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Breast milk undeniably provides the best nutrition and vitamins for your baby needs - the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Paediatrics recognises this and even recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months.
As well as health benefits to baby, there is the added bonus of benefits to mum as well – believe it or not breast feeding can help mum lose the extra kilos she put on in pregnancy and experts have discovered breast feeding may also give added protection against breast cancer, ovarian cancer and type 2 diabetes
So you have made the decision to breastfeed, but that raises the question; how do you breast feed when you want to return to work, or have that little bit of “me time” you have been longing for, allowing Dad to bond early? The answer is expressing your own breast milk to use for later.
There are two ways to express your own milk:
1. By hand
2. By a Breast Pump – such as the TensCare Nouri range.
With improving technology, option 2 has now become the method of choice for most women – in fact a recent US study indicated 92% of mums now use a breast pump - Clearly most mothers are expressing milk, having discovered the huge range of benefits both to the baby, themselves and those caring.
Expressing allows someone to take over that important job of feeding the baby. As a father I recall the excitement I got from feeding my own son for the first time when my wife was out enjoying time with her friends. It gives you an opportunity as a father to bond with your child in a very special way.
Returning to work is a choice for many mothers and a necessity for others. Expressing milk for the baby’s carer allows mum to return to work safe in the knowledge that baby is receiving the best nutrition possible.
There are also some mothers who have had difficulty breastfeeding and expressing by a breast pump means that they do not need to turn to formula for their babies.
There are two types of breast pump – manual and electric – the TensCare Nouri range offers both types.
Manual breast pumps rely on the mother hand pumping the milk.
Electric breast pumps are more costly but have the advantage of saving valuable time expressing the milk and require less effort. Some pumps, such as the TensCare Nouri Duo, can express milk from both breasts at the same time.
Modern, better quality electric breast pumps can also stimulate the Let Down Reflex which enables milk to start flowing – manual breast pumps simply cannot do this. Both electric breast pumps from the TensCare Nouri range have a Massage Mode which mimics baby’s faster sucking to stimulate the Let Down Reflex, mum can then switch to Expression Mode which is a slower pumping when the milk begins to flow.
Once milk has been expressed, it can be stored either in the fridge up to 4 days or frozen for up to 6 months. You can then defrost the breast milk for use later in the same day. For use straight away, stand the container in warm water. Or you can simply use a bottle and baby food warmer. Once milk has been warmed, it must be used in an hour or thrown away. Never be tempted to keep it for a feed later.
Good Hygiene is never more important than when it comes to milk for a baby, and there are a few simple hygiene precautions to consider when expressing using a Breast Pump. Careful cleaning of the breast pump and its parts is important to prevent contaminating the milk. The Nouri manual clearly explains how to properly clean Nouri and the device can even be cleaned in a dishwasher.
With the help of a Tenscare Nouri breast pump, you can not only give your baby the very best in nutrition using your own breast milk, but you can also give yourself extra valuable time and flexibility while allowing the other parent to have precious bonding time.
References:
1)Kramer MS, Kakuma R. Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 8. Art. No.: CD003517. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003517.pub2. Accessed 03 February 2022.
2) World Health Organization. (2001). Report of the expert consultation of the optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding, Geneva, Switzerland, 28-30 March 2001 (No. WHO/NHD/01.09). World Health Organization.
3) C G Victora et al Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
The Lancet, Volume 387, Issue 10017,2016, Pages 475-490
4) Breastfeeding Medicine Vol. 10, No. 9Perspective
Breasts, Pumps and Bottles, and Unanswered Questions
Julia P. Felice and Kathleen M. Rasmussen
5) Kathleen M. Rasmussen and Sheela R. Geraghty, 2011:
The Quiet Revolution: Breastfeeding Transformed With the Use of Breast Pumps
American Journal of Public Health 101, 1356_1359, https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300136
6) Labiner-Wolfe J, Fein S, Shealy KR, Wang C. Prevalence of breast milk expression and associated factors. Pediatrics. 2008;122(suppl 2):S63–S68.
