Expressing colostrum before c-section

Couldn't even get a drop out which annoyed me to no end haha. I got like half a drop once but not enough to even go into the syringe and that was it but my baby latched straight on and my milk came in on day 3. If you can't harvest it, it isn't the end of the world so please don't stress like I did lol

I tried so hard to harvest colostrum and put so much pressure on myself and didn’t manage to get any at all prior to c-section! Had absolutely no issues with breastfeeding, milk came in on day 4pp, I was pumping every 2ish hours from when I got home from Hospital, I ended up getting a lot of colostrum before milk came in post-surgery x

Not everyone is able to get colostrum by expressing but i 100% recommend trying. For me it helped if i kissed my partner, relaxed and watched something funny to get the oxytocin flowing. But don't be so hard on yourself if you don't get any it does not mean you will not be able to breastfeed.

I got nothing and am currently on week 5 of breastfeeding had 0 issues I wouldn't worry 🙂

It has nothing to do with your milk supply! Please dont stress. I could only get a few drops out, not enough to collect and had/have had bo issues feeding. Bub is EBF and has been for 5 months so far!

I didn’t make a drop of colostrum before either births. Had two sections and both times I had zero problem feeding my babies in the recovery room right after theatre. Your colostrum or lack of is no indication of what your supply will be. For most the hormones required to trigger lactation doesn’t happen till the placenta is out xx

I had a c section in 2023 and I wasn't able to collect colostrum but I was still able to breast feed.

I went to workshop in the hospital for 3 weeks before my c section and it really helped they gave me syringes and 1-1 guidance and I managed to get about 15 syringes in the 3 weeks. Maybe ask your hospital if they have this for you to attend it really helped me x

I didn’t get any until after I’d given birth (emergency section) & I successfully exclusively breastfed for 16 months! Don’t worry too much!

I had an emergency c section and didn’t collect colostrum as we didn’t have a freezer at the time with my first and still managed to breastfeed:)

I couldn’t get a drop until the next day after my son was born then it all came no issue! Don’t worry about doing it before my baby didn’t need it’

I didn’t try because going into labor would have been really dangerous. I struggled a bit with milk coming in, but the c section made me very nauseous and vomity, so I hadn’t eaten anything for like two days. Supplemented with formula for a couple of days and now am on month four of exclusively breastfeeding :)

A lot of my friends did and I think it’s definitely worth it because he’ll have some to give to baby, which is super beneficial. Just keep it in a syringe you collected in or you get a lot storage and freeze. It’ll be great for your baby and hopefully it would help your milk come in sooner! I also had a C-section definitely have Tylenol and Advil at home and get something for pain from the doctor if you need it and congrats on your little one :)

As everyone else has said I wouldn’t worry too much about it, as it has no correlation to your milk supply. I really struggled. I did manage to collect some but no more than 1.5ml at a time, so I ended up with around 20ml in total and used about half in hospital until baby had established a good latch

It took me so long to just express 0.5ml when I was trying before baby arrived, I had to do multiple sessions throughout the day. I’m now nearly 10 weeks post partum and if anything I think I’ve got a bit of an over supply! I also didn’t even use the colostrum it’s still in the freezer so it was a complete waste of time and stress. Wish I’d believed people when they said having problems expressing colostrum wouldn’t mean I’d produce no/not enough milk

I got about 30ml of colostrum I started at 36 weeks ordered colostrum syringes on Amazon and expressed gently sometimes I’d get more colostrum then others and had baby at 38 weeks via caesarean. Don’t be like me and force the cap on the syringe as colostrum sprayed all over the nursery ceiling hahahaha

You can also get the syringes from a pharmacy :) and 30 ml is awesome!