Expressing your milk

Expressing milk when your baby cannot nurse – or nurse effectively – protects your milk supply and provides milk to feed them. Breastmilk is especially important for babies who are unwell and/or preterm as it helps protect against illness and infections, and is ideal for a baby’s sensitive and immature digestive system.

Expressing milk is often a short-term solution. However, some mothers may find themselves exclusively expressing breast milk (‘exclusively pumping‘) long-term when their baby is ill or has medical difficulties.