I’m going to do a little series here on basic skills for providing human milk to babies who are struggling to latch. Given the plethora of existing high-quality videos out there, I’ll just include links : )
Remember the WHO recommendation for supplementation:
Mother's Own Milk (MOM)
When MOM unavailable, pasteurized human donor milk
When MOM and donor milk unavailable, infant formula
So if your little is struggling to remove milk directly at the breast, hand expression is your friend! Particularly during those first few days (3-5 average) before milk increases and the colostrum just gets lost in the pump.
There are two primary methods, and I’ll link to videos for both. Whichever you use, be sure to “prep” the breast with gentle touch before you get started (like your baby would) and rest assured that at first it is normal for this to take a LONG TIME to get started. By which I mean a few minutes and around 30-40 compressions. Once you and your body get used to things, sometimes just the prep will get things flowing.
Hand expression Global Health Media Project
Hand Expression First Droplets