OB/Gyn & Women's Health Services

Breastfeeding: Breast Massage with Milk Expression by Hand

Breast massage with hand expression is a method to remove milk from the breast. Even though beast pumps are widely used, using your own hands to empty can be helpful for the following:

Hard and swollen breasts
A premature or fussy baby
A baby having trouble latching
To increase milk supply
To maintain lactation when an infant cannot be fed.

Breast/Chest Massage Technique

Supplies needed: Breasts, 2 warm hands, and olive oil (optional)
Wash hands.
Choosing a quiet, comfortable setting (soft music helps), take a warm shower or apply a warm washcloth to the breasts.
While seated or lying down on a bed, gently shake the breasts with both hands and then begin massage.
With one hand on top of and the other hand below the breast, gently massage back and forth in opposite ways. Next with one hand on each side of the breast, gently massage up and down in opposite ways. Also, gently twist each breast, using both hands, in a wringing motion (Hartl, D., Cunningham, R. Breast Massage).

Hand Expression Technique

Illustration of expression through breast massage

(2010 La Leche League International, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, Chapter 20)

Using your index finger and thumb, position your hand at the outer edge of the areola (darkened area around the nipple).
Gently compress the outer edge of the areola (do not compress the nipple). Repeat this method rotating index finger and thumb around the outer edge of the areola.

An alternate technique for hand expression can be found at: https://med.stanford.edu/newborns/professional-education/breastfeeding/hand-expressing-milk.html

Call Your Doctor or Lactation Consultant if

You do not have relief with these measures.
You see any redness or streaking, or develop a fever or flu-like symptoms.
Your baby unable to latch.

Works Cited

Hartl, D. & Cunningham, R. “Breast Massage”, Alive Magazine. Updated Apr. 24, 2015. Published January 1, 2005.

La Leche League Tearsheet “Hand Expression Technique”, La Leche League International, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. 2010

La Leche League, “Expressing and Storing Milk”, New Beginnings, July/August vol. 24/#4. 2007.

Lawrence, Ruth A. & Lawrence, Robert M. “Breastfeeding, A Guide for the Medical Professional”, Ninth edition, ELSEVIER, 2022.

Wambach, Karen and Spencer, Becky “Breastfeeding and Human Lactation”, Sixth edition, Jones & Bartlett, 2021.

Stanford Medicine, Hand Expression of Breastmilk. Retrieved 06/01/24.