27/12/2022
Ever wondered why some families choose to harvest their colostrum during their pregnancy?
Colostrum is packed full of nutrients and protective factors that are ideal for babies small tummies, meaning even if you choose not to breastfeed, colostrum could be a great way of kick starting baby's immunity. It's super easy for baby's to digest, and helps seed a healthy gut micobiome. Colostrum is highly concentrated and so young babies only need very small volumes. Most newborn babies need approx 5-7ml of colostrum per feed in the earliest days of life.
Harvested Colostrum can help sleepy babies who may find latching tricky, those who have low blood glucose, or those who are taking a little longer to learn to breastfeed.
The success of harvesting colostrum has zero correlation to the success of a breastfeeding journey and volumes achieved certainly do not indicate a mother's milk supply, but it can be a useful skill to practise before the baby is born and is seen as safe to practise from 35-37 weeks of pregnancy.
https://www.laleche.org.uk/antenatal-expression-of-colostrum
