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WOMEN'S & CHILDREN'S | Family Maternity Center | Pregnancy Resource Center | Pregnancy Library | Baby Feeding | You can breastfeed after you return to work
You can breastfeed after you return to work
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies get their mother's milk for the first year of life. That can be challenging even for at-home moms. But what about those who work outside the home? It's possible, with a little practice and planning. - Select your childcare who supports your commitment to breastfeeding. This means choosing someone who will follow your instructions on storing breast milk and feeding your baby.
- Choose your pump carefully. You'll find there are several choices of electric and hand pumps. Talk with other working moms to find out what types or brands they like. Get the best pump you can afford. If you use a double-pumping unit, it can express all your milk in just 10 to 15 minutes.
- Learn to express your milk with an electric or a hand pump. You'll need to begin practicing at least four weeks before you return to work.
- Be patient with yourself. You won't express eight ounces of milk the first time you try. You will need practice to become familiar with the psychological and emotional experience of milk "letdown" that precedes breastfeeding. In the beginning you may only express half an ounce. Each time you practice it will get easier and you will get more milk.
- Stay at home as long as possible so that you and your baby become skilled and comfortable at breastfeeding.
- Arrange for a place to pump your breasts in private and to collect and store your breast milk at work. If there is no refrigerator, consider carrying a cooler case.
Preparing for your return to work - Four weeks before you return to work begin to express milk using the pump. Do this several times a day. You might breastfeed the baby on one breast while expressing milk from the other. You can build up a supply of frozen milk this way.
- Two weeks before you return to work begin offering baby one to two ounces of expressed milk from the bottle each day. You might have your spouse try this, as some babies accept a bottle better from someone else. This is also a good time to practice taking your baby to the caregiver for a few hours a day. Breastfeed before you leave the baby, but leave a small amount of milk for the caregiver to try.
- If you are planning to use a combination of bottle and breast, replace one breastfeeding with one bottle-feeding every day. Start this two weeks before you return to work. Gradually replace sessions of breastfeeding with formula.
How often you pump depends on whether you are going to supplement with formula. If you don't supplement, you may want to pump two to three times a day. If you're using a double-pump this can be done in 30 minutes on breaks at lunch. You may only need to pump once during the day if you are supplementing with formula.
Storing breast milk - Use clean plastic bottles or plastic nurser bags.
- Be sure to write the date and baby's name on the container.
- If you won't use breast milk within 48 hours, freeze it. Remember to leave about a 1/4 inch of room at the top of the container as milk expands as it freezes. You can freeze breast milk for up to three months.
Date last reviewed: October 2002.
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