Thinking about Breast feeding ?

Question

When can I start pumping breast milk? after delivery at the hospital ? This is my first experience having a baby.

Answer 1

you can start nursing your baby after delivery . just let the doctor know you want to breastfeed first . let the baby nurse on you so your body will know how much milk it has to produce .  

Answer 2

You can start pumping milk when you like! But I would just try feeding properly first, you don't need to pump!

Answer 3

I'm trying to find out the answer to this question as well. I've heard it's best to nurse for at least a couple of weeks and then start pumping. Check with your hospital or dr. and find out if there are any breastfeeding classes you could look into. That's what I'm doing.

Don't listen to other people. There's nothing wrong with the way you feel. I want to pump for several reasons, his dad wants to be able to feed him, i want to know how much he's getting, i have to go back to work, etc. What does it matter whether your baby's getting it from your breast or a bottle? It's still breast milk.

I've been truly amazed at how judgemental and downright mean people can be on here. Just do what feels best for you and your baby. Good luck!!

Answer 4

They'll tell you its best to wait until your baby is 2 weeks or older to start pumping. That's just because the milk really doesn't come in until later. Your baby needs to nurse at the breast so that your body can start producing the "real" milk.

Answer 5

Great idea to breastfeed straight away the sooner the better cos it can take a few days for you both to get the hang of it.  Dont listen to people who tell you not to pump.  I pumped twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening and daddy did the middle of the night feed with a bottle of my expressed milk allowing me to get a goodnights rest which increased my milk supply.  Then when my baby went through a growth spurt I'd let her feed instead of pumping so that I always had more milk than she needed.  Gina Ford does great advice on this method in her book The Contented Little Baby Book.

Answer 6

Breastfeeding is by definition feeding directly from the breast, bottle-feeding is feeding from a bottle (regardless of what is in the bottle).

If you intend to breastfeed it is best to breastfeed directly for at least the first 4-8 weeks, then you can offer the occasional bottle of pumped milk -but its still preferable to not use a bottle but rather a cup, paladai, or spoon.

Exclusive pumping, or "human milk" feeding is very difficult and not something that should be undertaken lightly.  Certainly for a baby that can not nurse it is the best option.  However there are numerous benefits to breastfeeding directly that mom and baby would miss out on.

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Exclusive Pumping - The Best… Expressed!

(aka: everything you wanted to know about exclusive pumping but didn't know who to ask!)

http://www.mother-2-mother.com/Exclusive...

Answer 7

"When can I start pumping breast milk?"

Why do you want to...? If you're going to breastfeed, _breast_feed; don't mess with pumps and bottles if it's not absolutely necessary.

edit: Be very sure you know what you are signing up for; exclusive pumping is much, much harder than breastfeeding or bottle-feeding with formula. I applaud the decision to not use formula. But no pump is as effective as a baby, and you will likely struggle to maintain a milk supply. Never mind all the work involved in pumping, storing the milk, preparing bottles, etcetera.

Getting in touch with a La Leche League group (http://llli.org/ ) pre-delivery might be useful to you.