With just a few months available for maternity leave, a mom with a job has to leave her breastfeeding baby behind at home. If she is lucky and has a crèche at work, where she can visit the child for feeding it can be a boon. But more often than not, this is not the case. So what is your option if you have both a baby and job to keep?
Breast Pump - Storing Breast Milk
Well, the first thing that you need is to get a breast pump. If you have not heard of this yet, this is a contraption that extracts the milk out of your breast. The milk extracted from this pump should be stored by refrigeration in small quantities to be fed to the baby later. The storage container should be clean and should seal tightly. It is advisable to label the date and time of the milk so that the older one is always used first. Keep the breast pump germ-free by making sure it is washed with soap and then dried in air.
Preparing The Baby For The Bottle
If you plan to put your child on the bottle when you go to work, start training the child to drink from it, from the first month onwards. This will ensure that when you have to put the baby on the bottle on most feeding times, he will not resist.
Things To Remember When On The Pump
You also have to understand that it is the child’s psychological need to suckle at the breast. So when you are at home, ensure that you breastfeed the child and don’t use the bottle. In cases where babies don’t take to the bottle, work out an arrangement with your superior that may allow you to work in shifts so that you may be available to feed the child at home.
Hygiene is extremely important while using the pump. The US Food and Drug Administration advices that, whether you use a manual or a battery powered pump, make sure your hands have been scrubbed clean and dry before use. Breasts don’t need to be clean unless some form of ointment or cream has been applied.
A pumping session can last for 10-15 minutes but it is advisable to pump for only as long as you are comfortable. Pump as many times in a day as you would feed the baby. Most woman don’t know that feeding is not the same as pumping and when you are pumping and are away at long durations from the child then your milk production reduces. That is because the body does not sense the presence of an infant to produce milk. If this happens to you, talk to your doctor or a lactation consultant for the next course of action. One of the oldest and well known remedies is the recommended intake of the herb- fenugreek. Fenugreek can increase a mother’s milk supply within 72 hours of intake!
While these were a few tips on how to manage breastfeeding while you are at work, there is still a lot to know and understand as every child reacts differently to being away from their mother during feeding times.