breastfeedingwhen you’re

going back towork or school

Florida Department of Health, WIC Program

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Solid foods should be offered at about 6 months andbreastfeeding should continue until the baby is 1 year of age orolder.

Thousands of new mothers continue tobreastfeed their babies while they areworking or going to school. Breastfeedingkeeps you close to your baby, even whenyou have to be apart.

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pediatriciansrecommend that

babies be given onlybreast milk for the

first 6 months of life

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Take time to learn about your employer’s or school’s policiesabout breastfeeding. Talk to your supervisor about your plans forbreastfeeding. Let them know that breastfeeding mothers usually need lesstime off for sick babies.

At first, you may plan to go back to work or school on a part-time basis ormaybe take off one day in the middle of the week. This can help you andyour baby adjust.

Also, take time to find a child care provider who will support your plans forbreastfeeding.

while you are pregnant. . .

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Take time to establish a good milk supply. Give yourself time to get toknow your baby, yourself, and how breastfeeding works. The more comfortableyou feel with breastfeeding, the easier it will be once you return to work or school.It usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks to establish a good milk supply and to feelconfident about breastfeeding.

Keep track of the times your baby usually wants to breastfeed. When you go backto work or school, you can try to express (collect) your breast milk or breastfeedyour baby around those same times. This will keep you more comfortable bykeeping your breasts from feeling too full or leaking.

Visit the child care provider and leave the baby there for some short periods of time.Then you can gradually increase the amount of time you leave your baby with thechild care provider. This lets you, the child care provider, and the baby get to knoweach other. Tell your child care provider your baby’s usual feeding times so the babycan be fed at those times. Often, the feedings go more smoothly if the child careprovider knows the baby’s feeding times and offers the baby a bottle before he orshe is very hungry.

after your baby is born

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Get up a little earlier so you canbreastfeed your baby. Then the baby will behappy while you get yourself ready for the day.Nurse again just before you leave home or whendropping the baby off at the child care provider.

If you will not be able to breastfeed your babyduring the day, you should plan to express yourmilk. Express your breast milk at least 3 times aday—mid-morning, lunchtime, and mid-afternoon. Have pictures of your baby, a babyblanket, or toy to remind you about your baby.This can help you relax and make it easier foryou to express milk. When your baby is over 6months old and is eating solid food, you maynot need to express milk as often during thework day.

Wear two-piece outfits to make expressing ornursing easier. If you leak milk, try to expressmore often and use nursing pads inside yourbra. If leaking is a problem, you can wearclothing with a pattern, a sweater, or a jacket tohide any leak marks.

Plan on nursing when you pick up your babyfrom the child care provider or as soon as youget home. Relaxing together for the first 30minutes can refresh you and give you somequiet time with your baby. Your baby mayawaken more frequently at night to nurse. Thisis a way your baby can keep up your milksupply and also “touch base” with you whenyou have been away during the day.

Breastfeed your baby after work or school andon days off. This will help keep up your milksupply. Do not be surprised if your baby wantsto nurse often when you are together. Do notuse bottles or pacifiers when you are with yourbaby. The more you nurse, the more milk youwill make.

days whenyou will beworking orgoing toschool

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This information applies to mothers who have healthy, full-term babies;who are storing their milk for home use (not hospital use); who washtheir hands before expressing; and who use containers that have beenwashed in hot, soapy water and rinsed.

You can collect (express) your breast milk when you are unable to breastfeed your baby.This can be done using hand expression or a pump. Hand pumps work well for manymothers who only need to express milk occasionally. Full-size or single-user electricbreast pumps that can pump both breasts at the same time save mothers time and arevery efficient.

hand expressionCollect your milk in a container that has been washed in hot, soapy water, and has beenrinsed well. A glass or plastic bowl works well.

Begin by washing your hands well with soap and water. Put a warm washcloth on yourbreasts to help your milk flow. Note: When you are first learning, you may want topractice in the shower.

Massage your breasts for a few minutes. Do this by placing one hand under your breastfor support. Apply gentle pressure using a circular motion with your other hand.Massage from several starting points, always working from the chest toward the nipple.Repeat on your other breast.

collecting your milk

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position, push and rollStep one: POSITION. Find the right spot that works foryou to place your fingers and thumb on the areolabehind the nipple. This may be about 1 to 1½ inchesback. Position your thumb and first two forefingerson the opposite sides of your nipple.

Step two: PUSH. Push straight into your chest wall. (Ifyou have large breasts you will first need to lift yourbreast with your other hand and then push).

Step three: ROLL. At the end of the push, roll yourthumb towards your forefingers as if you are makinga thumbprint. At the same time, change your fingerpressure from your second to your first forefinger,creating a rolling effect with your forefingers.

Repeat steps one, two and three, rotating the positionof your thumb and forefingers around the nipple. Youmay need to move your thumb and forefingers closerto or farther back from your nipple to find the bestlocation that empties your breast.

COLLECT YOUR MILK INTO A CLEAN CONTAINER.

When milk flow slows down, switch to your otherbreast. Then massage both breasts again and expresssome more milk. Expressing your milk gets easier withpractice and works best when your milk supply is builtup. Most mothers get more milk in the mornings. Donot be discouraged if you can express only a smallamount at first. The more you practice, the easier itwill get!

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the hand pumpMost manual breast pumps are meant for use by mothers who need to pump oncein a while or part-time. Read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how tobest use the pump.

the electric pumpThere are many types of electric breast pumps. Electric pumps are generally the most effective at removingmilk from the breast. These pumps adapt so that a mother can pump one breast at a time or both at thesame time. Pumping both breasts at the same time (double pumping) usually yields more milk and is moretime efficient. Most electric pumps have adjustable suction and a suck-and-release cycle speed so you canimitate your baby at the breast and figure out what works best for you.

Multi-user electric breast pumps are the most powerful and effective of all breast pumps and can be usedby more than one mother. Each mother gets her own milk-collection kit to eliminate cross-contaminationof milk between mothers.

Single-user electric breast pumps are designed to help a mother maintain an already well established milksupply when she must be separated from her baby on a regular basis, such as for work or school. Single-user pumps should not be shared between mothers to avoid contamination issues. Single-user electricpumps are used after your milk supply is well established, which takes approximately 3 to 6 weeks ofexclusive breastfeeding.

Read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to best use the pump.

Ask your WIC breastfeeding educator for suggestions about types of pumpsand if any are available through your local WIC office.

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choosing a breast pump

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During a pumping session your nipples will usually double inlength and diameter. About half of breastfeeding/pumping mothers need abreast flange size larger than the standard flange that comes with the kit. Ifpumping hurts, even on low suction, you need a larger flange. If the standardflange size is too small, a larger flange should feel better and pump more milk. Aflange that is too tight can cause your breast not to be emptied well. It couldlower your milk supply over time.

To check your flange fit, check your nipple during pumping. Your nipple shouldmove freely and should not rub against the sides of the tunnel. See the drawingsbelow.

choosing theright size

breast flange(shield)

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good fit too tight

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• Store your milk in a sterile glass bottle, asterile “Bisphenol-A (BPA) free”polypropylene hard plastic bottle or freezerbags specially made for storing humanmilk. Avoid thin bottle liners—they are notmeant for freezing or storing breast milk.

• Put the smallest amount of milk youthink the baby will take at a feeding ineach container. You do not want anybreast milk to be wasted. Do not overfill.

• Put a sticky label with the date on eachcontainer. Also, include your baby’s nameon the label if he or she is in daycare.

• If you are going to use the milk within 8days, you may store it in the back of yourrefrigerator. Fresh milk is preferable overfrozen and thawed. If the milk is not goingto be used within 8 days, it is best to freezeit.

• Your milk may be stored in a refrigeratorat 39°F for up to 8 days, in a refrigeratorfreezer for up to 3 to 4 months (freezermust have a separate door), or in a standalone freezer that stays at 0°F for up to 12months.

• If you do not have a refrigerator orfreezer close by when you collect yourmilk, put your milk in an insulatedcontainer with freezer packs.

• You can add fresh milk to refrigeratedmilk. But first the fresh milk should becooled in the refrigerator for about a halfhour before pouring it into the olderrefrigerated milk.

• Use the oldest milk first.

• Do not heat your milk on the stove anddo not microwave it. High heat destroysthe antibodies in your milk. Also, it canmake the milk dangerously hot for yourbaby.

• Thawing should be done overnight in therefrigerator. Then, the bottle or the bagcan be set in a small bowl of warm waterto warm the milk. Do not let water touchthe lid of the bottle or the top of the bagbecause the water may get into the bottleor the bag.

• Breast milk may separate into layers. Thefat will rise to the top. Gently swirl the milkto remix it when thawed or warmed.Pumped milk may vary in color, consistencyand smell depending on your diet.

• Newborns need their milk warmed tobody temperature. Cold milk can bringdown a newborn’s body temperature.Older, larger babies may be able to handlechilled milk just fine.

• Expressed milk can be kept in a commonrefrigerator at the workplace or day carecenter.

storing your milk

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introducing the bottleWhen learning to take a bottle, mostbreastfeeding babies do best with a slow-flow nipple. A nipple with a wider base atthe bottom may work better too. This typeof base makes the baby open his or hermouth wide. This is more like what thebaby does when breastfeeding. The bottlenipple should be long enough so that thebaby can draw it into the back of themouth to where the breast should beduring correct latch-on and breastfeeding.A softer nipple may be better than a firmerone.

About 2 to 3 weeks before returning towork, begin to let your baby get used totaking breast milk from a bottle. Babies aresmart—they know mother has the “realthing.” They usually learn to take a bottlemore easily from someone else. It is best ifsomeone other than the mother offers thebaby the bottle.

Every time a baby takes breast milk from abottle, the mother should express breastmilk so she can keep up her milk supply.

work with your caregiverRemind the caregiver to have patience—your baby is learning a new skill.

When beginning the feeding, the caregivershould latch the baby onto the bottle inthe same way as if the baby were going tothe breast. Touch the baby’s lips lightly

with the nipple. Wait until the baby openswide. Then let the baby pull the bottlenipple well into his or her mouth, ratherthan the caregiver pushing it in the baby’smouth.

Remind the caregiver to remove the bottlenipple from the baby’s mouth periodicallyto let the baby pause and catch his or herbreath.

An older baby could be given breast milkdirectly from a cup instead of from abottle—probably from about 4 months oldand up.

introducing artificialbaby milkRemember, pediatricians recommend thatbabies are given only breast milk for thefirst six months of life. However, if youplan to give your baby breast milk andartificial baby milk (infant formula) do thisgradually. Two weeks ahead of time:

• Slowly begin offering formula for thosefeedings that you will be away from yourbaby.

• Each week, replace no more than onedaily breastfeeding with formula.

• Watch your baby closely for any signs ofproblems with the formula. If your babyshows any signs of problems with theformula, you can return to fullybreastfeeding.

suggestions for feedingbreast milk with a bottle

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Whatever time you spend breastfeeding is good for you and your baby. You bothwill be healthier for having breastfed. You are creating special memories you willalways treasure.

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DH 150-275, 4/16

For more information on breastfeedingyou can go to the following websites:

www.lalecheleague.orgwww.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding

Artwork on pages 7 and 8 were drawn from images provided by the TexasDepartment of State Health Services. Artwork on pages 8 and 9 were drawnfrom images from Ameda©.

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Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication forprogram information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American SignLanguage, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they appliedfor benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speechdisabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languagesother than English.

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA ProgramDiscrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at:http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office,or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of theinformation requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form,call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1)mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for CivilRights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2)fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

www.FloridaWIC.org1-800-342-3556

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