Author Identifier
Therese A. O’Sullivan: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1003-854X
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Title
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
PubMed ID
39397521
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
School
Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute / School of Medical and Health Sciences
RAS ID
73833
Funders
Western Australian Department of Health / Stan Perron Charitable Foundation / Soroptimist International of Perth
Abstract
The practice of antenatal colostrum expression (ACE), or the extraction of colostrum from the breasts during pregnancy, has an interesting history and continues to evolve. This narrative review aims to describe how perception and practices of ACE have changed over time, summarise the evidence on ACE in maternal and infant care, and highlight areas for future research. The literature demonstrates that ACE is safe for low-risk women when done from around 36 weeks’ gestation. Women should be reassured that the skill of hand expressing is a valuable tool post-birth, regardless of whether they are able to collect colostrum antenatally or not. The collection and storage of colostrum in pregnancy can help avoid formula use in hospital, which may have follow on effects immune function and other areas. Ideally, colostrum collected during pregnancy would be kept safely frozen during the hospital stay and only defrosted and used during the stay if medically indicated, with parents supported through that process. Although ACE does not appear to improve long-term breastfeeding rates at present, it can increase confidence around breastfeeding. Further research in more diverse population groups, long-term breastfeeding and long-term health outcomes of using frozen antenatally expressed colostrum for babies (as compared to formula or fresh colostrum) would be valuable to gain a better understanding of the importance of ACE in maternity care.
DOI
10.1017/S002966512400483X
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
O’Sullivan, T. A., & Ihlein, C. N. (2024). A brief history of antenatal colostrum expression, and where to from here. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002966512400483X