Breastfeeding and the working mom

March 5, 2015LifestyleBy admin

Can I continue to breastfeed once I return to work?

Yes, you can. If you live near work or have on-site or nearby daycare, you may be able to take nursing breaks to feed your baby. If that’s not possible, you have two choices: Option 1: You can keep up your milk supply by using a high-quality electric breast pump to express milk during the workday. Your child’s caregiver can give your baby bottles of your expressed breast milk. (You can also supplement with formula if you can’t produce enough milk.) You’ll still be able to nurse your child whenever you’re not at work. The U.S. Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), signed into law in 2010, requires employers to provide moms of babies younger than 12 months a reasonable break time for pumping and a private place to pump, other than a bathroom. (Employers with fewer than 50 employees don’t have to comply if compliance would create “undue hardship.”) Option 2: If you can’t or don’t want to pump at work, you can gradually replace daytime feedings with formula while you’re still at home but continue to nurse at night and in the morning. Remember, though, that if you don’t nurse or pump during the day, your milk supply will diminish.

How does a breast pump help?

A breast pump helps a nursing mother to pump and store breast milk in order to allow the baby to enjoy the benefits of breastfeeding even when the mother is not around. This helps working mothers ensure that their babies get their due share of breastfeeding despite the distance. But its advantages are not only limited to working mums, even stay at home mothers can use a pump to store milk and ask an attendant to give a feed when needed while catching up on some me-time. A breast pump also comes in handy if the baby can’t latch well (where the child is unable to suckle or hold on to the nipples of its mother) but the mother is lactating enough to produce good quality of milk. Pumping out sufficient amount of milk can also help feed premature babies round-the-clock who might need more attention and adequate supply of breast milk.Continuous pumping can also save a new mother from the clutches of engorgement and the heaviness of breasts.

How to choose the right breast pump?

Manual breastpump

New compact electric breastpump

One important aspect to keep in mind while choosing a breast pump is to be sure to pick the phalanges or shields of the right fit for the nipples and position them correctly to avoid any discomfort or irritation. A good breast pump mimics the suckling action of the baby and doesn’t cause any pain. While using an electric breast pump, simply put on the breast phalanges over the nipple and start the machine. The milk will get collected to the container attached to it. A good electric pump might need up to 15 minutes to pump from both the breasts. If one is in a hurry, using a fully automatic dual pump will be of great help. In case of a manual pump, the mother will have to squeeze milk with a suction pump or by pulling a plunger. A manual pump is time consuming and calls for too much effort. With a manual pump, it can take anywhere up to 45 minutes to pump from both breasts. Keep in mind that it might take a while to get accustomed to the pump. So before starting the actual storing process, some trials with the pump are necessary to get a hang of it. Start with the lowest level of suction and then increase the speed gradually. Remember, for a goodlet down of milk,one should try and be calm and relaxed. Never forget to sterilise all parts of the pump (the ones that can be sterilised) after every use.

This page is put up together with the help from babycentre.co.uk and nhs.uk articles