I saw a lactation consultant at 38 weeks to learn to use my pump as this was my first. She told me not to start pumping until the baby is born and not till my milk came in. She said if by day 2 I'm not noticing much of an increase then I could pump to help my milk come in.
I was told milk doesn’t come in until day 4 or 5(postpartum). I pumped at the hospital and got a little bit of colostrum out, but my actual milk didn’t come in until day 5.
I got a Hospital Grade one from WIC when I had my daughter.
Milk production is triggered by birthing the placenta. You might get colostrum in pregnancy but whether you do or not has zero impact on milk supply post birth
What I can recommend is my doctor recommended to do hand expression after 37 weeks. You can check out "more milk sooner" on YouTube to learn about hand expression. At this stage, you may get colostrum, and hand expression will help in breast stimulation and help you get milk sooner after you give birth.
I was told not to pump until after I delivered the baby. Maybe things changed?..
You should wait until your doctor tells you it is okay (you can bring this up), and I would most likely wait to use an electric pump as it can help bring on labor (I know you’re full term then but maybe baby isn’t ready yet) And milk does not fully come in until a few days after the baby is born so what you get now won’t be a good indicator