Pumping and milk storage

Most of the listed research concerns expressing milk rather than storing it. A scoping review maps the available information on breast milk expression in mothers of full-term infants, and another scoping review covers hand expression across many countries, including how it is used, its outcomes and how patients and professionals experience it. A systematic review protocol looks at postpartum hand expression and its effects on milk volume and breastfeeding outcomes.

Further papers study early pumping. Pilot and follow-up work examines a modified suction pattern and milk yield in the first days after birth, and an observational study looks at pumping behaviors of mothers of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. A qualitative study explores Somalian mothers' perspectives on breast milk while their infants are in intensive care. A commentary discusses the rise of breast pumping and human milk feeding, and a narrative review addresses misconceptions about early breastfeeding.

Parents often ask when to start pumping, which method to use and how long milk can be kept. The titles here leave several of those questions open. An educator may want slides that reflect the range of methods and the family circumstances behind them. The papers below are the ones the Hub tracks on this topic.