Mums nowadays are pretty busy, and while there are mums who resign from their jobs to take care of their baby full-time, it's not always an option for mums who also work to support their family.
Regardless, breastfeeding your child is still very important, so some mothers get a breast pump and do the pumping at work so that once they get home, their kids will have a good supply of breast milk.
Here are some quick tips from mums on theAsianparent Community about breastfeeding at work:
1. Pumping at work: wear comfortable clothing
According to mummy Yuna Liz, "At my old work place, we wore uniforms that were button down tops; my then mummy colleagues never had any trouble pumping at work."
Agreed. It's much easier to pump at work if the clothes you're wearing are conducive for breastfeeding. It's important to note that when buying dresses and clothing made for breastfeeding, you should know if they can be used for dual pumping, or single pumping as some mothers prefer to dual pump (pump both breasts) to get more milk for their little ones.
Another mum, Yin Xiu, shares : "For me dresses, button down tops and tube or spaghetti tops work best. I have a nursing room in my office so it's easier as I won't need to worry about being exposed unnecessarily."
2. Pump early for your baby
Hui Qun Ng gives us some advice for mums that won't be able to pump as often as they would like in the office: "If you are unable to pump as frequently at work, you may want to start 3-4 weeks earlier to build the supply. Just remember that stored milk generally can last for three months in the freezer."
It's best to always have a backup supply of breast milk on hand just in case you get too busy at work and you're unable to take the time to pump. That way, your baby won't suddenly run out of supply and you can keep giving your baby healthy breast milk!
3. Take some steps to increase your milk supply
Being at work means that you're exposed to a lot of factors that can decrease your milk supply. To ensure that your milk supply is consistent, mummy Jasmine Chia says: "Make sure you eat! While you are pumping, you will keep the weight off, I promise! Breastfeeding makes you hungry as a horse and your body does that for a reason. You need the extra calories because you are burning so much off."
She also adds that eating oatmeal, and eating fenugreek seeds would also help boost your milk supply. She also shared that getting enough rest and trying not to get stressed are also important in making sure that your milk supply is consistent.
4. Make sure to bring the essentials
Roshni Mahtani shares some of her essentials when it comes to pumping at work: “I am a pumping mummy. I have a Spectra S10 at work and I bring a storage cup, my flanges, plus bottles as well as a cooler bag to transfer my bottles and milk home. I bring home the bottles and flanges daily to wash and sterilize and I store the bottles and milk in the office fridge inside a zip lock bag, placed in the cooler bag.”
You should make sure to bring your pump (of course!), a set of flanges, bottles or bags for the milk, and a cooler to keep the milk fresh. Breast milk spoils easily at room temperature and it spoils even faster if the weather’s particularly warm, that’s why it’s important to have a cooler bag handy.
5. Pump only when you need to
It's important to pump only when you need to, since you can't always pump whenever you want. However, for mums that have a lot of milk, things are a bit different.
Mummy Pavin Chopra gives us this wonderful advice: "Try to avoid pumping or expressing your milk unless you absolutely have to. Pump or express only if you need to relieve the fullness, because if you pump to empty your breasts, you may be more comfortable temporarily, but you will be sending your body the signals to make more milk."
That's really sound advice as frequent pumping does indeed make your body send signals to produce more milk. And while more milk is a good thing, you don't want to suddenly find yourself pumping at awkward times.
