Some mums choose to express colostrum before birth
It is possible to express your colostrum while you are still pregnant and freeze it so you can feed it to your newborn baby, if necessary. This is called 'antenatal expressing'.
Colostrum is the first fluid made by your breasts from about the 16th week of pregnancy. It contains vital immune factors and helps to colonise your baby’s gut with healthy bacteria that protect against allergy and disease.
When might it be helpful to express colostrum?
Most mothers are able to breastfeed their baby soon after birth.
However, for various reasons, some babies may need more fluids after birth than they can get directly from their mother. To avoid using formula in these situations, some mums like to have their own colostrum ready to give to their baby.
Your midwife or obstetrician may suggest antenatal expressed colostrum particularly in the following situations.
Diabetes
If you have diabetes during pregnancy, your baby is at risk of low blood sugar after birth. Receiving extra colostrum at this time can help your baby’s blood sugar level to stabilise
Other conditions
Some conditions may make it hard for a baby to breastfeed well, at least in the early days, for example, babies with cleft lip and/or palate, or a neurological or cardiac condition. If your baby is diagnosed before birth with one of these conditions, you may like to express colostrum before baby is born so you will have it on hand if needed.
Before expressing colostrum antenatally, it is important to discuss this with your midwife or obstetrician.
Is antenatal expressing safe?
A large Australian study (the DAME study) showed that women with diabetes and a low-risk pregnancy can safely express breastmilk (colostrum) in late pregnancy without causing harm to their babies. It also found that the babies of some first-time mothers who expressed colostrum during pregnancy were less likely to receive formula in the first 24 hours of life.
Check with your midwife or obstetrician before expressing to make sure it is a safe option for you.
When and how to express colostrum
Most women are advised to wait until late in their pregnancy before starting to express. Colostrum is thick and small in volume, so expressing by hand often works best. Colostrum can be expressed onto a spoon or into a small cup. Drops can also be sucked up directly from the nipple with a syringe.
Our page on hand expressing explains how to collect colostrum in more detail. Your midwife will also help you.
1. National Health and Medical Research Council 2012, Infant feeding guidelines: Summary. Canberra, ACT: National Health and Medical Research Council.
2. Forster DA, Moorhead AM, Jacobs SE, Davis PG, Walker SP, McEgan KM, Opie GF, Donath SM, Gold L, McNamara C, Aylward A, Ford R, Amir LH 2017, Advising women with diabetes in pregnancy to express breastmilk in late pregnancy (Diabetes and Antenatal Milk Expressing [DAME]): a multicentre, unblinded, randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 389(10085): 2204-2213.
Learn more to prepare for breastfeeding
Attend any of our online interactive pre-birth sessions or look out for our special session for mums with diabetes
Breastfeeding Preparation Session
The information on this website does not replace advice from your health care provider.
