Home Forums Induced Lactation aka Adoptive Breastfeeding Natural Methods to Induce Lactation/Increase Milk Supply pumping vs hand expression

I can express as much milk through hand expression as I can through pumping, usually a whole lot faster! (The videos at Breastfeeding.com were very helpful.) In terms of building a milk supply, is hand expression equivalent to pumping? It would make a big difference to spend less time awake during those middle of the night sessions if I could just hand express.

I think you could get away with hand expressing for your night time pumping but you should pump the rest of the time. Pumping offers more stimulation than manual expression which helps build supply.

Thanks! And just wondering, is it typical to be able to hand express a little after pumping? I never seem to be able to get every last drop out with a pump.

It seems to be typical for those who try hand expressing after pumping to be able to get more out.