Going back to work after having a baby (and maternity leave, if you are lucky to have one) is the first separation from your baby and a challenge when it comes to breastfeeding. So, how do you get back to work and keep breastfeeding? Many women believe that this separation means the end of their breastfeeding journey, but it does not have to be this way if you don’t want to and if you have the information to organize your return.

Getting back to work is one of the top three reasons why mothers stop breastfeeding. Here, we summarize everything you should know to keep breastfeeding despite your return to work, and you can find more information in the LactApp.

Preparing for the moment when you go back to work

Many mothers feel the need to prepare their babies for the upcoming separation. So, sometimes, two weeks or a week before going back to work, they start to replace feedings from the breast with a bottle, either with their own breast milk or with formula, to make their baby familiar with the new situation and with the chosen feeding method.

But even if it might seem like a good idea, it is not recommended because it only brings forward the stress of separation. The baby often refuses to feed with any method other than the breast, which increases the mother’s worries. If, as a mother, you want to prepare for this hard day, it is better to focus on other more practical things:

• Get a breast pump, familiarize yourself with it, and decide which storage/freezing containers to use for your pumped milk
• Prepare the supplementing methods, ideally more than one, that you want to leave for the person who will be caring for your baby when you are not there.
• Build a small milk stash for emergencies, just in case one day the milk spills, you forget your pumped milk at work, or your baby is hungrier than usual.
• Get a cool box to transport your pumped breast milk with the cooling elements.

Although it may at first seem impossible, most breastfeeding mothers manage to get back to work and maintain breastfeeding. Each mother needs to consider her own needs and those of her baby based on these basic questions: What do you want to do? How old is your baby? Who will look after the baby? How many hours will you be apart?

How old is the baby?

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. If you cannot maintain this recommendation, there are several options depending on the age of your baby:

If your baby is under four months old, they should only have milk. Ideally, you should be able to pump breastmilk and leave it ready for your baby when you are away. If you cannot pump your milk to keep exclusive breastfeeding, your only option is to offer formula milk. From 6 months onwards, they can already eat solid food when the mother is not there, together with pumped breastmilk or formula.

A topic that breastfeeding mothers often worry a lot about is how much milk the baby will need, but there is only one person who knows this exactly, and that is the babies themselves. They will establish within a few days how much pumped breastmilk they need. However, as a guideline, we recommend leaving small amounts of breast milk of 50-75ml (1.5 to 2.5 oz) and seeing how much is needed in the first few days. There are also some babies who decide to wait for their mother and don’t feed when she is away; others will eat everything that’s offered to them.

Who will look after the baby?

Whether your child goes to a daycare center or stays with a partner or other family member, they can continue to have your breast milk. Nurseries and daycare centers should provide for the storage of your milk and ensure that it is given to your baby so you can continue breastfeeding for as long as you both wish. Usually, the pumped milk is given to the babies in a bottle. If so, you should look for a slow-flow baby bottle and teat and remind caregivers that the bottle should be offered slowly, very slowly, so that babies can regulate how much they are having, as they would at the breast (see the paced bottle-feeding method).

If your baby is going to stay at home, you have more supplementing options that are less likely to cause nipple confusion: cup, syringe-finger, spoon… Each baby and each caregiver should find what works best for them.

How many hours will you be apart?

Being four hours away from your baby or 12 is not the same. You need to calculate the number of hours you are separated, as this will allow you to better plan for the amount of pumped milk you need. Although breastfeeding is always on demand, the baby will ask for food approximately every 2-3 hours. Based on this information, you can deduce how many feeds your baby will have while you are away. You must also take into account your baby’s age, as the amounts are very different: 50 ml per feed, 75 ml, 150 ml, or none at all. Therefore, it is always better to have frozen milk and test it to see which amount is required on a daily basis.

Since the pandemic, it is possible that many mothers may work from home and have an easier time keeping in touch with their baby, who may be at home in the care of another person. This may make it easier to maintain direct breastfeeding if the mother desires and is compatible with her work routine.

How does a mother feel when returning to work, and what about the baby?

Many mothers suffer just thinking about the day they will have to separate from their baby to go back to work. The anxiety is enormous, and the questions about their baby’s well-being and feeding are many. Mothers can feel sad and overwhelmed, nervous, and feel they just want to cry. Separations can be very hard, but little by little, as the days go by, things settle, and everything gets calmer. And then the reunions after work are the best!

When babies are three or four months old, they usually adapt well to the new situation. The caregiver needs to know them and understand their hunger or tiredness signals so they can be cared for as well as possible.

In older children sometimes things are a little more complicated and they can be anxious about the separation: they are more demanding when you come back home or wake up more at night. There are also children who show their anger in a very visible way when the mother comes home and refuses to breastfeed or even avoid physical and visual contact with their mothers. It is understandable; they are also angry and sad and should be able to express it.

How will they give my baby the milk?

There are many supplementing methods, and depending on your circumstances, you can use one or the other, or even several! When you return to work, you must leave some methods prepared for the person who will stay with your baby. But no matter how much you thought about it, in the end, it will be the caregiver and your baby who will find the right way for them together.

Finger-syringe method: the adult’s little finger (clean and with a well-trimmed fingernail) should be introduced into the baby’s mouth, palm upwards, and the palate is stimulated, which produces the baby’s sucking. The syringe is placed at the corner of the lips, and the syringe with milk is emptied. This is ideal for occasional feeds or small babies.

Cup or spoon feeding: the cup or spoon is rested on the baby’s upper lip and allows the baby to lick the milk; in small babies, the milk should never be poured into their mouth. The only challenge with this method is that sometimes, a lot of milk is spilled. It is suitable for babies of any age.

Sippy cup: There are two types, those with a non-spill valve and those without. If they do not have the valve, this method is ideal for older babies (over 6 months) who can hold the cup and easily drink and swallow. If they have the anti-spill valve, babies from 4 months of age must learn to make the vacuum, like drinking from a straw, to get the milk out.

Sports water bottle: This can be a great supplementing method for older babies over 8 months. It’s not expensive, and they can manage the quantity they want to drink independently.

Baby bottle: the bottle is the most used method for supplementing. When giving a bottle, the baby should be seated, and the bottle should be kept as horizontal as possible so that the baby can regulate milk intake and not get stressed (see paced bottle feeding method).

 

Find out more

For more information on breastfeeding and how to return to work, download LactApp for free for your Android or iPhone. Inside the App you can find a consultation channel, where you can talk to our IBCLC breastfeeding experts.