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Hey Ladies,
Is it possible to pump too much? I am inducing (no kids/have squirts of milk currently) and find myself not bothered by pumping longer than 30 minutes at a time. But I do wonder if I am doing harm to the process? At most, I do a 30 minute pump then 10 additional minutes in the expression stage.
Admittedly I need to be better with my pumping frequency and water intake, but also would appreciate feedback.
Thank you:)
Following! I’ve always wondered the same thing!
Well darn I sure hope someone answers us! lol.
Me too!
Hey Ladies…Nurturing Bosom has a phenomenal blog here titled The Milky Way that is loaded with all the information you’re looking for.
Ideally…production is based on Demand and Supply. The more you pump, the more your body should supply. The act of lactation is to provide nourishment for a human. The fact that the majority of women here are lactating for adult human purposes makes production and demand a little different than a small human and their requirements.
I don’t think one can over demand as long as one isn’t in pain or causing themself pain, though I perhaps would limit my pumping time to 20 min and just make the frequency better.
(Ladies, I hope it’s okay for a man to comment on this thread.)
I’ve done extensive research on lactation, because I wanted to be of the utmost help to any woman I’d get involved with who desires to induce.
To answer the OP’s question, yes, one can over-pump.
The purpose of pumping is to stimulate the body to produce milk, and the mechanism for that to happen is via the secretion of the hormone prolactin by the pituitary gland. Prolactin tells the body to produce milk. Research has shown that after about 10 minutes of stimulation (either by pumping, suckling, or manual expression techniques), you’ve “tapped out” your secretion of prolactin, and stimulation past 10 minutes per breast is a waste of time (until your body resets in 3-4 hours). So, the ideal stimulation schedule is 10 minutes per breast, every 3-4 hours. Like Titties On Tap said above, frequency of sessions per day is key, but what is not well-known is that the length of each session past 10 minutes per breast yields diminishing returns. So ladies, shorter, more frequent stimulation sessions are more productive than longer, less frequent sessions.I believe your advice is accurate, with the excel of 10 minutes being the maximum effective time. That may be the amount of time it takes for prolactin to do its job, however stimulation of mammary glands is also important, so it’s worth pumping and expressing longer than that.
Not my post, but I believe a man’s opinion is just as valid as a woman’s.
Once you get to the stage where you’re producing milk, it’s more important how much milk you’re removing from your breasts than any other factor. Pumping can damage breast tissue if it’s done too roughly or vigorously by mechanical means. I always prefer the natural way myself, but each to their own!
Thank you all for your comments. Of course all are welcome and valid. Just tend to lean on the ladies as we are the most in tune with tweaking routines and production.
No worries. Actually, my former ANR partner was more knowledgeable about relactation and inducing lactation than I was, despite the fact I’d had 2 babies many years before I’d met him 😂 but yeah, I get what you mean about it being different for a woman who actually has it happen to our bodies.
Hmm… Ten minutes? I did not know that.
So the guys that can “suckle for hours” are just wasting their time? 😜@Grogman: “wasting their time” is open to interpretation. Women can easily enjoy the suckling sensation for hours, so if a man is also able to enjoy spending that amount of time, have at it, as long as no nipple chaffing occurs. Just understand that long sessions do nothing to further stimulate milk production, and I suspect it might even delay the “recharge” process for prolactin, which would be counterproductive.
Any behavior that strays too far from what would be typical for a baby and mother to do is “unnatural” to the body, and no baby is going to want to suckle for hours. People tend to forget this basic biological fact, and the female body isn’t designed to lactate continuously. @Rachy J was right when she noted that emptying the breasts every 3-4 hours is key ONCE relactation has been started, and if that takes more than 10 minutes, it needs to be done. My original comment here referenced the OP’s question about INDUCING milk production. During the early induction process, keeping to the 10-minute per breast limit every 3-4 hours is the preferred strategy. Once good milk flow is established, transitioning to emptying the breasts fully every 3-4 hours is the preferred strategy.
Theres a thing called power pumping. It’s simulates when a baby is going through a growth spurt. Pump both breasts 15-20 min. Take a ten minute break. Pump 10min a again. Break 10 min then Pump again.
I’ve feel asleep with a pump on that doesn’t have a timer and ohhh my gosh
Blisters!!
So in that sense yes!!
I’ve read the usual pumping 10-20 mins for inducing.
I think consistent is key.
And I think pumping longer then 20-30 minutes a session is much.
Although we all do vary, and so does production!
🦋It’s not every 3 to 4 hours, you should pump every two to three hours. It is also recommended that you pump for 20 minutes,except for the case of power pumping. While your brain may stop producing prolactin after 20 minutes, the stimulation can still trigger the body to produce oxytocin which also plays a role in producing breast milk. Once you are producing breast milk it is importnant that you completely empty the breasts whether that takes 5 minutes or 30.
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