Breastfeeding and a Job
Contrary to what you may have heard, you can breastfeed after returning to work. It takes some planning and creativity, but many mothers successfully combine breastfeeding and a career — and it will be well worth it for you and your baby,
Should You Pump?
Some mothers are lucky enough to work close to their childcare provider, and can stop by and nurse during their lunch hours. Sometimes, Dad is home with the baby during the day and is able to bring the baby to Mom for a feeding during her lunch, or she can run home. If you have this arrangement, you may not have to worry about pumping milk as long as you aren't regularly working more than three to four hours at a time and your baby seems to be comfortable with going that long between feedings, though you may feel a little more secure if you have some pumped milk available just in case you run into a snag.
Question
Are there any laws that protect my right to breastfeed and work?
Not exactly. Though all women have the right to breastfeed, most states don't require employers to support a nursing mother's efforts to pump milk for her baby. Visit
Most full-time working mothers, however, will have to give at least some expressed breastmilk from a bottle. If your baby will be getting bottles of your milk while you're at work, you'll need to pump to keep your milk production up and maintain a steady supply of expressed milk to offer your baby each day.
What Do You Need?
Besides your breasts and your baby, there are some things that can make nursing and working a much easier match:
A good pump: Hospital-grade double-action electric pumps are the best. Often these are covered by insurance. A double pump will allow you to drain both breasts at once, which means you'll get the milk in about half the time.
A supportive workplace: Your employer can go a long way in making nursing possible for you by providing you with a private place and time for pumping. Talk about this with your employer, and don't feel guilty about asking for time to pump! Few people work nonstop eight- or nine-hour days. Socializing, checking e-mail, grabbing another cup of coffee — most people need, and take, mini breaks throughout the day.
Supportive child care: Though feeding a baby a bottle of expressed breastmilk is just as easy as formula — maybe even easier! — your care provider will need to understand the basics of storing and using expressed milk and also be willing to work with you as you get your baby used to taking bottles. It will help immensely if your care provider is enthusiastic about your plans to feed your baby your milk.
A cooler or refrigerator for storing the milk: An insulated bag with cold packs can keep your milk fresh at work. You may have gotten such a bag with your hospital going-home kit. If you have a shared refrigerator at work, you can just place your expressed milk bottles into a bag marked clearly with your name and take them with you when you go.
A place to store your other supplies: You'll need a desk drawer, locker, or cubby to keep empty containers, nursing pads, and maybe a towel or extra top in case you spill or leak some milk.
Finding Time
You shouldn't let more than three hours go by without pumping, at least a little, but you don't necessarily have to have regular long pumping sessions. If you can take a short pumping break in the morning and afternoon, and one longer break during your lunch hour, that can also work. Stimulating your breasts frequently is more important than the length of time you spend pumping.
If your boss is concerned that your need to pump will keep you from finishing all your work, you can offer to come in a little bit early or leave a little late to make up for the time you'll spend pumping, or, once you get good at it, even use pumping time for work that doesn't require you to use your hands (for example, reading over documents). You may also want to point out to your boss that since babies fed breastmilk get sick less often than formula-fed babies, breastfeeding can actually help cut down on the number of personal days you'll have to take to care for a sick baby.
Finding a Place
If you have your own office at work, you can simply close the door and hang a sign that asks visitors to come back later. If you don't, you'll need to find a reasonably private area with an electrical outlet. Maybe there is a conference room that sits unused for part of the day. Or, if you know of another nursing mom in your office, ask her how she handles pumping — maybe a sympathetic co-worker will lend you her office. Some working moms even pump in the car, using a cigarette-lighter adapter. Of course, it's best if you can find a comfortable, quiet pumping station, but many resourceful moms are able to figure out ways to pump against the odds.
Fact
No doubt about it, formula feeding is expensive — over $1,000 a year in formula alone, and up to $2,500 per year for specialty formulas. But that's not the only money you'll save: since breastfed babies get sick less often, your medical bills will be lower, too.
If Your Workplace Is Unsupportive
If you can't pump at all while at work, try pumping extra milk while you're at home and giving it to your child-care provider the next day. Try to time your feedings so that you're nursing your baby just before you leave for work and again as soon as you get home.
If you have a hard time keeping your milk supply up, you can still breastfeed. Your body will adjust your milk supply to meet demand, so you may not produce much milk during your work hours, but you can still nurse in the evening and at night. Though some babies will become frustrated at a drop in supply, many babies switch back and forth between nursing in the evenings and all night and taking bottles of formula (and, once they're older, solid foods) during the day.
Pumping Enough Milk
Some pumps, particularly cheap battery-operated on manual pumps, don't do as good a job at stimulating your milk-letdown reflex and removing milk from your breasts as the hospital-grade electric pumps do. While some handheld pumps can work great for pumping the occasional bottle, they usually aren't efficient enough to help a working mom keep up her milk supply.
If you're tense, it will be that much harder to get your milk to let down while you're pumping. Make your pumping station as cozy and comfortable as possible. In order to coax your milk into letting down, you can massage your breasts or put a warm compress on them. Relax, and try either looking at a picture of your baby or thinking about your baby to stimulate your breasts to start producing milk.
You may need to pump more often, or try pumping right after a feeding or on the opposite side during a feeding, to build up a stockpile of milk. If you are trying all this and still aren't expressing enough milk to feed your baby while you're at work, consult a lactation consultant or La Leche League volunteer for help. They can help troubleshoot and offer suggestions for pumping more effectively or increasing your milk supply.
Essential
Don't worry if you don't get a lot of milk the first few times you pump. Learning to use a breast pump efficiently requires practice and patience. After a while, you will be able to “train” your body to respond to the pump, and you'll be able to collect more milk faster.
Label containers of breastmilk before you put them in the freezer or fridge. Breastmilk can be stored at room temperature for up to ten hours, in the refrigerator for up to eight days, in a refrigerator freezer for up to two weeks, and in a self-defrosting freezer with a separate door for up to six months.
Once a baby has drunk from a bottle, bacteria can enter the milk and cause it to go bad. Therefore, once your baby is done with her bottle, you must dump any unused milk.
You can freeze milk in ice cube trays and move them to a storage bag when frozen. Each cube will be about an ounce.
Introducing the Bottle
One of the trickiest parts of breastfeeding and working can be getting your baby to accept a bottle. You don't want to introduce bottles too early because your baby may get confused switching back and forth between your nipple and the bottle nipple. But wait too long, and your baby may reject the bottle.
Many experts suggest three to four weeks as a good time to introduce a bottle of expressed milk to your baby. Some babies take readily to a bottle of pumped milk, but others aren't quite as enthusiastic.
You may want to try letting somebody else give the bottle, possibly without you in the room. Your baby has begun to associate you with nursing, and may not be inclined to accept a substitute from you with the real thing so close. You can also try offering the bottle when your baby isn't very hungry, since hunger may make her frantic and less likely to accept the bottle. But if you wait until she's completely full, she may not have much incentive to try the bottle. You may have to try a few different times to find the right balance. If your baby still won't go for it, try these tips:
Sleep with a hand towel or cloth diaper under your shirt, and then wrap the bottle in it before it's offered to the baby. Your smell will be on the cloth, which can coax some babies to accept the bottle.
Experiment with bottle temperatures. Some babies may want the bottle to be the same temperature as milk from the source, while others may prefer it cool or lukewarm. You may also want to heat the nipple by running it under warm water.
Try different feeding positions. Some babies will reject a bottle when being held in the cradle hold, as it reminds them of nursing. The caregiver can try holding the baby facing out.
There are a variety of bottle shapes and nipples available. Some babies prefer rubber, while others like clear silicone nipples. Some babies may like a wider nipple, while others prefer a longer one. You can also try the Breastbottle, a warm silicone bottle shaped like a breast. Visit
Remain calm, and talk to your baby in a reassuring way. If you're anxious, your baby will pick up on that and may refuse the bottle.
Get a little breastmilk onto the nipple, then tickle your baby's lips with it. When your baby tastes the familiar milk, she may pull the nipple into her own mouth.
