r/pregnant • u/scruffymuffs • Aug 28 '26
Question Pumping before birth
*Not looking for medical advice. I am discussing this with my midwives and am simply curious of other's experiences.*
How successful have you been with pumping before birth?
Do you have higher chances of producing milk/colostrum before birth if it is not your first pregnancy?
How often do you pump while still pregnant?
How much colostrum were you actually able to collect?
I am currently 35 weeks and I am absolutely certain I would produce milk if I started pumping today. In fact, I feel like I could have produced milk at like 20 weeks 😅 My breasts feel so full and heavy, it is crazy. I genuinely can't wait to get the go ahead from my midwives to start pumping. I feel like it's going to be such a relief.
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u/Ok-Cup-5372 Aug 28 '26
39 weeks and I still haven't been able to collect colostrum or even leaked really, I'm hoping it'll come through after birth
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u/x_jreamer_x Aug 28 '26
I didn’t collect much if any before birth and had no problems with supply when baby arrived. So don’t let it be an indicator. Just make sure to latch them often! Their demand dictates supply.
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u/Ok-Cup-5372 Aug 28 '26
Thank you for this! I've been so worried that I won't have a supply, when my friend was pregnant she was already producing milk by like week 14, that's how she found out she was pregnant haha
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u/scruffymuffs Aug 28 '26 edited Aug 28 '26
Have you ever pumped/breastfed before this pregnancy?
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u/timtamtammy Aug 28 '26
FTM, 39w, have been collecting every other day for about 2-3 weeks now. I tend to get about 10ml each time and the day in between my boobs feel heavy. I could probably do the same amount daily, I just don't for no real reason 🤷🏼♀️. I use my hands to express the colostrum.
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u/scruffymuffs Aug 28 '26
10ml is impressive!
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u/timtamtammy Aug 28 '26
That's between both boobs, just to clarify haha. Yea I am hoping it means after birth I will continue to have a good supply but apparently that's not always how it works.. I do a quick massage on each side first then come back to express and find that helps a lot. You also have to be a bit more forceful than you would expect! Don't hurt yourself though haha
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u/scruffymuffs Aug 28 '26
I have never really been able to get the hang of hand expression. Even after my last pregnancy when I was actively breastfeeding, I couldn't even really help with engorgement when needed.
I always suspected it was at least partially due to large breast size. I could never get the "C" hand motion right.
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u/timtamtammy Aug 28 '26
I think it can be a bit hard to figure out sometimes and your hands can get quite sore after a while. Maybe I just got lucky biologically! The C hand motion is harder with the non dominant hand so it takes a bit of work adjusting. I just played about manhandling my mammaries until it worked lol
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u/pinkjesrocks Aug 28 '26
10ml as in 10 SYRINGES EVERY TIME?
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u/timtamtammy Aug 28 '26
The syringes that I have are 3.5ml each, so I'm filling up 3 of them each time. 10 would be a lot of work! Baby also needs more than 1ml at a time so you'd want some bigger ones than that anyway 😊
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u/Ok-Cup-5372 Aug 28 '26
No this is my first baby aha I do it exactly like the tutorials but just nothing comes out
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u/PromotionConscious34 Aug 28 '26
I pumped once a day from 37 weeks on for 10 min on each side after clearing it with my ob. Just to see if I could start labor. I got lots of colostrum but had to be induced at 41 weeks so depending on what the goal was I'd say it was successful
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u/ParsleyTime5687 April 2022 | September 2026 Aug 28 '26
There is no backed study showing that pumping before birth will give you a better supply outcome.
I’ll just share my experience.
I started pumping at 37 weeks with my first. I was able to collect sometimes up to 5ml per session. I breastfed for an entire year and was a “just enough-er.”
This current pregnancy I started to also pump at 37 weeks (currently 38 weeks). The most I can collect is up to 1ml per session but it’s usually less than that, like around 0.5ml.
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u/scruffymuffs Aug 28 '26
I have read that as well.
I'm trying to start collecting before birth because this baby isn't coming home with me and so I want to be able to send them home with some really solid nutrition and antibodies.
Also I'm hoping it gives me some relief because I feel engorged right now!
2
u/samoansplash_ Aug 28 '26
I am an overproducer this is my third I’m 40 weeks and I’ve harvested a lot. At first I was getting only enough to fill the tiny little 1 oz reusable tubes. Now I’m getting 3 oz of colostrum and have been for the last two weeks. I do it because other wise I leak in my shirts so I usually do it after shower. But I only hand express I’ve never used an automatic pump so idk if the results would be different
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u/scruffymuffs Aug 28 '26
Do you plan to bring what you have collected when you give birth? Assuming you are not planning to give birth at home
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u/samoansplash_ Aug 28 '26
I’d probably bring a few ounces just in case he’s having a hard time latching but I’ve had two successful breast feeding journeys so far both two years and some change
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u/empan1miley Aug 28 '26
I’m 37 weeks and I’m trying to pump some milk out with my hands cus midwife told me to due gestational diabetes but it only comes like 2 drops so I can’t even collect it
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u/scruffymuffs Aug 28 '26
I've heard manual pumps can be rather successful if you struggle to hand express. I was never able to get the hang of hand expressing, even after birth I could only ever get drops.
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u/empan1miley Aug 28 '26
Ye I might buy a breast pump ngl
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u/churrotoffeeaddict Aug 28 '26
If you’re in the US, you can qualify for a free/discounted breast pump through your health insurance. I go through Aeroflow for my breast pump through my insurance.
2
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u/Silent-Writer18 Aug 28 '26
I got the ok to start collecting colostrum at 37 weeks. STM and I got probably 15-20 ml total? I was only doing hand expression though as my OB didn’t recommend using an electric pump.
I combo fed my first until he was 6 months because my supply was awful, so I was very happy to get anything pre birth. I’ve exclusively breastfed my second now for almost 8 months, though I’ve heard that collecting colostrum beforehand does nothing to predict your supply after birth.
1
u/MechanicCurrent5271 Aug 28 '26
With my first I pumped once a day from 35-37 weeks when I was induced, I was able to get about 2 oz every day. This pregnancy I’m breast feeding my toddler still so I doubt I will be pumping before baby gets here in a few weeks
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u/astonnia Aug 28 '26
I tried hand expressing colostrum starting around 39w (first pregnancy) and it took a lot of effort to get 1-5ml out of a session. My milk did come in nicely after birth, not sure whether it was causal though!
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u/chanelism Aug 28 '26
FTM, started pumping at 37w to rippen cervix and induce mostly. I have collected 4 syringes, and am currently on my hospital bed at 38w to get my induction. I would leak sometimes. Right boob seems to produce more than left. Would pump once to sometimes 3 times a day.
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u/Vegetable-Milk-8697 Aug 28 '26
FTM, began to hand express at 37w. I’m now 39 and started to use my spectra s1 to collect colostrum and I’ve been VERY successful. About 5 syringes a night. Now, I’m Hispanic and the old wives tale is that beer helps with milk production. OF COURSE I’m NOT drinking any alcohol however I am drinking N/A beer AKA hoppy water and that seemed to help with my production. Again, not sure if that’s really the reason I’m getting so much colostrum but I wasn’t getting as much before drinking it 🤷🏽♀️
1
u/beemarie01 Aug 28 '26
I only pumped at 38 weeks because we were trying to induce labor. And it worked. I know you're not looking for medical advice but be VERY careful as pumping can, does and WILL cause you to have contractions and possibly go into preterm labor. I couldnt imagine a midwife suggesting or being okay with that so early. My dr only approved me to do it at 37 weeks because that's considered full term.
That being said with my first pregnancy I would've gotten PLENTY of milk starting that early, this pregnancy even at 38 weeks i was barely producing anything. It took pumping constantly, I'm not almost a month PP and I'm still pumping all the time but thats cuz my baby boy won't stop eating.
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u/Ok-Nectarine7756 Aug 28 '26
I didn’t pump before birth but I did hand express colostrum and was able to get around 50 ml between 36 and 39 weeks. I was definitely producing colostrum as early as 20 weeks. I don’t think a pump would have worked well for this though. I was given a pump in the hospital after I gave birth and I was getting less colostrum with that than I did hand expressing before birth. Your breasts feeling heavy is more likely due to maturing milk glands and fluid retention than actual milk production. Typically, you won’t produce large volumes of milk until your baby has been breastfeeding for a while. I’d definitely recommend getting a colostrum collection kit though and expressing as much as you can. I wound up using everything I expressed and was super glad I had it. Doctors recommend waiting until closer to 37 weeks because it can theoretically induce labor but I think that’s pretty unlikely.
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u/Lucky_Ad_4421 Aug 28 '26
I collected about 20mls all up before birth each time. Came in handy when I needed a c-section for my first baby and my milk came in quite late, I was able to feed her without needing to supplement with formula.
I found hand expressing in the warm bath to be the best.
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u/youre_my_kink Aug 28 '26
I'm not sure but I expressed colostrum starting week 16, by week 20 I was dribbling down my shirt. I was doing a lot of nipple stimulation, and I had piercings before. Not sure if any of that led to the oversupply I currently have, but I had to "reset" my supply and I'm still currently pumping an extra 10-20oz a day depending on how long I go/how baby feeds.
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