Breast Pumps

Hi there,

I am after some advice on breast pumps. I have had 3 previous c-sections and never had any milk come in. This time around my midwife has asked me to try use a breast pump and see if that brings my milk in. Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue or if you have any advice on type of breast pump or anything that I can do to help boost my milk supply to try and breatfeed this time around.

Thanks in advance

Hi,

I can offer advice on a great breast pump. I used the Medela swing breast pump. I purchased this one after doing a bit of research and on the advice of others. It is compact, easy to clean and simple to use. I needed it as I had to express during my breaks at work so my son had milk for the next day. Very handy!
When I bought it I practiced with it a few times to get the feel for it and to feel confident with operating it.

I hope everything goes well for you :)

Hi there, I was in the exact same situation as you. With my first son I did not make even one drop of milk for him. Nothing came out in the shower, when I hand expressed, even when I pumped with a hospital grade pump after birth - nothing worked. Regretfully we ended up formula feeding him but he is a happy and healthy 2.5 year old now so I have come to terms with that decision :)

With my second pregnancy I was told by my midwife that I should pump 5 times a day, four weeks out from my due date and also take 5W herbal pills which encourage milk production. Once my son was born I put him to the breast so he could hopefully get some colostrum, again my breasts didn't seem like there was much there. I was told to take blessed thissle 4 times a day and pump 5 times per day and put baby to the breast as often as possible for as long as possible (he had a posterior tongue tie which made it unbearable to feed him).

By day 5 still no milk.I decided to up the pumping to 10 times per day for 20mins each pump (at the time I had a medela mini electric) so ended up sitting on the pump for an hour each time with little rests in between.

I was so determined to keep going. I eventually got my first drop of milk when he was 7 days old, Yay! I hand expressed 5 ml out for bubs which took about 10mins! But I was so excited.

With all the problems with my sons tongue and latch and constant visits from lactation consultant and midwife I decided to express feed him. I kept up with the 10 pumps per day for 4 weeks and have just dropped down to 8 pumps per day. My son is nearly 6 weeks old and I have been feeded him exclusively with breast milk :)

It is like a full time job but it has been so worth it. From 2 weeks old I started using a medela freestyle pump, quite costly though.

I hope you are able to put bubs to the breast becasue that will definitely easier. Both times I tried to put him back on he couldn't get the milk out effectively and I ended up in hospital with mastitus twice - ouch. If you do end up pumping exclusively though I recommend the freestyle - I still have a toddler to run around after so I need to be mobile :)

All the best