Going back to work while breastfeeding

Returning to work is the point where a lot of women assume breastfeeding has to end, and it does not. It changes shape, and how much it changes depends on your baby's age, your job and what you want. Some people express at work for months. Some feed morning and night and give formula in between. Both are breastfeeding.

Start before you go back

Give yourself two to three weeks. Trying to sort this out in the last few days is the thing that makes it feel impossible.

• Practise the bottle, or cup, a few times a week. Someone other than you should offer it. There is more in My baby will not take a bottle.
• Build a small store, but do not go mad. A few days' worth is plenty. Milk in the freezer is a comfort, not a requirement, and huge stashes usually get wasted.
• Do a practice day where your baby is with their carer and you are elsewhere, so the first day back is not the first time for everyone.
• Get your pump sorted and check the flange size, because the wrong size hurts and gets less milk. There is more in Pumping and flange fit.

How much to express, and when

The usual rule is one expressing session for each feed your baby would have had while you are apart. For a full day away that is often two or three sessions of around fifteen to twenty minutes.

• Feed directly before you leave and as soon as you are back together.
• Express at roughly the times your baby would feed, which keeps your supply matched to their needs and keeps you comfortable.
• Mornings give the most, so an early session before work is often the most productive of the day.
• A hands free pumping bra is worth having, so the time is not lost.

As your baby gets older and eats more solids, most people find they can drop sessions gradually. Some stop expressing at work entirely by around a year and still feed at home.

Your rights in the UK

• Your employer must provide somewhere for you to rest, and it should be possible to lie down.
• There is no legal right to paid breaks specifically for expressing, which surprises people. In practice many employers accommodate it well, particularly once it is raised properly.
• Tell your employer in writing that you are breastfeeding. This triggers a risk assessment and puts you on much firmer ground for asking for what you need.
• A toilet is not an acceptable place to express. Ask for somewhere private and lockable, with a plug socket.
• Ask about a fridge, or take a cool bag with ice packs.

Raising it before you return, in writing, is far easier than negotiating it on day one with a full breast and no room.

Storing milk safely

• Room temperature, up to four hours.
• In a fridge at four degrees or below, up to eight days. The back of the fridge, not the door.
• In a freezer, up to six months is a reasonable working figure for a home freezer.
• Cool bag with ice packs, around twenty four hours, which covers most commutes.
• Thaw in the fridge or under cool running water, use within twenty four hours of thawing, and do not refreeze.

Label everything with the date. Milk expressed today can be added to milk from earlier the same day once it has been cooled first.

If expressing at work is not possible

Plenty of jobs simply do not allow it, and that does not mean breastfeeding is over.

• Feed when you are together, morning, evening, overnight and at weekends. Supply adjusts to the pattern.
• Formula while you are apart is a straightforward and perfectly good answer.
• Expect some fullness for the first week or two while your body adjusts. Hand express just enough for comfort rather than draining, and watch for blocked ducts in the transition.
• Reverse cycling is common. Many babies take less during the day and feed more in the evening and overnight. It is normal, though it can be tiring, and worth knowing about in advance.

How a consultation helps with going back to work

This is mostly planning, and it works best a few weeks before you return rather than after it has gone wrong. We work out how many expressing sessions you realistically need for your hours and your baby's age, check your pump and flange size so you are not wasting time on a setup that does not fit, and sort out the bottle or cup side with whoever will be doing the feeds. We also talk about what you actually want, because some people want to keep everything going and some want a plan that lets them let go of the daytime feeds without losing the rest. Both are worth planning for properly rather than drifting into.