Your Maternity leaves are over, joining work back and worried most about the fact that you won’t be able to breastfeed your baby regularly?
Do not worry! We have a few tips that will help you continue to breastfeed your baby and be the work diva that you are.
Express and store
Pumping is easier than it sounds or looks. As long as you have a good pump around, you can conveniently pump either at home or at work and store the milk for later use. Try and opt for an electric pump rather than a manual one. Electric pumps are more efficient and take less time for getting the required quantity.
Always have a supply of sterilized bottles and keep everything ready before you sit down to pump. Some pumping machines come with their own cleaning kits however if you do not have one, keep a fresh supply of wipes ready to clean up after pumping. Once you have expressed, store the milk in favorable conditions for later use. You can also freeze the milk so that it will last longer.
Have the baby close to your workplace
If this option is available for you, take your baby to work or work from a place that is closer to your home. In this way, you can take frequent nursing breaks and feed the baby as required. Some workplaces are supportive in terms of allotting space for the baby and nanny so that you can have the baby close at all times.
In case having the baby at your workplace is not possible you can look for a day care centre close to your work area and run to it, if possible, wherever it is the time to feed.
Time the feeds
You may want to time your feeds so that you feed the baby just before leaving home and feed the baby again as soon as you are back. The remaining feeds during work time can be given as formula milk or you can have the expressed milk shared with daycare if they can keep it in right conditions and can feed the baby at right intervals.
Please remember that if you stop feeding or expressing, the milk formation will slowly reduce and you will be forced to opt for formula milk. So try to exclusively breastfeed for as long as you can so that both you and the baby reap the benefits of it!
Dr. Sejal Devendra Surti
Specialist Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Aster Hospital
