Antenatal hand expression - An interview with Anita Moorhead

In this episode we talk to Anita Moorhead about all things antenatal hand expression. Anita is a Clinical Nurse/Midwife Consultant (for Lactation), at the Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne, a coordinator for the DAME (Diabetes and Antenatal Milk Expressing) trial and PhD candidate at the Judith Lumley Centre, La Trobe University, Australia. Anita has collaborated on breastfeeding papers and reports, hospital, and state clinical guidelines and is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences. We start our conversation with Anita about the Diabetes and Antenatal Milk Expressing trial and what was its purpose and why this was a needed study. Then we delve deeper to ask all those common and not-so-common questions around the topic of antenatal hand expression. So in this episode you'll hear us talking about- What were the feeding outcomes after women initiated antenatal hand expression in the DAME trial? Does antenatal hand expression help with future breast milk feeding? Could antenatal hand expression cause an increase in the number of babies admitted into the special care nursery after birth? Does antenatal hand expression cause earlier birth? What were the average expressed milk volumes achieved by the women during the DAME study? And we take an important deep dive into the psychological aspects of this practice in relation to the newly published paper looking at the views and experiences of the women in the DAME trial . We spoke about what midwives and birth workers should consider in relation to how women felt about this practice and the milk volumes they were expressing. LINKS: Dr Rachel Reed - Courses- Books Anita Moorhead Advising women with diabetes in pregnancy to express breastmilk in late pregnancy (Diabetes and Antenatal Milk Expressing [DAME]): a multicentre, unblinded, randomised controlled trial Head over to The Latch Revolution Podcast to continue the conversations with Katie James and Johanna Sargeant, IBCLCs Click here if you would like to find out more about Decoding The Suck and advance your clinical skills in lactation and suck assessment. Support the show Resources & Support Get Katie’s Milk Supply Confidence Kit — a free resource to help pregnant women, new parents and professionals feel calm, informed, and confident about breastfeeding. 👉 Download here ⭐Leave a Review Enjoying the podcast? Leave us a review and tell your friends! Want More from Katie and Rachel? – Katie’s website – Rachel’s website 🎶 Music by Joseph McDade Disclaimer The information shared in this podcast is for general educational purposes only and is not intended as medical or legal advice. Always consult with a qualified professional regarding individual health concerns. The Midwives’ Cauldron podcast does not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of the information provided and accepts no liability for any loss or harm arising from reliance on this content.