Expressing milk for twins born 12 weeks early

My lovely twin mum has had a rough week.  First her baby boys arrive12 weeks early.  Then she's told that there is no room for them, or her, in the Central London Hospital they were born in.  The boys are transferred to a South East London hospital where they are currently thriving.  Mum, after much fuss and fight, is finally transferred to the same hospital.


We talk through the whole process of what it is to express and how to massage her breasts before beginning.  I remind her that it may take a few days before she gets much milk but that it will happen.  Every drop is precious.  The milk is designed to suit your baby at the time it is born and constantly changes its composition to meet your baby's nutritional needs.


The few sparse drops seem to dry up.  Mum is completely despondent.  Then we discover that somehow the birth hospital has forgotten to take out a placenta.  No wonder Mum is finding expressing so difficult.  Her body still thinks it is pregnant.  Current hospital manually remove the placenta and expressing is suddenly successful.  So successful in fact that Mum expressed 20mls which is enough to feed both babies 10 times over!  Happiness is restored.  Faith in herself and her body is restored.  


She's been told that in a few short days she'll be able to begin Kangaroo Care and she'll finally be able to hold the first of the babies.

The lovely Helen feeding Dante and Nova Rose