Breastfeeding and Working

If you’re planning to combine breastfeeding and working outside the home, you will be joining many other women who have done so successfully. Not only is it possible for a working mother to breastfeed, but breastfeeding can be a great source of support and comfort. This handout offers advice on how to plan for this transition and how to make it easier for both you and your baby. Some suggestions may work for you, some may not. Talk to friends, your pediatrician, nurse practitioner, or call La Leche League, 800-LALECHE, for referrals to lactation specialists (La Leche website: www.lalecheleague.org). Another helpful resource is the International Lactation Consultant Association: 919-861-5577, www.ilca.org.

Some women choose to give their babies only expressed breastmilk. Others combine formula feedings with breastfeedings, and some women are able to arrange their schedules so that they can nurse their babies during the work day. In making a decision about what’s best for you and your baby, you need to consider your baby’s age and feeding patterns, your work hours and setting, your energy level and need for rest, and your personal desire to continue breastfeeding.

Plan Ahead Before Returning to Work

During pregnancy you might want to gather information about your work setting. Have other women been able to schedule their days to allow time and privacy for expression of milk? Is there a refrigerator? How supportive will your co-workers and superiors be?

If you eventually want your baby to drink from a bottle for some feedings, begin offering the bottle at least three times a week when your baby is about three to four weeks old and your milk supply is established. You can give the baby water, breastmilk, or formula. Your baby may be more likely to accept a bottle from someone other than you. Make sure that your baby is not hungry when offered a bottle for the first time. This is important because the baby may reject the different feel and flow-rate of the bottle’s nipple. Most babies are very willing to take a bottle at three weeks but they get much more particular as they get older. It’s easier on you, your baby and your future child care provider if you begin as early as possible to get the baby used to taking a bottle. Experts recommend introducing the bottle as soon as possible after the baby is three weeks old.

Start to look for a child care provider well before you need to return to work. Choose a provider who will support your plans for breastfeeding and providing breastmilk. When you look for child care, consider your commute time and distance from work or home. Ask your caregiver if she has experience with caring for breastfed babies. You’ll need her support and cooperation. You may need to provide instructions on how to store and heat your milk. Although planning ahead is helpful you can still succeed without extensive advance planning. Just be prepared to give your system, whatever it is, a try!

How it all Works: Supply and Demand

Your body will produce as much milk as your baby requires. As you begin to express milk regularly, you will discover that you can produce varying amounts of milk as needed. This means that it is possible to develop a routine which includes using different weekday and weekend nursing schedules and expressing milk at work.

In the first month it can be difficult to establish a routine. Your baby is growing rapidly and nursing frequently. This is how your milk supply is established. During this time, it may be hard to express milk in addition to meeting the baby’s heavy demand. Although some women have an abundant supply of milk from the first week, most find that in the beginning their supply stays just about even with the baby’s needs. Don’t worry – your milk production will increase as the baby gets older, probably within four to six weeks.

It’s important to learn how to express, or pump, your milk. While it may come naturally to some, others may find it more difficult to master. After your baby’s first month, try expressing milk once a day when your milk supply is greatest. Most often this occurs in the morning. It is usually easier to pump one breast while the baby is nursing on the other breast, as the let-down reflex will be stimulated. When you first begin, you may have to pump or massage your breast for a little while before the let-down reflex occurs. Many women will express only half an ounce from each breast in the beginning. The amount will increase as your skills improve and your overall production is “boosted.” After you are comfortable expressing once a day, you may want to express again at a time when your baby will be getting a bottle – the mid-afternoon is a good time.