Does Collecting Colostrum Cause Oversupply?
This feels like such a stupid question, but in the last few days I've started collecting colostrum, and I'm just wondering if it can lead to an oversupply in colostrum/milk if I'm getting a lot?
It's been 3 days (I express twice a day for 10min each session) and so far I've had:
Day 1: 8mL
Day 2: 15.5mL
Day 3 (morning only): 20mL
Will the amount just keep increasing? Should I skip a few days here and there? Will skipping days cause clogged ducts? Is there a certain amount I should aim to collect before birth and then stop collecting?
Also I know the general recommendation is to hand express colostrum, but is there any reason to not use a pump?
Any advice would be much appreciated!! TIA ❤️
No it shouldn’t create an over supply. It’s recommended to hand express every other day. The reasons for not using a pump is that stimulation can possibly lead to labour and that you may lose some of the colostrum in the mechanism as colostrum can be quite thick. In my experience, the pump was easier and I didn’t lose any at all. Nor did it start any sort of labour. I went overdue despite pumping colostrum from 38 weeks