Colostrum Expression during Pregnancy

(U.S. Breastfeeding Committee)

According to Dr. Sears, a woman’s breasts will start producing colostrum beginning at about 16-22 weeks of pregnancy. Colostrum contains a concentrated amount of nutrients and antibodies and is all that is necessary for most healthy, full term babies in the first few days of life.

More recently, there has been a trend for pregnancy women to express colostrum before their babies are born. Unless a pregnant woman is high risk, has a history of pre-term labor, or has been recommended by her doctor not to express her milk, it is typically fine to do so. However, it is also not required. Many, many women exclusively breastfeed from birth without having expressed colostrum during pregnancy.

One special circumstance when it might be beneficial is if the woman has gestational diabetes. In this case, the baby is at increased risk for hypoglycemia. One research study found that collecting colostrum before birth can potentially reduce supplementation. Another circumstance is if the mother is type 1 diabetic. In this situation, the baby is also at increased risk for hypoglycemia after birth. I did find an interesting case study on the topic. If you know your baby has a cleft lip or palate, that might be another instance where expressing colostrum during pregnancy will reduce supplementation after birth.

If you are interested in learning more about collecting colostrum, here is a well written article on the topic from Cambridge University Hospitals. Most lactation consultants and health care providers recommend waiting until after 37 weeks of pregnancy. It is recommended that you hand express (as opposed to using a pump) and only for a few minutes a few times per day. Also, if you start having uterine contractions, discontinue immediately. Please discuss antenatal colostrum expression with your healthcare provider before deciding if it is right for you.

Written by Gina Peterson