What is Colostrum?
Colostrum is a thick milky substance with a slightly golden hue which is produced by a pregnant woman's breasts before the baby is born. It is the first thing the baby will eat after they are born, assuming they are being breastfed. Colostrum is thick and full of antibodies and nutrients that help your baby reduce their risk of jaundice. It helps keep the baby full and nourished until mom's milk comes in.
Should I collect colostrum?
You should definitely check with your doctor first, but in general the answer is YES! In the last few weeks of pregnancy (37+weeks), collecting colostrum and freezing it can help a mom become more familiar with their breasts and how to manually express milk, and can provide a starting supply for baby so that mom can rest easy after delivery knowing that baby will not have anything get in their way of eating in the first couple days.
We never want to plan for the worst, but having colostrum already expressed and frozen can benefit your baby if they're unable to breastfeed during the first couple days, or if mom is having trouble with the supply/demand for twins/triplets. We had an uncomplicated caesarean delivery, but with my daughter having an incredibly difficult time latching it gave us the time we needed to keep her fed and also work on her latch. It turns out she just needed a little time to grow into breastfeeding.
When do I collect colostrum? How often?
Check with your doctor first, but I was able to start collecting colostrum at 37 weeks gestation. I sat down for about 5-10 minutes in the morning and at night every day (while my husband was out walking our dog) expressing into a clean/sanitized medicine cup and then storing it in syringes. I started out with this colostrum collection kit from Haaka, and then ended up purchasing these syringes when I saw just how much I was able to produce. The nurses in the mother/infant unit at my delivering hospital were quite pleased to see how much of a stock I was able to bring for the arrival of my little one!
Would I do it again?
ABSOLUTELY! This saved my breastfeeding journey. I had an absolutely miserable time trying to get my little girl to latch after delivery, and the lactation consultants were no help. They made me feel guilty for not being able to get it right, and did not offer many solutions besides "it will get easier when your milk comes in." If I did not have my own colostrum to be able to feed to my baby, I would have had a difficult time avoiding supplementing with formula, since the stress the lactation consultants had me under was making my production dip and my pumping sessions lacking. I will always recommend it if it's possible, and I will absolutely do it again for every pregnancy!
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