How to reconcile return to work and breastfeeding?

You breastfeed baby and you have many questions about your return at the office? You're not the only one ... Many nursing moms have fears about returning to work and continue to breastfeed.

In this article, we will try to answer your questions about breastfeeding after returning to work.

1. Breastfeeding benefits:

WHO recommends to breastfeed baby for the first 6 months of life. It has been proven many times, breastfeeding has many benefits on baby's health.

A baby who breastfeed get ill less frequently. Which means that the mother is less often absent from her work ... This reflection is valid for both mom and dad!

2. Pumping your milk:

When you go back to work, you are not always near to your baby when he’s hungry. You can then pump your milk upstream so that he can continue to drink your breast milk. The choice of a method to pump your milk depends on your situation and your desire, there is no "best solution" ...

However, it’s important to know that in the long term, getting milk may cause some women to reduce their milk production. That’s why we advise you to begin to pump your milk after a feeding, 2 or 3 weeks before the return to work.

Preservation of breast milk:

At room temperature, you can keep your milk between 66.2° F and 71.6° F for 4 to 6 hours (8 hours maximum).

In the refrigerator, you can keep your milk for 8 days. It’s advisable to place the milk in plastic bags dedicated to conservation or in the bottle of conservation. Make sure your fridge is between 32 and 39.2° F for optimal storage.

In the freezer, you can store your milk:

• Up to 6 months in a separate freezer if the temperature of your appliance is -64.4° F,

• 4 months maximum in the freezer.

• 2 weeks maximum in the freezer compartment of your refrigerator.

To defrost breast milk, it’s advisable to take out the desired amount of milk and place it in the refrigerator without warming it up. It can then be kept for 24 hours in the refrigerator or 4 hours at room temperature.

3. Feed baby:

Contrary to what one may think, it’s not necessary to accustom the baby to bottle-feed. However, you can do it if it reassures you. If this is the case, we advise you to start feeding baby bottles 2 weeks before returning to work. As soon as you give the baby another diet, don’t forget to do it by a third person! The child will quickly make the difference between moments spent with his/her mother during which he/she can feed and moments with another person.

"What if my baby refuses to bottle? " Don’t panic ! There are other ways to give it milk: the spoon, the cup, the "duck" glass or the syringe ...

After returning to work, you can continue to breastfeed baby when he/she is with you (morning, evening, night, holidays, holidays). When you are away, he will be bottle-fed. This will help him to structure himself, he will begin to make the difference between "I am with Mom I can feed" and "Mom is not there I can’t feed".

4. Fears of returning to work:

When you go back to work the baby will inevitably eat less, it’s possible that your milk production is lower. To cope with this, please keep as many feeds as possible when you are with the baby. Hence also the interest of drawing milk when you are at work and / or that baby is not with you.

When you go back to work, you will have a whole new rhythm of life and breastfeeding. You may have runny, leak breasts, it's quite normal while breastfeeding! That's why to avoid milk stains on your t-shirt, we advise you to put our Curve nursing pads inside your bra before going to work in the morning! Ultra-absorbent and invisible under clothing, they will be your allies to resume work in all discretion.

Reconciling breastfeeding and returning to work can be very tiring for a mother. However, continue breastfeeding baby will allow you to relax before or after a hard day's work and keep your moments of complicity and affection!

Tell us, how did you go back to work or what are your apprehensions?