Harvesting Colostrum: Antenatal and Postnatal Colostrum Collection

    Harvesting colostrum both antenatally (before birth) and postnatally (after delivery) is a great way to prepare for the unexpected.  Sometimes birth plans do not go to plan and having this liquid gold at your disposal in case of emergency is always a plus especially since colostrum is essential as baby's first immunization, highly concentrated in antibodies and nutrition to boost your baby's immune system.  In addition, if feedings are slow to start, colostrum can maintain your baby's blood sugar levels.  

A colostrum collection kit makes it easy to have the things you need on hand.  While using a breast pump can sometimes cause contractions, a more gentle hand expression is not only safer but more effective in saving every drop. While there are several methods of hand expression found online, research shows that the Marmet Technique is still the most effective so we have included the full instruction sheet below. 

Once you have begun hand expression, start by using the smaller 3ml syringe in the colostrum collection kit to draw up the colostrum direction off the nipple and areola.  If you use a breast pump, it is harder to get the sticky colostrum off the pump parts and valves.  After you have harvested the colostrum, place the syringe(s) into a freezer bag or breast milk storage bag so that you can safely keep them in the freezer.  Babies only need a teaspoon of colostrum per feeding initially so the 5ml syringes included are perfect for feeding. Postnatally, more volume of colostrum may be collected so you may want to express into the 50ml container included in the kit as you can also use the syringes to draw from the container for feeding. 

The Liquid Gold Colostrum Collection Kit includes:

(6) individually wrapped sterile 3ml syringes with caps

(6) individually wrapped sterile 5ml syringes with caps

(1) 50ml/2oz colostrum container with lid (non-sterile - sterilize before use)

If you have additional transitional milk which is a higher volume of colostrum as the mature milk is coming in, there are 10ml syringes, 50ml minifil bottles and 60ml colostrum containers with lids also available to purchase.

Happy Harvesting!

Tanya