258 chapter 12: Caring for your baby
Warm-bottle method to remove milk
This method may work best if the breasts are too full or very painful.
This may happen right after birth, or if you get a cracked nipple or a breast
infection. If you cannot hold your breast or the bottle, ask someone you
trust to help.
1. Clean a large glass bottle that has a
3 to 4 cm
wide
3 to 4 cm wide mouth. Warm it by filling
it
with hot water. Fill it slowly so the
bottle does not break. Wait a few minutes and
then pour the water out.
2. Cool the mouth and neck of the bottle with
clean, cool water so that it does not burn you.
3. Fasten the bottle mouth over your nipple
so that it makes a seal. Hold it firmly in
place for several minutes. As it cools, it will
gently pull the milk out.
4. When the milk flow slows down, use your finger
to loosen the seal around the breast.
5. Repeat on the other breast.
How to store breast milk
Keep your milk in a clean, closed container. You can store milk
in the same jar used to remove the milk. Keep the milk in a
cool place away from sunlight.
You can keep milk cool by keeping the container in
cool water, or burying the closed container in wet sand, or
keeping it wrapped in a cloth that is kept wet all the time.
Cool breastmilk will keep for about 12 hours.
The container can be
If you have a refrigerator, keep the milk there. Milk can stored longer in a cool
be kept in a glass jar in a refrigerator for 2 or 3 days. The
cream in the milk will separate, so before giving it to the
place such as a clay pot
with cool water in it.
baby, shake the container to mix the milk. Then gently heat
the container with the milk by putting it in a pot of hot water. Test the milk to
make sure it is not too hot by shaking a few drops onto your arm. The milk should
not be hot, but should feel the same temperature as your skin.
A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities 2007