Colostrum Harvesting? Do No or Not To Do…That’s The Question.

Dr. Chapa’s Clinical Pearls.

Historically, colostrum was expressed by women mid- to late-pregnancy with the intent to avoid engorgement and breast trauma in the postnatal period, but it was not stored for use after birth. But storing colostrum antepartum for newborn feeding has gained attention in social media channels. Is antenatal milk expression, also called colostrum harvesting, evidence-based? Are there benefits to this? Does this run the risk of initiating labor? Are there published studies? In this episode, we will “milk” the data- including a RCT from 2023 – and present some key points to consider about what it is and what it isn’t.