Thankfully, Hurst says women who pump will eventually experience letdown from a machine's whirring sound and feel. Give your body time to respond to the pump. To encourage milk production , try looking at cute photos or watching videos of your cooing baby on your phone while you pump. If channeling those smiles causes you to miss your baby, or if you begin to worry about how much milk you're making, change the approach.
One mom told Hurst that her best trick for a quick letdown was to imagine money falling from the sky. Jen Jamar, a mom in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, found she had an easier time expressing milk if she spent her session catching up on Facebook or Twitter, or flipping through a favorite magazine. The Fix: When choosing outfits for the day, stick with button-downs, wrap dresses, or nursing tanks worn underneath a jacket or cardigan.
Even if you have access to a private pumping room, you may find you're happier in easy-access nursing tanks and cardis. For days when a zip-up dress is required, toss a sweater over your shoulders; you'll be grateful for the extra layer when you need to disrobe for pumping. The Fix: Breast milk is perishable, so you need to take measures to keep your supply from spoiling.
Knowing how to best transport, freeze, and thaw your breast milk is critical. Johanna Moyal, of Los Angeles, stored her milk in bottles in a mini fridge in her office. She brought them home in a cooler, then transferred the milk to freezer bags marked with the date and the ounces in each.
A stash can be a lifesaver when your milk production is low or if you have to dump expressed milk because of medications. Breast milk can stay fresh in a refrigerator for up to seven days. In a freezer, it's good for four months. Once you thaw the milk , use it within 24 hours and do not refreeze it. Two ounces is a good volume for freezing.
Leave some space at the top of the bag for the milk to expand while freezing. The Fix: You shouldn't expect to hold court in a conference room while filling milk containers, but there's a lot you can do while pumping at work. For example, consider catching up on email, reviewing a document, or sitting in on conference calls with the speaker on mute no one will have a clue. The Fix: Nurse often in the evenings and on weekends, since the more milk you're moving, the more you'll make.
You can also add a pumping session immediately after your baby's first morning feed. Your body tends to make the most milk in the morning, Howett says. Plus, most babies sleep their longest stretch at night, so you're likely to wake up with enough breast milk to nurse your baby and express a few ounces. Another way to increase milk supply : guzzle fluids. You need 15 glasses of water per day—and more if you exercise. You know you're hydrated when your pee is pale yellow. Sometimes, though, pumping isn't enough, so moms may mix formula with expressed breast milk.
The Fix: Trying to figure out the logistics for how to pump at work? Even if pumping doesn't count against your lunch break from your employer's perspective ask your HR department , you're a working mom and efficiency reigns supreme.
Pack a sandwich for lunch, and toss some protein-rich snacks, such as string cheese and low-fat yogurt, into your bag. This way, you won't have to run out for food or succumb to "I'm starving" stress.
There's also a reassuring upside to the schedule change: You may make some new friends! Juggling pumping breast milk and working is easier at some jobs than others. I only recommend products I love! More info here. You may have additional protections at the state level. Unfortunately, many parents who work at smaller companies or who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act may not have any legal protections to pump at work, making continuing breastfeeding challenging.
What can you do to pump at work without breaks? Many medical professionals whose job makes it difficult to schedule pumping breaks around patient care use a wireless pump like the Willow or Elvie and pump while they work. If you need to bend over while you work, a Willow might be the best choice because you have the option of pumping into spill-proof bags. Most other hands-free pumps will spill when you bend over. Wondering how it will look to wear a wireless pump under your clothes?
So, if you are separated for 10 hours Monday — Friday, I recommend providing the caregiver with 10 — 12 ounces ml of breastmilk, although some babies may need more. It is important to review appropriate feeding cues with caregivers so breastmilk is not offered at every cry, fuss or frustration.
Remember, this is only one third of the milk the infant will consume each day — the rest of her consumption will be directly from the breast and she will take what she needs when you are back together. Many infants will reverse cycle feed thereby getting their primary calorie consumption in the evenings and nights. Mothers should be aware of this and welcome it as a terrific method for maintaining supply. How should I package milk and store for future use?
The method that seems to work best for the busy working mother is to start each week on Sunday night by removing 10 — 12 ounces ml of frozen breastmilk from the freezer and thawing overnight in the refrigerator.
Milk can then be packaged for the care provider in small bottles 2. The mother will then express milk on Monday. On Friday, milk is packaged in 1 and 2 ounce bags ml and frozen, clearly labeled with the date.
Using this pattern, the baby will only receive frozen breastmilk once each week and the freezer supply will be efficiently rotated. There is a tendency for less and less milk to be expressed as the stressful week progresses. Freezing in small packages will allow mom to pull one or two ounces from her freezer on Thursday or Friday if needed without having to defrost and potentially waste 5 ounces ml of frozen breastmilk. Reassurance and support can make all the difference for these mothers.
Encourage networking with other breastfeeding mothers at work and plenty of skin to skin time together when mother and baby are home. United States Breastfeeding Committee. Workplace breastfeeding support [issue paper]. Employment status of women and men in Accessed May 15, Society for Human Resource Management. Accessed April 17, Wendy spent 15 years in the biotech industry in the Bay Area and worldwide prior to breaking out on her own and founding Lactation Navigation in Wendy has a B.
Both kids love to swim and enjoy bicycling. She is dreadfully fearful of spiders and enjoys spicy food any time of day. Lactation Navigation allows Wendy to combine skills learned in the corporate setting over the past 15 years with her love of breastfeeding.
It allows her to spend time with her children and also with new mothers. It also encourages health and happiness for other families, and brings bottom-line profits to progressive companies. Wendy Wright , Working mom. Supportive, evidence-based, recognizes the hurdles working mothers esp.
Thank you. Appreciate the feedback! It may be better to give recommendations in terms of a babies needs, which are weight dependent. Thus the need for pumping. The more frequent stimulation of nursing in a new pattern is probably what saves milk supply.
Realistically, when would she actually be nursing? The point here is that going back to work or school is NOT the end of breastfeeding unless mom chooses for it to be.
The new pattern of their lives becomes this: when mommy is away, I get bottles, and when mommy is back we nurse whenever I want. Anyone whose milk supply has ever been pump-dependent for any amount of time knows they would much rather wake to breastfeed than to sit with that machine in the dark and wait for it to be over. What strategies might a working mother use to ensure adequate sleep at night while breastfeeding, besides cosleeping or bedside cosleeping units?
My guess is that in addition to finding time to pump at work, this is probably the biggest obstacle to continued breastfeeding by working moms. My supply decreased quickly after returning to work with both of my children because their desire for nursing went away with the frequent use of bottles during the day. I wished they would have wanted to nurse in the evenings and at night because it is much easier and more enjoyable to have my baby at the breast than me sitting and listening to a pump in the middle of the night.
I am excited to see how it goes! Baby latches, you sleep… no one has to fully wake up… worked well for my 5 kids and being a working mom! Was MUCH easier than getting up at night to warm a bottle when the baby was already awake and crying, then after feeding took more time to settle back to sleep. I weaned her since I had to leave her with daddy while I finished my last semester of nursing school out of state. And the next 4 exclusively breast fed and only got bottles of breast milk when I was away from them.
Enjoy your priviledge to sit down and relax with your baby as often as you can… soon they will be crawling, walking, asking for car keys and moving away to college and life! Hi Erica — you are correct, staying up more in the night can be a challenge. This is usually a temporary situation. Some moms do like it to maintain supply and have more time with their baby — if short term — works out okay. Loved the article and focus on working moms, which is hard to find, but agree with Erica that the night feeding comment seemed a bit unrealistic.
What a great article to have on hand for so many women! Occasionally, I had to pump a bit more at home, but since I was blessed with a short commute, nursing right before and right after work was feasible.
One key point not mentioned was the need for a good pump. The double electric pumps on the market that are most effective seem to be the Medela Freestyle, Medela Pump in Style, or my personal favorite, the Ameda Purely Yours all reviewed on my site; feel free to comment. Many women get lower-quality pumps because of expense and their pumping suffers. WIC offices may give pumps, but not all offices give the same ones, and sometimes women are handed ineffective ones.
If you are not going to be away from your baby on a regular basis work or school , you may only get a manual pump from them.
Talk to their peer counselors for breast feeding support. Thanks for this article that is sure to help many women! I was blessed with a short commute, so nursing right before and after work was doable. I was able to stretch out pumping to hour increments and make enough milk to never have to supplement with formula or start solids before my baby was eating finger food.
One key point missing is the need for an effective pump. Unfortunately, many women resort to buying the cheapest pump on the market, not realizing it makes a difference, or WIC provides them with a subpar pump it depends on the office — some give out excellent choices.
A hand pump may work, but is tiring for many and leads people to give up. I wish the best of luck to anyone who needs to pump at work. Excellent point Leah — I should have mentioned the importance of a quality pump.
Thanks for your comments. Can you help me, please, with the name of some manual pumps I can use? I am currently BF an almost 7 month old that has been on solids for 3 weeks. I have noticed a decrease in my milk supply. I am fortunate enough to only have to pump one or two times while working every 3 hours and my schedule is close to schedule 3 above, including night feedings.
Should I be doing this? Thanks, Brandi. HI Brandi — you most likely do not need to pump at night — now that you are starting solids, your 7 month old will slowly take less milk and get more calories from foods. Nursing exclusively on the weekends can boost supply after a busy work week. I am donating milk to a friend who is only giving what I am able to share and give. So, she uses formula most of the time. I have a goal to provide enough milk for her baby each day, but so far only can get about 8 oz to her since I am nursing my 7 week old full time she has a 3 week old adopted child.
Is it realistic or possible for me to provide much more milk for her baby? My friend had twins and nursed full time and pumped out so much extra she donated to a milk bank.
I too could pump oz each feeding. Your diet and staying very hydrated is important. How blessed your friend is to have a friend like you. Good luck. Keep pumping between feedings and your supply will increase. Blessings to you both. Thanks for this post! I recently wrote this blog post about my experience. I was seriously considering putting him on formula. HI Elaine, thanks for sharing on Facebook — it is important that we get the word out about working and pumping.
Thanks for putting this info out there Wendy! So much breastfeeding advice assumes that mom and baby are together during the day, yet as you explain there are more and more working mamas who need support as well. Do you have any articles written about pumping beyond the one year mark?
It is getting harder to keep up my supply, but i am committed to sticking with it as long as i can. I also want to emphasize how critical a supportive employer is to successful pumping. Hi Working Mama Wendy — Good for you — 11 months and going strong! I do not have any articles written for pumping moms beyond one year — good suggestion to write one.
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