Do I Need To Express Colostrum Before Birth?
Prenatal colostrum harvesting involves expressing colostrum, usually through hand expression, before birth and freezing for later use.
Not everyone is able to express enough milk to store while pregnant and this does not mean anything about your supply. Your body is not supposed to make copious milk until after your baby has been delivered. During pregnancy, progesterone in your placenta blocks prolactin (milk making hormone) so the breasts remain in the early stages of milk production with very little, if any, produced.
Prenatal colostrum collection has become increasingly common especially due to the impact of social media and more parents feel pressure to include this as part of their preparation for birth.
There is no substantive research indicating that prenatal colostrum collection can increase postpartum milk supply. However, it can increase confidence in milk expression prior to delivery and the collected milk can be used to supplement baby at birth, especially in cases where parents are already at risk for low supply or delayed supply increase (ex. diabetes, C-Section, PCOS, etc.)
If you are interested in collecting colostrum prior to birth, a few considerations:
If you supplement your baby with colostrum, you must continue to remove milk at the same time if your goal is to have a full milk supply. Some parents feel the need to use every last drop they bring to the hospital, even if baby is latching well and not showing any signs of low intake, so this causes baby to miss out on valuable time at the breast.
If you are not able to express even a drop of milk before birth, that does not mean anything about your supply, other than that your placenta is doing its job!! Your body is smart, and it is not interested in feeding a baby who has not yet arrived. Milk supply is built after birth, not before. A better indicator of postpartum milk supply while pregnant is noticing breast changes (areolas darkening, breasts feeling larger/heavier) as these are all signs that your body is preparing to make milk.
While hand expression is unlikely to lead to preterm labor in an uncomplicated pregnancy, always discuss colostrum collection, especially prior to 36 weeks, with your healthcare provider as nipple stimulation can cause uterine contractions due to the release of oxytocin.
Always be gentle with your breasts when expressing your milk! There have been cases of prenatal mastitis caused by overly forceful expression techniques. Breasts are glandular organs and should not be aggressively massaged.
Have more questions or want to schedule a prenatal lactation consultation to discuss if prenatal colostrum collection would be a good fit for you? Schedule a virtual or in person consultation today!
References:
Simonsen MB, Bentzen SB, Möller S, Holm KG, Vinter CA, Zachariassen G. Safety of antenatal breastmilk expression from week 34 of pregnancy: a randomized controlled pilot study (the Express-MOM study). Matern Health Neonatol Perinatol. 2025;11:2.
Moorhead AM, Forster DA, Jacobs SE, McEgan K, Warrilow KA, Andrew B, et al. Breastfeeding outcomes at 3 months for women with diabetes in pregnancy: findings from the diabetes and antenatal milk expressing randomized controlled trial. Birth. 2024;51(3):508–20.
Jasovic MO. Antenatal colostrum expression: are we interfering with nature? Int Breastfeed J. 2025 Nov 7;20(1):80. doi: 10.1186/s13006-025-00766-w. PMID: 41204307; PMCID: PMC12595854.
