Breastfeeding Your Baby

Expressing Breast Milk

Once mothers have settled into a breastfeeding routine after four to six weeks, some introduce an occasional cup or bottle of pumped or hand‑expressed breast milk. It is important to express breast milk if you miss a feeding. However, babies who get several bottles a day on a regular basis may start to refuse the breast.

You may want to express breast milk:

  • If your baby is unable to breastfeed (ill or in the special care nursery).
  • If you are going to be away from your baby for longer than a few hours.
  • To relieve full breasts so your baby can latch better.
  • If you are going back to work.
  • So your partner can feed the baby after 4 to 6 weeks when your milk supply is well established.

How can you express breast milk?

  • by hand
  • with a hand pump
  • with an electric pump

All bottles, containers, and pump pieces used for expressing milk should be washed daily before use until your baby is three months old. If your baby is preterm or ill, you will also need to disinfect the pump parts once a day using one of the following methods:

  • Put the pump parts in a pot, cover with water, and boil on the stove for 5‑10 minutes.
  • Soak the pump parts for 10 minutes in household bleach Use 250 ml (1 cup) of bleach and 2.25 litres (10 cups) of water. Rinse well with boiled water. Air dry.
  • Use the sani‑cycle on your dishwasher. Place pump parts on the top rack.
Hand Expressing
  • Wash your hands and get comfortable.
  • Have a clean cup, bowl, or jar ready to catch the milk.
  • Gently massage your breast in a circular motion, working from shoulder to nipple.
  • To start the let‑down reflex, roll your nipple between your thumb and finger.
  • Put your hand in a C‑shape on your breast. Put fingers on the bottom and your thumb on the top at the outer edge of the areola.
  • Gently push your thumb and fingers back towards your chest, then squeeze them together while you move them towards the nipple, but do not pinch your nipple.
  • Catch the milk in a clean cup, bowl, or jar.
  • Move your fingers around the areola in a circle to express from different parts of your breast. Press and release, repeat the movement on your breast, and switch between breasts every few minutes.
Storing Breast Milk

Store your expressed breast milk for:

  • Up to four hours at room temperature.
  • 3 days in a fridge that has a room temperature of 0 to 4°C (not in the door of the fridge).
  • 1 month in a freezer compartment that is inside a fridge.
  • Up to 6 months in a separate‑door fridge freezer. Keep milk on the back shelf at a temperature of ‑18°C. Place the date on the freezer bag or container if you are building up a supply.
  • 6 to 12 months in a deep freeze (‑20°C).
Warning about Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used to make a hard, clear plastic known as polycarbonate. In 2008, Canada became the first country in the world to ban the sale of baby bottles that have bisphenol A. Choose glass baby bottles or look for hard plastic bottles made without bisphenol A (“BPA‑free”). Bisphenol A can also be found on the lining of cans of liquid infant formula.

How do I use frozen milk safely?

Always use the oldest milk first. Breast milk can separate when it is frozen. Gently shake to remix once it thaws.

Thaw breast milk by:

  • putting the container in the fridge
  • running the container under warm tap water
  • putting the container in a bowl of warm water

Once milk has thawed, it may be refrigerated up to 24 hours. Do not store at room temperature. Do not refreeze breast milk.

Do not heat breast milk on top of the stove. It can get too hot too fast.

Do not microwave breast milk because the uneven heating can burn your baby’s mouth.

Warm breast milk by:

  • running the container under warm tap water (if using an infant bottle, keep the nipple out of the water)
  • putting the container in a bowl of warm water