When I had my daughter I had a lot of trouble producing enough milk for her. I had to take a doctor prescribed medication in order to assist me with making enough milk.
With such a shortage in production, I was unable to effectively pump any breast milk for my daughter. I tried manual and electric breast pumps, but just could not make enough milk to pump anything more than an ounce or two. Therefore, I feel that my ability to share any knowledge about breast pumps is very limited and simply inadequate.
When I was contact by Trusted Breast Pumps I was excited. I checked out their website and thought that their products appear to be very high quality and they state that their products are BPA free. Their site is very informative also.
Trusted Breast Pumps editor Richard Winer offered to provide Expecting Mom an article about breast feeding and breast pumps to help assist in providing my readers with the information that I felt that I just could not provide. Therefore, please read the below article that was provided by Trusted Breast Pumps. Please provide comments on the article so I receive feedback on the article. I traditionally write all my own articles and would like to know what my readers think of Expecting Mom using guest writers.
Make sure you check out the Trusted Breast Pumps website and tell Expecting Mom what you think. We love hearing from all our readers and visitors.
Breast Compression and its Benefits
Breast compression is a physical practice undertaken by some breastfeeding mothers who feel that their babies are not properly feeding at their breasts. Its basic purpose is to ensure the continuation of breast milk to the baby when it stops drinking on its own in a natural way; open-pause-suck style. Sometimes, the baby is not feeding properly at the breast and while the mother may not be able to figure out the reason for it, breast compression may facilitate the baby’s feeding procedure especially in the first couple of weeks of breastfeeding. The baby may also exhibit signs that may suggest the need of breast compression; the baby may be gaining weight slowly or poorly, the breastfeeding baby may be suffering from colic (a state of inconsolable state of crying), frequent or long feedings, or may fall asleep quickly while nursing. The mother on the other hand may be experiencing sore nipples or blocked milk ducts in the breasts.
Mothers should try breast compression as a change in nursing practice to relieve any of these conditions before trying anything else. If breastfeeding is going perfectly fine for the mother and the baby, then breast compression is not required; the mother should offer the baby her first breast, let it suck sufficient milk and if even after this, the baby feels hungry then offer the second breast. Breast compression can work pretty well in the first few days after birth when the baby is required to get the part of mother’s milk called Colostrum which is needed to build the baby’s immune system. Apart from compression, the baby needs to have a good latch onto the breast to get a sufficient part of this healthy new milk.
The breast compression activity stimulates a letdown reflex or causes a natural let down reflex to take place, it is also called milk ejection reflex. The hormone Oxytocin causes the muscles to squeeze out milk during the first weeks of breastfeeding, as a response to the feeding baby. Sometimes, milk is also ejected involuntarily, this is known as leakage and can cause embarrassment in public; however nursing pads can be used to avoid this situation. Usually, a baby with a good latch can get sufficient milk and even a baby with a poor latch can get milk if the milk flows rapidly and abundantly. During the first couple of weeks, babies tend to fall asleep at the breast; this is not always an indication of a satisfied tummy. Babies may even pull away from the breast if the milk flow slows down, therefore, breast compression can ensure a continued flow of milk in times like these. Babies who latch on poorly may be gaining weight but they can get colic, they might want to stay at the breast but will suck only a small amount of milk and the mother might get sore nipples from a poor latch too. Therefore, in all these situations, breast compression can ensure that milk continues to reach the baby even if it starts to fall asleep, providing it with more milk with fat and rich nutrients.
In order to compress the breast, hold the baby with one arm, and with the other arm hold the breast with the thumb on the upper side of the breast. The fingers should be on the lower side, away from the nipple so as to not get in the baby’s way. Observe the way the baby sucks, usually with the open-pause-close suck the baby gets sufficient milk. When the baby is demonstrating a poor latch or starts nibbling on the nipple, compress the breast gently keeping the hand away from the areola. The milk supply with start coming out in a strong flow and the baby will automatically start drinking again; the pressure must continue to feed the baby.
During breast compression, if the pressure is gently reduced as you continue to breastfeed, the baby might stop feeding. However, as the supply of milk builds up and starts flowing smoothly, your baby will start feeding again. This practice can be continued until the baby is fully satisfied or stops feeding in which case, the mother can change breasts and offer the second one to the baby. The baby can learn to get a proper grip onto the breast during this procedure as well. Alternatively, the mother can use breast pumps like Medela Style or Pump Style Advanced to pump a little amount of milk before feeding; this activity also encourages a continued flow of milk for the duration of the breastfeeding session and increases milk production by the breasts.
