Are you a new mom getting ready to return to work?
I get it — your mind is full of questions.
You might be feeling guilty, confused, or overwhelmed with expectations.

But don’t worry — you’re not alone, and it doesn’t have to stay this way.

Just like you, the majority of women who continue breastfeeding after they return to work face difficulties, especially if they experience unsupportive work policies and a lack of prenatal leave.
Many breastfeeding women are challenged to balance the demand of work and their own needs to accomplish these goals. In this knowledge sharing piece, I am focusing mainly on breastfeeding in working women and the influence of maternal employment on breastfeeding practice and duration.
You don’t have to worry and can do both together with ease and grace: breastfeeding & working on your dream job.

Breastfeeding + Work = Double Commitment

Both your job and breastfeeding need your time, energy, and calm.

But here’s the truth:
You’re already doing something incredible.
You’re nourishing your baby and showing up for your career. That takes real strength. And you’ve got it.

How to manage  to manage breastfeeding while going back to work? Planning makes everything easier!

Here are some powerful strategies to manage the continuation of breastfeeding and employment at the individual, workplace, community, national, and international levels as described by Keren Wambach and Becky Spencer.

Facilitators and Barriers to Breastfeeding in the Workplace

Take a moment to understand your office environment. It is important to understand barriers and facilitators associated with breastfeeding in the workplace.

Barriers may include:

• Insufficient milk supply
• Lack of knowledge regarding the management of breastfeeding in the workplace
• Lack of time to pump and work facilities that are not conducive to breastfeeding
• Lack of breastfeeding policy in the workplace

Proven Strategies to Manage Work and Breastfeeding 

Prenatal Planning and Preparation

Pregnancy is a time of planning that focuses on caring for and feeding a baby; it is also the best time to plan for one’s return to employment. Yes, that’s the best time. 

Preconception and prenatal planning allow women to sort out and debunk existing myths about breastfeeding, especially the idea that combining breastfeeding and employment is difficult and not worth the effort. 

For mothers who are ambivalent or undecided about continued breastfeeding after returning to work, we handhold our mothers with real information on the benefits of continued breastfeeding in general and in combination with employment, including the following: 

1. Optimal infant health

2. Growth and development 

3. Fewer work absences due to infant illness

4. Lower expenses for infant health care

5. Increased employee morale 

6. Lower expenses for infant nutrition

7. Less energy and time spent on purchasing, storing, and preparing formula

8. Feeling more connected and bonded to the baby during the workday when pumping or having feelings of enhanced motherliness

9. Periodic lactation breaks that restore the mother’s perspective

10. The opportunity to restore feelings of closeness while nursing the baby when back together…& including learnings about infant feeding patterns, breast pump alternatives, milk expression and storage, and maintaining the optimal milk supply.

In addition, the mother should also talk with women who have already combined breastfeeding and employment to obtain practical tips.  Individual breastfeeding counseling is an important strategy for working mothers, such as connecting with lactation consultants, to identify specific needs, establish rapport through active listening, acknowledge specific concerns or myths, and provide consistent support.

The Lactation Consultant can help the mother begin planning for breastfeeding when she returns to work. The timing of the return to work should be decided before the baby arrives. The employed pregnant woman should seek support from her employer and determine if there is a breastfeeding policy, if there is a private space in which to express her milk, and she should also ask about facilities to store her expressed milk. Research indicates that women who work part-time versus full-time breastfeed longer. Therefore, it is recommended that women be encouraged to work less, if financially possible.

Starting with Working at Home. That’s a Helpful First Step

Working at home is an option for some mothers, particularly when connecting to a job that offers an opportunity for parents to remain at home with an infant or young child.

It not only enables the new mother to resume an organized way of life but also teaches her that a less structured day that recognizes the baby’s needs has its rewards.
However, even these workers will likely need to go into the workplace periodically to attend meetings and to share their work with others in face-to-face encounters.
Therefore, when preparing to engage in telecommuting, mothers may wish to make part-time/flexible childcare arrangements to allow for times when separation from the baby is necessary.

Consider Job Sharing. A flexible way to Ease Back In

Yet another employment option is job sharing. Advantages to the employer may include greater productivity, greater worker satisfaction, and lower turnover. Those who work with a job-sharing plan had significantly higher job satisfaction than their counterparts who did not job share and have a full-time work routine.

The flexibility of job sharing may be appropriate for an employee who wishes to maintain work skills while avoiding the stress and burnout that may occur in those with young children.

The Childcare Dilemma – One of the Hardest Parts

Another area that the parents should inquire about is childcare decisions. Whether to use a daycare facility, where such care will be provided, when the baby will be enrolled, and for how many hours and days, and the effects of such care on both the child and the parents are issues that figure in decision making during the prenatal or early postpartum period.

In some cases, the father may take on such care, particularly when the parents’ work hours differ or when the father’s work is flexible and he can rearrange his schedule to accommodate his partner’s job situation.

It’s valuable for you, read here!

https://www.unicef.org/media/73206/file/Breastfeeding-room-guide.pdf

And This Works, Literally!

Parents-tested  and proven ways that breastfeeding can be continued after the mother returns to work include the following:

1. Hand-expressing breast milk
2. Breast Pumping
3. Having the baby brought to the mother during meal breaks
4. Although not optimal, substituting a bottle with expressed milk for those feedings that occur during the mother’s workday

How should Workplaces support nursing mothers ? 4 Effective Strategies

These four essential elements are considered important strategies to assist women in their workplace to continue breastfeeding successfully. 

1.Time: Working mothers need flexible time to express breastmilk, clean the breast pump, and store breast milk during their working hours. Examples of flexible time include providing appropriate break time for breastfeeding or pumping daily and travel time between the workplace and the nursing mothers’ room (NMR) or child care. The frequency and amount of time it takes to pump depend on the baby’s age and the type and quality of the pump. 

2.Space: A private area or facility is needed where mothers can be comfortable expressing breastmilk. The NMR should be clean and have electrical outlets, a sink to wash hands, a comfortable chair, and a refrigerator to store breastmilk.

3.Person: Persons as employers, office managers, supervisors, or human resources directors have important roles as gatekeepers in facilitating and supporting the needs of the working mothers who desire to maintain breastfeeding while they are employed. Understanding colleagues also contributes to the success of combining breastfeeding and work; human resources personnel should also be educated and made aware of the need to support and respect the needs of breastfeeding working mothers.

4.Policy: A Breastfeeding policy is another workplace strategy that provides women with the opportunity to breastfeed while working. A written policy should enable working women to maintain lactation while separated from their infants.

Know More Here

https://www.wisemonk.io/blogs/maternity-leave-in-india-2024-eligibility-and-benefits#introduction

There is so much to learn, unlearn, and understand about breastfeeding, expressions, and storage of breastmilk, and finally, feeding the baby joyously. I encourage you all to breastfeed, express, and pump when it’s needed. That’s what only our babies want. 

Read More About : How to Maintain adequate supply , guidelines to store milk , and Pump Selection.

I hope this article has given you detailed information about how to resume work joyously and how to store breastmilk confidently. If you still have questions, do share in the comments or just call me. 

I would love to talk more and understand you. 

Love