Exclusive expressing

• If you are exclusively expressing, you’re going to find it easier with quality, hospital grade, double electric pump designed for long-term use. You can hire a hospital-grade electric pump from ABA or you may decide to buy your own. 
• Some mums also buy a smaller personal electric pump to use when they're out but use the hospital grade pump when at home.   

This may depend on the age of your baby and how much breastfeeding they've been doing up till now.  

In the first few days, a newborn baby takes in very small amounts of colostrum each feed (see below). Then when your milk ‘comes in’ after a few days, the volume of milk you make, and what your baby takes increases.

Average intakes of colostrum by healthy, term breastfed babies

From Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Clinical Protocol #3: Supplementary Feedings in the Healthy Term Breastfed Neonate, Revised 2017

• If you are still in the early days, you will need to express at least 8 times each 24 hours to mimic how often a baby breastfeeds.  
• Research has shown that an exclusively breastfed baby between the age of 1 to 6 months drinks an average of 750–800 mL in a 24-hour period (though some babies may only need about 500 mL and others will need 1000mL or more). So if you’re expressing to meet all your baby's needs, you will need to aim for this.   
• The amount of milk babies take from feed to feed can vary and the length of time at the breast doesn't always reflect the amount of milk taken. You may find it helpful to make up smaller bottles (eg about 60mL) and top them up with further small amounts as needed.  
• Once your baby is having solid food, their breastmilk needs may reduce, so you may not need to express as much. However, it’s important to remember that breastmilk remains the most important source of nutrition for your baby’s first 12 months. 

• The amount of time it takes to express may vary, depending on the time of the day, the pump you're using (and the setting on the pump), your expressing technique and your milk flow rate. 
• 15 minutes is a common length of time, but you may need a little more or a little less. 
• Once your milk stops flowing, you can continue to express for a few more minutes, as this often triggers another let-down.
• Pumping for longer than 30 minutes is usually too long and not necessary. 

When you are exclusively expressing, you will be very aware of how much milk you are making, and you will notice even small changes in your supply. Here are some tips if you need to get more milk. 

• Add in a few extra expressing sessions over the course of a 24-hour period. Expressing more often is more effective at increasing supply than longer expressing sessions. 
• Increase the skin-to-skin time spent with your baby. 
• If you continue to pump for a few minutes after your milk flow stops you might get another let-down.
• Try some short pumping sessions close together, to mimic a baby cluster feeding. Pump for 5 to 10 mins at a time but repeat this several times over the course of an hour or two.
• Making use of a pumping bra means you can express hands free, allowing you to do other things while pumping. 
• Use breast compressions to get more milk.
• Finish off each session with a few minutes of hand expressing. This will help to empty your breasts further and increase your milk supply. 
• Using a technique called ‘hands-on pumping’ can help a mum to produce more milk over several expressing sessions.

If you try the above suggestions and still can’t increase your supply enough, there are substances (called galactagogues) that in some cases may help you to boost your milk supply. You may like to discuss the use of galactagogues with your doctor. These substances don’t take the place of extra expressing, you will still need to pump often.