Families For Life | How Do You Breastfeed at Work?
Returning to work soon? Here's how you can work and keep up your milk supply for your baby at the same time.
For the new mother, breastfeeding is a daily routine at least for the first few months after childbirth. With their new arrival so dependent on them, some new mums are concerned about going back to work and finding ways to express milk for their baby at the same time.
This is a natural concern, but there's no need to stop breastfeeding when you've finished your maternity leave! With a little bit of planning, your baby can still be fed on breast milk. Here are some tips to help you out:
Start storing early
About two weeks before your maternity leave ends, start storing your milk. This can be done by pumping, or expressing milk from the breast, either with your hands or using a manual or electrical breast pump.
Feed your baby before/after work
Before you head off to work, make sure to feed the baby and fill them up. Do the same the moment you return home so your infant doesn't feel hungry for too long.
Pump at work
You can express and store breast milk even while you're at work! Take your breast pump to the office and use it either during your lunch break or right before you leave to go home. If your office has a pantry, leave your breast milk in the refrigerator — but make sure to inform your fellow employees first and label them carefully with your name and a date.
Here's a handy chart to help you figure out how long you can store your breast milk:
| Place of Storage | Storage Duration |
| Expressed milk at room temperature of 25°C | 4 hours |
| Expressed milk in a cooler with ice pack at 15°C | 24 hours |
| Breast milk freshly expressed and stored in the fridge at 4°C | 48 hours |
| Frozen milk in two-door fridge stored at -5°C to 15°C | 3–6 months |
| Frozen milk in deep freezer at -20°C | 6–12 months |
| Thawed breast milk stored in the fridge at 4°C | 24 hours |
Explore more
- Breastfeed for the best start
- Feeding your baby: breast or bottle?
- Mummy's off to work
- Nature's best food: breast milk (nutrition for baby)
By Associate Professor TAN Thiam Chye Head & Senior Consultant, Dr Janice TUNG Senior O&G Resident, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, KK Women's and Children's Hospital
Sources:
The New Art and Science of Pregnancy and Childbirth 2008, World Scientific
Healthy Start for your Pregnancy 2012, Health Promotion Board Singapore
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