Breastfeeding & Your Return to Work
To Pump or Not to Pump?
Many women are faced with the decision of whether or not to return to work after the birth of their baby. Financial pressures may make it necessary to return to the workplace. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding your baby exclusively for the first 6 months. Going back to work does not mean that you have to stop breastfeeding. With a little bit of planning, you can successfully continue to breastfeed your baby.
Choosing the Right Pump
It is essential to have a high quality pump that can handle the work of pumping quickly and efficiently. The saying, “you get what you pay for,” applies to this situation. Research your options on various double pumps. Read the reviews and ratings. It is worth it to spend a little extra on a good pump.
Talk to Your Employer
Communicate with your employer that it is your desire to provide your baby with breast milk when you return to work. Ask if there is a private place that you can pump throughout the day. Some employers have pumping rooms set up for their employees. It benefits your employer to accommodate your needs. Providing breast milk for your baby will reduce the rates of sickness, therefore reducing the days that you will miss work.
Create a Plan
The first step to success is to create a pumping plan before you go back to work. Two to three weeks before you return to work, plan to pump once a day. Since the morning time is when your milk supply will be the most abundant, plan to pump one side/breast each morning. This is less time consuming than pumping after each feeding and will most likely yield more milk. By the end of the two to three weeks, you should have plenty of bottles stored away.
Make sure that your baby will take a bottle. It is best to avoid a bottle in the first three to four weeks of life to avoid the potential of nipple confusion. Also, choose a bottle with a slow flow nipple. Since fast flowing nipples require little to no work from the baby, a slow flow nipple will help to avoid flow preference. Let someone other than yourself offer an occasional bottle. It may be necessary for you to leave the room while the baby is being bottle-fed.
While at work, it will be necessary for you to pump when your baby would be breastfeeding. This will vary depending on the age of your baby. For example, a six-week-old baby will probably feed every two to three hours, so it will be necessary to pump every two to three hours. For an eight-hour day, that means you would ideally pump mid-morning, at lunch, and mid-afternoon.
Create an ideal pumping environment. Sit in a comfortable chair, take a deep breath and relax. Think about your baby. You may find it helpful to bring a picture of your baby to look at while pumping, or even a blanket that smells like your baby.
Storing Your Milk
Once you pump your milk, you will need to choose a place to store the milk. For the purposes of returning to work, you will most likely store you milk in the freezer. For ease of thawing and warming and to reduce the likelihood of waste, store your milk in one to four ounce increments. You can store your milk in hard plastic bottles with caps, glass bottles, or bags that are designed for storing breast milk. Storing breast milk is easy. Just remember the Rule of Eights. Breast milk is good at room temperature for up to eight hours, it is good in the refrigerator for up to eight days, and it is good in the freezer for up to eight months.
Thawing Your Milk
An easy way to thaw your milk is to take it out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator the night before. It will thaw in the refrigerator overnight and be ready to be warmed the next day. Milk that is thawed in the refrigerator remains good in the refrigerator for an additional 24 hours. If it is necessary to thaw milk that is frozen solid, this can be done by placing it in a bowl of warm water or running it under warm water from the faucet. Never thaw your milk by boiling it on the stovetop or by placing it in the microwave. This can cause uneven heating of the milk and can potentially burn your baby.
If you find yourself having difficulty creating or implementing your plan, contact a lactation consultant (IBCLC) for assistance. Giving breast milk to your baby provides life-long health benefits. With a little planning, you can be successful!