Christine Hernandez
Early childhood educator, writer, and mother. Your friendly neighborhood guide to all things parenting.
At Winnie, we support all families, regardless of how they feed their babies. Whether you choose to breastfeed, bottle-feed or a combination of both— it’s important to find a childcare provider that is supportive of your choices.
We also acknowledge that there is a variety of ways to feed a baby human milk, and that there is not one term to encapsulate them all (exclusively pumping, chestfeeding, donor milk, etc), but for the context of this article we will use the term “breastfeeding” (or chestfeeding) to include all families who use human milk to feed their babies.
Many parents wonder how they’ll be able to continue breastfeeding after returning to work but it is absolutely possible if it’s how you want to continue to feed your baby.
We’re sharing tips from two breastfeeding professionals, to help support your family as you navigate returning to work while breast/chest-feeding.
How should I prepare for returning to work if I intend to breastfeed?
Returning to work while continuing to breastfeed takes some planning and support, but you can do this! First, it’s a good idea to think WAY ahead and start to think through your return to work during pregnancy as part of the postpartum planning process. If you try to figure out all the tricky stuff before the baby arrives, you can focus on bonding and recovering during your postpartum period.
- Maximize your leave: try to figure out how long you are able to stay home with your baby.
- Start your childcare search: Some daycare providers have long wait lists, so you may want to start touring when you are still pregnant!
- Research your workplace options: Find out if there is somewhere you can pump or express milk during the day and a place for you to store it. Your workplace has to allow you space and time to pump, so getting this figured out as early as you can is best.
Should you start pumping right away to build a stash?
We asked Sarah Murray, a Registered Nurse and IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) from Long Island, NY for her top tips for preparing to return to work if you are breast/chestfeeding.“You can begin to express milk when you feel ready”, Sarah says. “Some parents start at about 3-4 weeks postpartum while others may wait until the few weeks prior to their return-to-work date”.
Next, consider which of the many options for milk collection you prefer. Your options are:
- hand expression
- electric breast pumps
- manual breast pumps
- Hands-free pumps
You’ll also want to think about milk storage options such as:
- plastic baggies
- silicone ziptop bags
- glass mason jars
- directly into bottles
If pumping is your planned milk removal method:
- Fit your flange: Ensure the proper fit of your flange by checking in with an IBCLC, or other professional for a fitting.
- How much milk?: Estimate how much milk your baby will need while you are at work (a rough estimate is 1 oz. per hour, but there are other calculators you can find online.
- Plan ahead: Plan to have a few days of expressed milk stored.
- No pressure: Keep in mind you will be continually replenishing this “stash” with your milk expression at work so there is no pressure to create an enormous stash of milk in your freezer if you don’t want to.
Give yourself some time to practice being away from baby for short periods of time and allow baby to have the experience of someone else feeding them. And lastly, do a “dry run” of your commute to work out any kinks and figure out exactly what you will need to bring with you.
a manual breast pump
How can I find out if my childcare provider is knowledgeable about handling breastmilk?
To gauge support you can ask a prospective childcare provider if they have a formal breastfeeding policy, if they have been designated “breastfeeding friendly” or if they have taken any courses on caring for breastfed babies (some breastfeeding support organizations and lactation consultants provide these courses).
Ask if they have a private place for parents to breastfeed their baby at drop-off and pick-up (many parents like the ritual of a feeding to connect with their baby right before they separate and then to reconnect when they reunite).
You also may want to ask if they have an open-door policy, which allows parents to visit their babies throughout the day. If you work close enough to your childcare provider, you may be able to pop in on your lunch break to breastfeed your baby if you’d like.
Rebecca Rovner, a Postpartum Doula and CLC (Certified Lactation Counselor) from Saratoga Springs, NY shared the following list of questions to ask your childcare provider if you’re considering continuing to breastfeed while your child is in daycare.
- How and when do you feed the infants in your care? Is there a strict schedule?
- When is a feeding considered finished (i.e. follow baby's cues, or encourage baby to finish entire bottle?)
- Are you familiar with paced bottle feeding?
- How do you prepare bottles of breast milk?
- If a baby isn't taking milk from the bottle, how do you handle that?
- Can the nursing parent come to feed the baby during the day? If so, when, and where would that happen?
- Will the staff support an individual feeding plan for each baby?
How can childcare providers support parents in reaching their breastfeeding goals, in light of the new AAP guidelines.
The AAP recently extended their recommendations from exclusively breastfeeding for six months, to continuing to breastfeed (along with food) for at least two years. These recommendations have caused some mixed feelings amongst parents and professionals, especially considering the lack of support many families face in their feeding journey.
Childcare providers are in the perfect position to support parents who are struggling with choosing the best feeding method for their baby. As a childcare provider, it’s a good idea to be familiar with the feeding patterns for breastfed babies, which includes the normal milk volume, appearance and frequency of poo, and timing of solid foods.
Know that many lactating parents make “just enough” milk for their babies, so be mindful not to overfeed babies which puts unnecessary pressure on parents to provide more milk and adds stress to what can already be a stressful experience.
Most breastfed babies only need an ounce, to an ounce and a half of milk per hour they’re away from their parent. A typical bottle for a breastfed baby may only contain three or four ounces of milk, even for an older baby—this is normal.
You also may want to offer parents a day for a “dry run” so they can move through all the steps of getting themselves and the baby ready for a workday. The baby can have a short introduction to the new childcare provider, and some expressed milk can be fed to the baby by the childcare provider.
Any resources you recommend for childcare providers to help them learn how to better support breastfeeding parents?
Childcare providers looking for a comprehensive plan to support breastfeeding families can look to this amazing toolkit by the Wisconsin Department of Health:
https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p0/p00022.pdf
And to learn more about paced bottle feeding, this video from the Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor is a great overview:
The New York State Department of Health has a self-assessment form that childcare centers can complete to be designated breastfeeding-friendly:
https://www.health.ny.gov/forms/doh-5188.pdf
Acknowledgements
This guide was written with the help of Sarah Murray, RN IBCLC and Rebecca Rovner, CD CLC.
It is meant as a jumping-off point to help you navigate your return to work but if you have specific concerns or questions about feeding your baby, your best bet is to ask your child's pediatrician!
IBCLC and CLC are acronyms for providers who specialize in supporting breast/chest feeding parents along their feeding journey. Both CLC’s (Certified Lactation Counselor) and IBCLC’s (International Board Certified Lactation Consultants) can be found in hospitals, doctor’s offices, WIC offices and in their local communities. If you are looking for support for going back to work or school while body-feeding your baby, ask your child’s pediatrician if they have any breastfeeding professionals they recommend!
