Going Back to Work/School and Breastfeeding

The majority of women who choose to breastfeed return to work sometime in the baby’s first year of life. While there are many benefits to staying home with the baby, life factors sometimes make it necessary for the mother to return to work.

The good news is you can continue to breastfeed your baby when you get home from work. Your baby’s nutritional needs will be met while you are away from him by leaving expressed breast milk with your care provider.

Helpful suggestions
On-the-job support guidelines
Storage and handling of expressed breast milk
Thawing frozen breast milk
Average milk intake
Frequently Asked Questions

Helpful suggestions

The following are suggestions to help you get started in planning to provide breast milk for your baby when you cannot be with him:

Supplies related to breastfeeding – You will need a quality breast pump, milk storage bags or containers, and a small cooler bag or chest. Consider purchasing a hospital-grade pump. Avoid borrowing a breast pump because used breast pumps may not give adequate suction to maintain milk supply and can harbor harmful bacteria for your baby.
Breastfeed exclusively (no bottles or pacifiers) for the first four weeks of your baby’s life. This ensures you will be able to provide enough breast milk to get your baby through the first two growth spurts at 10 days and three weeks. It also helps the baby to concentrate on learning how to totally empty a full breast of milk at one feeding without being confused about other types of sucking.
Begin pumping every morning once your baby is one month old in order to begin building up a frozen supply of expressed breast milk. You will have more milk in your breasts earlier in the day rather than later. This is because prolactin, the hormone responsible for milk production, is more available from midnight to noon.
The easiest way to collect milk is to pump for about five minutes per breast after nursing the baby in the morning. Pump after the first two morning feedings. It probably will require about five minutes per breast to empty out what the baby has left. Introduce two, one-ounce bottle feedings of breast milk per week to teach the baby how to suck on a bottle. It may take six to seven bottles (three weeks) for the baby to do it well.
Pumped milk can be refrigerated immediately and frozen later that day. Additional pumped milk can be added to the first chilled pumped milk in order to have enough for one feeding in one milk-storage container.

On-the-job support guidelines

Arrange a short, first workweek. Resume work on a Thursday rather than on Monday. If possible, take the next few Wednesdays off so you aren’t working more than two days in a row. This will give you and your baby time to adjust to the change in routine.
An electric pump may be ideal for you if you are working more than 20 hours a week. In order to get sufficient stimulation to keep producing enough milk, the breast needs to be adequately stimulated and emptied while you are away from the baby.
Visit your workplace with your baby two to four weeks before returning to work.
Weigh your baby’s needs versus your employer’s expectations. Think creatively about how you can shape your job to satisfy you, your baby and family. Also think how you can frame your work hours around breastfeeding sessions.
You will need to pump every four hours while away from your baby. If you nurse your baby immediately before leaving for work, it will give you four hours before you need to pump at work. If you work an eight-hour day, you may only need to pump once during work, and then immediately breastfeed your baby when you return home.

TIP: Store breastmilk in various volume containers to minimize waste (1 oz, 2 oz, etc.).

WARNING: Unfinished bottles of expressed breastmilk must be discarded.

Storage and handling of expressed breast milk

Fresh milk – three to five days
Frozen milk – do not store on door of freezer
Freezer (in refrigerator/freezer combination) – three months
Deep freeze (-20 degrees) – six months

Thawing frozen breast milk

Do not use hot water, as excessive heating during thawing can destroy some of the bacterial components of human milk.
Long method - Transfer frozen milk from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before (usually takes 12 hours to thaw).
Short method – Place container of frozen milk in a pan of warm water or warm running water.

NOTES:

Thawed milk should be used within 24 hours.
Never use a microwave to thaw and heat frozen breast milk.
Small amounts of cooled breast milk can be added to the same container throughout one day. Then, at the end of the day, transfer chilled milk from the refrigerator to the freezer in one container or several in varying amounts.
Leave space at the top of the container to allow for expansion of the breast milk during freezing.
Chilled, freshly expressed breast milk can be added to a container of already frozen milk.
If you forget to put your freshly pumped breast milk in the refrigerator or freezer after pumping, don't worry. Breast milk can be left out for a maximum of five hours if the room temperature is 72 degrees or cooler.

Average milk intake

Average Intake by Age

AGE	AMOUNT
0-2 months	2-5 oz. per feeding
2-4 months	4-6 oz. per feeding
4-6 months	5-7 oz. per feeding

Average Intake by Weight

WEIGHT	AMOUNT
8 lbs.	21.3 oz/24 hrs.
9 lbs.	424 oz/24 hrs.
10 lbs.	26.7 oz./24 hrs.
11 lbs.	29.3 oz/24 hrs.
12 lbs.	32 oz/24 hrs.
14 lbs.	37.3 oz/24 hrs.
16 lbs.	42.7 oz/24 hrs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of container is best to store my breast milk in?
Research supports the use of polypropylene and polyethylene bags, with polyethylene rigid containers (bottles) being much easier to handle and resulting in far less contamination and spillage during handling than bags. Several companies make milk collection storage bags. They can be costly, but breastfeeding your infant and continuing to pump breast milk FREE makes the cost of buying these special bags more affordable.
Is it necessary to bring a cooler to work with me or can I store my pumped milk in the employee refrigerator?
- It is best if you can pump your breast milk and then immediately place it in a refrigerator or in a cooler. However, research supports that it is safe to keep your pumped milk at 72 degrees (air-conditioned room temperature) for four to five hours without great change to breast milk components, such as vitamins and immune properties.
- For mothers working only five hours a day and going straight home, you can get by without a cooler. Common sense is the best guideline. A small, soft-sided cooler bag with a frozen gel pack will keep your pumped milk stable for six to eight hours until you arrive home and are able to transfer the container(s) into your own freezer.
- Most companies have a policy in place for guidelines related to use of the employee refrigerator. By placing the containers(s) in a non-see-through, soft cooler bag, coworkers will have fewer objections to breast milk being stored in a community refrigerator. Breast milk is not a "biohazard" and poses no threat to fellow employees even if spilled accidentally in the refrigerator.
What if I notice the amount I am able to pump out during my working hours is less after I return to work?
Sometimes this happens after a mother returns to work or school. Stress and anxiety related to being away from baby and taking on the added stress of working can affect the amount of breast milk you produce. Several suggestions to increase breast milk include:
- Breastfeed only (i.e. no bottles) when you are not working
- Try "power-pumping" for three days in a row
- Change your pumping style (how you pump). If you usually pump 10 straight minutes, try pumping for five minutes. Then, turn off the pump and do one to two minutes breast massage, and pump an additional five to seven minutes