hand or mechanical expression?

[@llli*paytek]

so, i'm lying here nursing and my other breast begins leaking. I know I should've captured it and froze it, but I've had a LONG army week, so..I expressed it into a towel. the towel got pretty full..and it got me thinking;
Does hand expression alone yield more than pumping?

[@llli*newmom13]

I've been told that it does, but I know when I've tried hand expressing, it eventually hurt my hand from all the work! A lactation consultant once told me that a baby is the most efficient in draining the breast, followed by hand expression, then pumping.

[@llli*auderey]

depends on how good you are at it! i've heard the same list as PP, but i could never get the hang of it. i also produced well for the pump so i never tried terribly hard.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

It works for some. Not for me.