Sometimes it can be useful to know how to express milk by hand. It can help relieve the worst pressure if your breasts feel tense, such as if you get caked breasts or if your baby is overwhelmed by a strong ejection reflex and your milk.

When you express milk by hand, you need to trigger the expulsion reflex. It’s preferable that you feel relaxed for this! Sit comfortably and have your baby close to you (or think about your baby!) and the process is usually easier. It can also help to take a hot shower, but here it can be difficult to collect the milk.

Remember that it is important to have good hand hygiene. Make sure you have washed your hands properly before you start expressing milk by hand. If you want to collect the milk and give it to your baby, it is also important that you collect it in a clean container of some kind.

Shape your hand into a C-grip around your breast. Push your hand back towards your ribcage, then gently squeeze the grip while gently twisting your C-grip and bringing your fingers out towards the nipple. It is important that you try to hold your whole breast so you get all the milk ducts involved for effective milking. You should therefore bring the C-grip backwards, together and forwards.

Don’t forget! Expressing milk by hand should never hurt – be light but firm with your hand. And the more you stimulate your breasts, the more milk will be produced.