Breastfeeding and Working
A large number of women return to work while their children are still young. The amount of maternity leave varies from country to country. In the States an average paid time off is six weeks with a possibility of increasing it to twelve weeks, with a guarantee of your job being held for you, but the last six weeks are not necessarily with pay, that varies from employer to employer. In the UK paid time off increases to six months which is more manageable and in some Scandinavian countries paid leave extends to 12 months as the government realizes that supporting families in this way is cost effective because it promotes positive health outcomes.
Breastmilk has protective properties to fight infections, through both active and passive antibody transfer, it has been shown that mothers that continue to breastfeed and provide breastmilk to their children, that have been placed in childcare, have fewer sick days or days absent from work due to illnesses of their breastfed child. This is an economic plus to both the mother and the employer. Another important factor is that mothers that continue to breastfeed and provide their milk feel better about themselves because this is something very special that only they can do for their child.
Antenatal Preparation
Preparation is half the battle. The first step might be to review what exactly is offered as your maternity leave package. Do you have full pay? Partial pay? A combination of each depending on how long you are absent from work? How will the work you are doing fit with a family? Is there a “work from home” option? Can you phase back into work? Is flexi-time or job share an option or is it possible for the baby to come to you at meal times, perhaps there is a crèche on the work site? Do you know someone at work that has combined breastfeeding and working. It is helpful to get the practical support and tips from an experienced mum that has already been through the experience and look for a carer that is supportive of breastfeeding.
Talk to you employer and work mates and get an idea of how they feel about your plan to express milk when you return to work. Help increase their knowledge about the health benefits of breastmilk so they understand the importance of what you are doing. Now is a good time to explore what services are available at work. If there are several of you involved you might want to ask about a space where you can express at work. Several people sharing the cost of renting a hospital grade electric pump dramatically decreases the cost. You may even be able to negotiate a deal with one of the pump companies if several of you will be buying supplies at the same time.
Exploring equipment (breastpumps)
There are many options for expressing and collecting milk including hand expression. It is often a time management issue more than anything so think about your work routine and what will make your life easiest. It takes about 30 minutes to express by hand or with a manual pump and it takes about 10 minutes to use an hospital grade electric pump with a double collecting kit ( so you collect milk from both breasts at the same time). Some double electric pumps even have HANDS FREE! Talk to your local La Leeche League, NCT, or Lactation Consultant and they can help you sort this out and develop a plan. Usually its is best to make this contact once during the antenatal period and again about 4-6 weeks before you go back to work. Some places even offer a breastfeeding class for mums that want to combine work and breastfeeding.
Early Postpartum
In the early days plan to spend lots of time with your baby in your arms and ask your midwife about being able to have uninterrupted skin to skin contact until they have a first feeding. You might also want to delay a full bath or shower for the first 24 hours with your baby until they have a first feeding. Remember our babies recognize us by our smells so hold off on those great smelly bath products. Once you are home get help with household tasks and at least for the first two weeks your only job is to look after yourself and feed the baby. Ask for help with household tasks (cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, school run) Enjoy all that great cuddle time with your baby. Lots of cuddles means lots of oxytocin and milk making hormones. Remember you can’t spoil a baby.
So, breastfeeding is going well and the baby is several weeks old now. You may want to start expressing after some of the feedings. You may only get a teaspoonful at a time. Remember, you are fully feeding a baby and asking your body to do a bit extra. Each time you express pour it in a clean bottle in the refrigerator. You can add milk to this bottle for up to 24 hours. If you are wanting to save the milk longer, freeze it. It is usually good for several months in a separate freezer compartment part of the fridge. There is no one fool proof way to express, see which method works best for you and talk to a breastfeeding counselor or consultant.
Returning to work
In a few weeks you will be going back to work. You have been expressing and you have been stockpiling milk. You have several quarts of your milk in your freezer and you are anticipating phasing back into your work role. You may have some of these questions:
“When should I return to work?”
Research suggests that mums who can stay home for about 3 - 4 months are more successful maintaining breastfeeding once back at work.
“How will I transport my milk?”
Milk can be transported in a cooler box. Freezer blocks can be used to keep the milk cool.
“When should I introduce an alternative feeding method?”
Start introducing your alternative to the breast about 2 – 3 weeks before you plan to return to work. Be patient. Some babies just need a little more encouragement than others. Try a different routine than the one you follow with breastfeeding.
“How will my baby be fed when I am not there?”
If your baby is two months old or greater you can use a cup. It is often helpful to enlist another person to do the practice feedings ‘away from breast’. Babies often will not try other methods when offered to them by their mums. Some mums feel using a cup eliminates the problem of weaning from a bottle later.
Maintaining Breastfeeding
To maintain an adequate milk supply for your baby, when you are at work, it is important to use the pump to stimulate the milk production at a similar frequency as the baby. As a general rule pumping about 3 – 4 times during a work day (8 hrs) encourages adequate milk production. It doesn’t necessarily need to be at evenly spaced intervals. If you find that your supply is dwindling at the end of the week ten minutes of double expressing at a greater frequency seems to yield a larger over-all volume of milk than trying to have longer sessions at 3-4hrly intervals. When you are with your baby allow him/her free access to the breasts to boost your supply.
If your baby is younger than six months old when you return to work you may find that you need more frequent expressing sessions. If your baby is six months or older you may find that you can have less frequent expressing sessions. Babies that are six months and older will be including complimentary foods in their diets. Babies under six months old should be exclusively breastfed for maximum health benefits.
Some mums find it helpful to look at their baby’s picture while they are expressing milk.
Successful initiation and continuation of breastfeeding requires a cultural shift that supports breastfeeding as the cultural norm and understands the broad spectrum of support services involving families, peers, care providers, employers, and community agencies and organizations.
