Breastfeeding for Working Moms

By Tine Reese

July 23, 2010

istock_000011690690xsmall As a mom who went back to work only 2 months after my first son was born, I understand the difficult balance of trying to make a living and wanting to give your baby the gift of breast milk—liquid gold, as it is often called. There have already been many articles written about the benefits of breastfeeding and it is widely acknowledged, even by the infant formula industry, that you can’t synthesize the ingredients in breast milk that make it so invaluable to our babies health and development. Moms (and dads) often find themselves in the difficult position of having to decide the best way to care for their children AND make ends meet.

If you know you’ll have to go back to work, the best advice I can offer is to educate yourself about breastfeeding and plan ahead of time how you will handle the balancing act of working and breastfeeding. It will be difficult. There’s no other way to put it if I’m being honest with you. However, many moms do make it work and you stand a better chance of success by having an action plan.

I found an article on the Peaceful Parenting blog that will help you understand the physical process of breastfeeding, the reasons why it often fails when moms go back to work and the strategies you can put in place to continue giving breast milk to your baby. I encourage you to read the full article. Here is the short list of the author’s 10 recommended strategies for breastfeeding success.

Stay home with your baby for as long as possible after birth
When you do plan to go back to work, reduce your hours/days as much as it is doable for you
Read books on the subject ahead of time
Find an experienced, professional lactation consultant (See the list below of our local lactation consultants)
Rent a hospital grade breastpump
Wear your baby as much as possible
Sleep with your baby
Learn about safely handling and using frozen breast milk
Use bottles that closely imitate the nursing mother’s breast

Here is a list of our local lactation consultants: