I do breastfeeding support, and it occurred to me recently that I create a small mountain of content each year just in the email replies I write to mothers, grandmothers, friends and family. If only there were a simple way to archive such content and index it so that it's available to more than just the one mom I helped that day? Hmm...
So this is the first in an occasional series of random bits and parts of breastfeeding answers. A few standard disclaimers: these are offered for information and support purposes only. I am not a medical professional, you should contact your health care professional with any medical questions. However I and the volunteers who work in this field as I do are experienced in the things that happen in the normal course of breastfeeding. Please feel free to ask any of your common breastfeeding questions via the comments section or personal email.I will always remove any personal details from the notes I post. If by doing so, something gets lost in the translation, please let me know and I'll clarify.
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Now, onto the regularly scheduled program: When is a good time to start pumping? (Context: Asked by a very recently-delivered second-time mom who has some slight engorgement and is not returning to work for a while.)If you don’t need to save milk for any specific upcoming separation, I’d suggest you wait for at least a month until breastfeeding is well established. Pumping early when you’re trying to get your supply in balance with your baby’s needs can be tricky, as you can pump too much and make any strong letdown or abundant supply worse.
For managing engorgement, have you heard me suggest cabbage leaves before? It’s a little crazy sounding, but there’s some evidence that a substance in green cabbage leaves has anti-inflammatory properties. Just take a leaf, crush it slightly in your hand to break the veins (the substance is in there) and stick in your bra. Yes, you’ll smell like cabbage but it’s very temporary and worth a good chuckle. Only leave the leaves in until they wilt – 30 mins or so. Bonus – when the cabbage is cold from the fridge it feels refreshing on sore breasts!If you feel like you need to pump because baby can’t latch on, or because you’re so engorged, try pumping only for a few minutes, 2 or 3, just until the breast softens a bit. You could also hand express to achieve the same effect, collecting any milk in a glass measuring cup (seems to work well for transferring to a storage device later.) Only do this for a few days to get through engorgement, and only do it on feedings where you feel like baby can’t latch because the breast is so full/taut.
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