Should I be collecting colostrum
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At my hospital and midwife appointments since 34 weeks they have mentioned it and I was booked in for a colostrum harvesting lesson where they explained what to do and gave me a pack. I have tried since 36 weeks and so far hasn’t got anything. I think every trust is different when it comes to harvesting, but mine seems to encourage it
@Abbie I'll definitely ask but I don't have an appointment till next week and what if baby comes early lol 😅 too late then
I was told at 36 weeks to start and midwife gave me syringes and labels etc. however I’ve found it painful and not getting much and also had contractions on Sunday 36+4 so I’m stopping until I see my consultant Thursday as don’t want to trigger early labour as still earlier than I would like baby to come. Definitely discuss with midwife at 36 week appointment 😊
It’s personal choice really- there’s no actual need to if you don’t want to. It’s not recommended before 37 weeks as it can bring on labour. I personally did it first time round (and plan to collect again this time) because I chose to breastfeed and it was handy to have a little stash in case I couldn’t feed straight away (eg. C-section).
Sorry just saw you’re past 37 weeks so yes you can now if you would like to and you’re not high risk for early labour etc
Definitely a personal choice. I EBF my children and harvesting colostrum was never a thing. Only ever heard about it since being pregnant this time. I won’t be doing it. Don’t see the point.
I wasn’t told to do it my midwife said it’s for prem babies and women that have a health issue and are high risk 🤷🏽♀️
Colostrum can be used for way more than just feeding your baby, it’s packed with so many goodies and can fight away skin conditions, sore eyes and so on. It’s really good to harvest if you want to for like someone else said in case of not being able to get close to your baby as soon as they’re born, as you’ll have your back up syringes too. My midwife has said to start on week 37 as it can trigger labour and by this point you’ll be full term and will be safe enough if you was to start labour!! If you don’t have another appointment quick enough, I’d just call your community midwife office and ask for the kit. They should provide you with a load of syringes, labels and a couple of leaflets on how to do it all including links to websites for you to watch too! X
I went for my 34 week midwife appointment and she mentioned to me that at my next appointment she will talk to me about colostrum harvesting and will give me a kit, maybe at your next appointment ask? I am going to start this once I get to 37 weeks and I’ve watched a lot of videos on tik tok/ YouTube to educate myself on this, it has really helped