Women’s Health Blog

Once you return to work, you can continue to breast
feed. If you live close to work or have an on site
daycare, you may be able to breast feed during
your breaks. If that isn’t possible, you have 2
choices:
1. Keep your milk supply by using a high
quality automatic electric breast pump to express
milk during the day. Save your milk that you
collect for your baby sitter.
2. If you don’t want to or can’t pump at
work, you can gradually replace daytime feedings
with formula while your at home but still continue
to nurse at night and in the morning. The milk
your body produces may not be enough to keep your
baby satisfied, even if you only need enough for
2 feedings.

Advantages of pumping at work
Pumping at work will help stimulate your production
of milk, so you’ll have plenty available when it
comes time to feed. You can also collect the
milk you pump, so your baby will have the health
and nutritional benefits of breast milk even
when you aren’t there. To make things better,
pumping can be an ideal way to feel a connection
to your baby during the work day.

Although it can seem like a hassle, many mothers
find that the benefits of breast pumping far
outweight the inconvenience.

To manage pumping at work, you’ll need to have
the following:
1. Breast pump, preferably a fully
automatic electric pump with a double collection
kit so you can pump both breasts simultaneously.
2. Bottles or bags for collecting and
storing the milk.
3. Access to a refrigerator or cooler
to keep the milk cold until you return home.
4. Breast pads to help protect your
clothes if you start to leak.

Make sure that you get used to pumping before
you return to work, so you’ll know what to expect
and how it feels. You’ll be much more confident
with pumping at work if you already know that
you can produce enough milk.

At work, you’ll want to have somewhere that’s
away from everyone else when you pump, such as
an empty office or empty room. This way, you’ll
be away from everyone else and you can have the
quiet tranquility you need to pump. In most
offices, this shouldn’t be a problem.

For the time frame, you’ll want to pump every
2 – 3 hours if possible. If you can’t, every
4 hours or so will have to suffice. After you
have finished pumping, store the milk in the
bags or bottles, clean yourself up, then go
back to work. When you return home, you can
feed the milk to your growing baby.

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Almost all women don’t have a problem with producing
enough milk to breast feed. The ideal way to make
sure that your baby is getting enough milk is to be
sure that he’s well positioned, attached to the
breast, and feed him as often as he gets hungry.

Some mom’s that are breast feeding will stop before
they want to, simply because they don’t think they
have enough breast milk.

There are signs that might make you believe your baby
isn’t getting enough milk. If your baby seems hungry
or unsettled after feeding, or if he wants to feed
often with short pauses between feedings, you may
think he isn’t getting enough milk – which are often
times not the case.

There are however, two reliable signs that let you
know your baby isn’t getting enough milk. If your
baby has poor or really slow weight gain, or is
passing small amounts of concentrated urine, he’s
not getting enough milk.

All babies will lose weight within the first few
days after birth. Babies are born with supplies of
fat and fluids, which will help them keep going for
the first several days.

Once your baby regains birth weight, he should begin
putting on around 200g for the first four months or
so. To get back to their birth weight, it normally
takes a few weeks.

If the weight gain for your baby seems to be slow,
don’t hesitate to ask your doctor or nurse to observe
you breast feeding. This way, they can make sure
that your technique is right and if they think your
baby is breast feeding often enough.

To help you with your breast feeding, here are some
ways that you can increase your supply of milk:
1. Be sure that your baby is positioned
correctly and attached to your breast.
2. Let your baby feed for as long and often
as he wants.
3. If you feel that your baby isn’t breast
feeding enough, offer him more breast feeds.
4. During each breast feed, make sure you
feed from both breasts.
5. If your baby has been using a dummy,
make sure you stop him.
6. Some babies may be sleepy and reluctant
to feed, which may be the cause of problems with
milk supply.

By following the above tips, you’ll do your part in
making sure you have enough milk when it comes time
to breast feed. If you are uncertain or have other
questions, be sure to ask your doctor, as he can
answer any type of question you may have.

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When you hold your baby for the first time in the
delivery room, you should put his lips to your
breast. Although your mature milk hasn’t developed
yet, your breasts are still producing a substance
known as colostrum that helps to protect your baby
from infections.

If your baby has trouble finding or staying on
your nipple, you shouldn’t panic. Breast feeding is
an art that will require a lot of patience and a
lot of practice. No one expects you to be an
expert when you first start, so you shouldn’t
hesitate to ask for advice or have a nurse show you
what you need to do.

Once you start, keep in mind that nursing shouldn’t
be painful. When your baby latches on, pay attention
to how your breasts feel. If the latching on
hurts, break the suction then try again.

You should nurse quite frequently, as the more
you nurse the more quickly your mature milk will
come in and the more milk you’ll produce. Breast
feeding for 10 – 15 minutes per breast 8 – 10 times
every 24 hours is an ideal target. Crying is a
sign of hunger, which means you should actually
feed your baby before he starts crying.

During the first few days, you may have to wake
your baby to begin breast feeding, and he may end
up falling asleep during feeding. To ensure that
your baby is eating often enough, you should wake
him up if it has been four hours since the last
time he has been fed.

Getting comfortable
Feedings can take 40 minutes or longer, therefore
you’ll want a cozy spot. You don’t want to be
sitting somewhere where you will be bothered, as it
can make the process very hard.

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Within the first two to three days after you have
given birth, you may discover that your breasts
feel swollen, tender, throbbing, lumpy, and
overly full. Sometimes, the swelling will extend
all the way to your armpit, and you may run a
low fever as well.

The causes
Within 72 hours of giving birth, an abundance
of milk will come in or become available to your
baby. As this happens, more blood will flow
to your breasts and some of the surrounding tissue
will swell. The result is full, swollen, engorged
breasts.

Not every postpartum mom experienced true
engorgement. Some women’s breasts become only
slightly full, while others find their breasts
have become amazingly hard. Some women will hardly
notice the pain, as they are involved in other
things during the first few days.

Treating it
Keep in mind, engorgement is a positive sign
that you are producing milk to feed to your
baby. Until you produce the right amount:
1. Wear a supportive nursing bra, even
at night – making sure it isn’t too tight.
2. Breast feed often, every 2 – 3 hours
if you can. Try to get the first side of your
breasts as soft as possible. If your baby seems
satisfied with just one breast, you can offer
the other at the next feeding.
3. Avoid letting your baby latch on and
suck when the areola is very firm. To reduce
the possibility of nipple damage, you can use
a pump until your areola softens up.
4. Avoid pumping milk except when you
need to soften the areola or when your baby
is unable to latch on. Excessive pumping can
lead to the over production of milk and prolonged
engorgement.
5. To help soothe the pain and relieve
swelling, apply cold packs to your breasts for
a short amount of time after you nurse. Crushed
ice in a plastic bag will also work.
6. Look ahead. You’ll get past this
engorgement in no time and soon be able to
enjoy your breast feeding relationship with your
new baby.

Engorgement will pass very quickly. You can
expect it to diminish within 24 – 48 hours, as
nursing your baby will only help the problem. If
you aren’t breast feeding, it will normally
get worse before it gets better. Once the
engorgement has passed, your breasts will be
softer and still full of milk.

During this time, you can and should continue to
nurse. Unrelieved engorgement can cause a drop
in your production of milk, so it’s important
to breast feed right from the start. Keep an
eye for signs of hunger and feed him when he
needs to be fed.

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Babies that are breast fed are very portable and
easy to comfort no matter where your schedule has
you going. Many women however, worry about
breast feeding in public. The worry of nursing
in a public place is normally worse than the
actual experience and often times the only people
who notice you feeding are the other mothers who
are doing the same thing.

Many women find ways to breast feed discreetly.
You can ask your partner or even a friend to
stand in front of you while you lift your shirt
from the waist. When you breast feed, the baby’s
body will cover most of your upper body and you
can pull your shirt down to her face to cover
the tops of your breast. Some mothers prefer to
put a light blanket over their shoulders as a
type of cover.

When you are visiting someone else’s home, you
may feel more comfortable either leaving the
room or turning away from people when you first
put the baby to your breast. If you would like
more privacy, breast feed in an empty room, car,
or public restroom.

A lot of restrooms are becoming more baby
friendly and they even have a seperate are with
a changing table and a chair. Several shopping
malls now offer special mother’s rooms where
the mom can breast feed her baby in privacy,
which will help sensitive babies who are too
distracted by feeding to nurse well in public.
It won’t take long at all though, before your
baby will learn to breast feed without any fuss
at all.

An alternative way is expressing or pumping
your milk at home and then offer it in a bottle
while in public. Keep in mind, offering
bottles with artificial nipples in the first
few weeks can and probably will interfere with
breast feeding.

When breast feeding in public, you should always
use what works best for you. During the first
few weeks, it will take some getting used to,
as it will be as new for you as it is for the
baby. With some time, you’ll have no problems
at all.

If you don’t feel comfortable breast feeding in
a certain location, then you shouldn’t. You
should feel a certain level of comfort when you
feed, as the baby can tell when you aren’t
comfortable doing something. If you show your
baby that you aren’t nervous – you and your
baby will be just fine.

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