Antenatal hand expressing for twins

Description

Jess explains how she hand expressed her colostrum for her twins Archie and Noah from 36 weeks pregnant as her type 1 diabetes meant that the likelihood of the twins having low blood sugars when born was high. She explains that she was able to hand express 50mls antenatally which meant that her boys’ blood sugars were stabilized and so avoided the need for any formula to be given to either twin.

Another mum, Zoe is shown with her toddler Summer. Zoe is 32 weeks pregnant and knows that she is expecting a baby with a cleft lip and possibly a cleft palate so is planning to hand express from 36 weeks in preparation as her baby may have difficulty feeding directly from her breast in the early days. The narrator goes on to detail some other possible reasons for mums to hand express antenatally.

Jess & twins Archie and Noah, Zoe and Summer

Writer & Director: Helen Shanahan
Filmed and Edited: Patrick Shanahan