Going back to work, a premature birth, the desire to take an evening for yourself, wanting to feed your child with breast milk but not necessarily from the breast... There are many reasons to opt for breast pumping and they come from different sources (medical, personal or professional).

Still, for many of you, breast pumping is perceived and experienced as complicated: which breast pump to choose? How often should you pump your milk? How to stimulate your breasts to pump more?
Don't panic, Tajinebanane will guide you.

Oxytocin will be your best friend in pumping sufficient quantities of milk. This happy hormone promotes milk production and ensures a steady flow. Adrenaline, on the other hand, is the enemy of oxytocin: it slows down the ejection reflex. The priority is therefore serenity.

‣ RSave photos/videos of your baby or listen to recordings of their little voice.

‣ Hydrate well, treat yourself with things you like (find different recipes in Julia Simon's book Bien vivre le quatrième trimestre au naturel) and be as relaxed as possible to release oxytocin, which stimulates the milk ejection reflex.

‣ Apply warm compresses to your chest and massage it gently before and during the expression of milk.

‣ Find the ideal time to express your milk and stick to it so that your body can get used to the new demands.

Good to know Breastfeeding: even at work, you have the right to take breaks to express your milk and create a little cocoon. Read our article on how to continue breastfeeding when you return to work here

The best time is not the same for every woman; you just have to try. Julie Longy, IBCLC lactation consultant shares her recommendations:

‣ You can do the first pumping session after the morning feed. The feeds are more spaced out at night and the amount of milk available in the breasts is therefore greater when you wake up.

‣ You can express your milk a second time around noon, during your lunch break, before or after.

‣ Repeat a session between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. if you leave work later than 6:00 p.m.; otherwise, you can wait until you get home to your baby.

In the evening and on your days off, you can maintain your usual feeding schedule. Some moms like to maintain a pumping session after the morning feed on their days off, but do as you wish.Nothing is mandatory.

Not all breast pumps are the same: between those available for rent or for sale, single or double, electric or manual, it is difficult to choose. Read our article Breast pump: the right equipment to learn more. Spoiler alert: if the breast pump is your plan, we advise you to get help and/or to buy a high performance breast pump. If the breast pump becomes painful or restrictive, it will be difficult for you to keep up.

If you watch your baby suckle, you will notice that he or she will suckle more frantically at first, until the milk comes out, then more slowly. It's the same with a breast pump. So most breast pumps have 2 functions:

• a stimulation phase, with a low aspiration and a sustained rhythm

• an expression phase, with a stronger aspiration and a slower rhythm

Start at the lowest level and gradually increase the suction level until you feel a little discomfort. At this point, decrease the suction force a little. It may take several minutes for the first drop to flow.
Some connected breast pumps, like the Elvie Pump, automatically adjusts itself.