I was very grateful to be able to contribute to this blog for Dr Brooke Vandermolen, Obstetric and Gynaecology Registrar. You can find Brooke over at @theobgynmum or www.theobgynmum.com

Not only is breastfeeding a challenge enough, but once you start expressing it can be a whole new minefield.

Whether you are pumping to help boost supply, to make a stash of milk when you go back to work, or just to allow your partner get involved in the feeding, here are 5 really useful tips to help improve your experience of expressing breast milk:

I wish I’d known…

to feed my baby as soon as possible after birth.

If you can, feed your baby within the first hour of its birth. After this the baby can become sleepy for up to 24 hours and less interested in breast feeding. Benefits of this first early feed include keeping baby warm by being skin to skin, calming the baby, giving baby colostrum as its very first milk and releasing oxytocin which makes your uterus contract and reduces your bleeding as well as making you feel very in love with your new tiny one.