onto the nipple correctly, mother and baby are healthy and feeling well, no additional pumping is required.

However, there are situations in which it is necessary to express milk from the glands. Let's look at the main ones.

• During the formation of lactation, you should express milk after feedings to regulate its production. After the birth of a baby, milk comes in quite intensively, and if the baby does not have time to suck it out completely, then at the next feeding it will be produced in smaller quantities. Therefore, you should express the remaining milk, otherwise it may burn out over time. And when the newborn’s appetite improves, there will be nothing left to feed him. The main thing in this case is not to overdo it and not cause hyperlactation, so you should not express the milk completely, but only until the mammary gland becomes soft. Otherwise, you can end up in a vicious circle, when with each feeding more and more milk will be produced, and it will be necessary to pump the breast longer and harder. It is believed that normal lactation should be established within a week after birth, and during this period you can pump 2-3 times a day.
• In the case of lactostasis, when the milk ducts become blocked and lumps form in the mammary gland, which then become very painful and can cause a fever, you should manually express milk from such areas. It may take several days for such lumps to break down, but if this is not done, mastitis will begin - inflammation of the mammary gland. Once the patency of the ducts has been restored, pumping can be stopped. In the future, you should make sure that the baby sucks each breast well, and if this does not happen, you should finish pumping it yourself.
• During the period of illness of a woman in labor, when she needs to take antibiotics or other medications that can harm the newborn, the baby is not put to the breast, and to maintain lactation, milk is expressed manually. Doctors recommend pumping 6-10 times during the day, with a daytime interval of 3-4 hours and a night interval of 6-7 hours. After you finish taking the medication, you can continue to breastfeed your baby.
• If a baby is born prematurely or with some pathology in which exercise is contraindicated for him (and the sucking process is physical labor for the baby), then he is bottle-fed with expressed mother's milk. If for some reason the newborn is not put to the breast immediately after birth, then pumping should begin within 6 hours after birth. At first, you will be able to express only a few drops of colostrum, but this will give a signal to the body that it needs to increase milk production.
• Sometimes, due to the gland being overfilled with milk, it becomes very hard and the baby cannot latch onto the nipple normally. In this case, you can eliminate the swelling of the gland by expressing a little milk before feeding, and then placing the baby on it.

Tips for a young mother: how to stop breastfeeding quickly and safely

How to express properly?

Milk can be expressed manually or using breast pumps, which, in turn, are mechanical and electric. When using a breast pump, you must carefully monitor its cleanliness and sterilize it before each use to eliminate the risk of pathogenic bacteria developing on its surface. The use of breast pumps by women with cracked nipples is prohibited.

When using a breast pump, you need to ensure that the nipple is located exactly in the center of the funnel, and its edges fit snugly against the skin of the breast. Breast pumps are more effective when the breasts are full, and work less well if they are soft. In this case, women combine pumping: first they use a suction device, and then they pump manually.

Before hand pumping, you should perform a small breast massage.

This will cause the pituitary gland to produce oxytocin, which will dilate the milk ducts and facilitate the movement of milk.

During the pumping process, you should not exert force; all movements should be smooth and light, so as not to damage the milk alveoli. You need to express milk for about 20-30 minutes. If a woman does not have experience in expressing herself, she should seek help from a midwife or nurse while still in the maternity hospital, who will show what movements to massage the glands while expressing milk.

The phenomenon when the mother's body produces more milk than the baby needs is called hyperlactation. To eliminate it, you should reduce the number of pumping sessions. However, this should be done gradually so as not to provoke lactostasis.

The body receives a signal about excessive milk production within 24 hours. Therefore, you first need to stop pumping after night feeding, and express the milk completely during the day so that the breasts are soft. After three days, you can give up one more pumping and gradually increase their number to 1-2 per day. In this way, it will be possible to get rid of excessive production of breast milk in 1-1.5 weeks.

Causes of cracked nipples during breastfeeding

How to store milk

Expressed milk should be stored properly. Of course, you need to collect it in a thoroughly washed and preferably sterilized container. And if it is necessary to preserve it for a long time, the milk must be placed in the refrigerator.

Unlike artificial formulas, human milk contains a large number of protective antibodies that suppress the development of pathogenic bacteria. Therefore, you can safely leave it out of the refrigerator for 2-3 hours until the next feeding, without fear for its quality. If you plan to store milk for a longer time, you need to put it in the refrigerator. And milk that is planned to be stored for more than two days should be frozen in the freezer.

Every woman should master the techniques of manual expression as early as possible, as sooner or later this will come in handy during the process of breastfeeding her baby. In order to learn how to do this correctly, it is advisable to seek help from a medical professional or a more experienced mother. By carefully monitoring the condition of the breast and the process of milk production, you can significantly extend the duration of breastfeeding, which will bring great benefits to both the newborn baby and his mother.