If you are going back to work after having your baby, you may have questions about breastfeeding and pumping.  The first thing you need to know is that you can still breastfeed when you are away from your baby. Don’t give up! Find supportive people to help you meet your breastfeeding goals.

Here are 10 quick tips on pumping while away from your baby:

1. Begin pumping a few weeks before you return to work to get accustomed to pumping, and to build your supply and your breastmilk stash.
2. Bring a picture of your baby to work with you and look at it to help with letdown.  Another way to help with letdown is bringing your baby’s blanket or clothing that smells like him or her.
3. Pump every three to four hours for at least 15 minutes.
4. Bring a cooler with you to place expressed milk.
5. To increase supply, pump or nurse more often.
6. Pump in the early morning since this is when you are most likely to have the highest output.
7. Some mothers say that eating oatmeal or taking  herbs (such as in breastfeeding tea) will increase supply.
8. Go hands-free by using a specially made nursing bra or buying a hands-free pump.
9. Try pumping the “other side” when baby is nursing when you are at home.
10. Sleep with your baby. Baby will get more calories when nursing at night and your supply will increase. Also, you will likely get more sleep than if you get up to nurse baby in the night.
11. And a bonus tip! You get what you pay for when it comes to pumps. The higher quality pumps are easier on your breast tissue and also more effective. For full time pumping if you are going to be away from baby several hours a day, invest in an electric double pump. This is still far less expensive than formula feeding, not to mention your baby will be healthier meaning fewer trips to the Doctor!

In the article, Rosin mentions several reasons why, in her opinion, the benefits of breastfeeding are overstated. She also concludes that breastfeeding takes too much time and asks:

“…is it this generation’s vacuum cleaner—an instrument of misery that mostly just keeps women down?”

What are your feelings on this matter?

While not a medical researcher or health expert, the author claims that the so-called benefits of breastfeeding are actually minimal when one takes the time to do an independent study of the medical literature.

Another controversial claim is that:

“It is a serious time commitment that pretty much guarantees that you will not work in any meaningful way.”

As a divorced mom who supports her 4 kids on one income, this statement leaves the author scratching her head.

In this house, it’s Mom – who happens to still be breastfeeding the youngest – who pays the bills.

What do you think about the article? Is it a backlash against breastfeeding from an unhappy mother? Does she speak truth? Or what?

Successful breastfeeding after reduction surgery is possible for many women, depending on how the surgery was performed.

Any surgery to the breasts can damage nerves and milk producing ducts, which can diminish milk flow.

If your nipple and areola are still attached to breast tissue, you shouldn’t have much trouble nursing. But if your nipple was removed and placed on a reconstructed breast, you may have some difficulties.

If supply does become an issue, some women have been able to nurse their babies after reduction with the use of a supplemental nursing system (SNS).

An SNS allows your baby to suckle at your breast, stimulating milk flow and lactating hormones, as well as providing comfort for your baby and the benefits that come from nursing at the breast, while giving baby the nutrition s/he needs from supplemental milk.

Speak with your surgeon, a certified lactation consultant, and a La Leche League leader beforehand to discuss your chances of successfully breastfeeding after reduction surgery.

Take heart—this doesn’t have to be impossible. It also helps to reach out to other moms who have breastfed after reduction or other breast surgery. You can call a local La Leche League leader who can put you in touch with another Leader who has firsthand knowledge of your situation.

A must-have book often recommended for moms who will be nursing after reduction surgery is Diana West’s Defining Your Own Success.

Defining your Own Success: Breastfeeding After Breast Reduction Surgery

Rest assured that many moms with both silicone and saline breast implants have successfully nursed their babies.

The Institute of Medicine performed a study to see if breastmilk from mothers with breast implants would contain higher levels of silicone or other substances that would be harmful to babies.

Good news—the breastmilk was found to be safe. The Institute of Medicine concluded their study by saying all mothers with breast implants should be encouraged to breastfeed. Even in the rare instance that implants rupture, there’s still no evidence of silicone passing into your milk. The molecules are simply too large for this to occur.  If the implants are saline, the saline solution would be absorbed by the mother’s body and would be quite harmless.

If you’ll be working to balance breastfeeding and breast implants, make sure you meet with a lactation consultant or La Leche League leader to get started on the right track.

Some moms with breast implants find that their milk supply is slightly diminished as a result of the decreased sensitivity of their breasts.  Since the feeling of suckling on the nipple sends the message to the  brain to send milk, some women have to adjust their nursing habits in order to be sure their baby is getting enough milk. For some moms, this means nursing first on the side with more sensitivity before moving to the other side.

This may depend on how and where the implant was placed. If the implant was placed under the pectoral muscle, it’s likely that no milk ducts were cut  and breastfeeding will proceed as it does with any other mother. If the implant was placed into an incision around the nipple, there may be more issues with low milk supply. These can be addressed with frequent nursing, breastfeeding herbs and medications to increase supply, and making sure baby is getting enough milk with weight checks and diaper counts.

Don’t be discouraged—breast implants are no reason to forgo giving your baby the best nutrition possible.

Here is one such story.

“I had planned on breast feeding from the start.  However, I delivered 12 weeks early due to preeclampsia – because of my high blood pressure, I was put on a magnesium sulfate drip which made me LOOPY!!

My first visit with the lactation consultant was a waste of time because I was totally out of it and alone, so no one was able to repeat what she had taught to me when I was coherent. So one of the nurses later on taught me how to use the breast pump – and I started pumping.

The suckle doesn’t come naturally to preemies like a full term baby, so they need to learn. The NICU used a pacifier to help little dude develop the intuition and muscles to suckle. Then when he was ready to eat, he was started with a bottle of expressed breast milk.

Time after time I tried to get little dude to breastfeed, but he would not latch on. Even with the help of my lactation consultant. And because of his prematurity, I couldn’t take my time with him until he “got it”. I only had about 5 minutes each feeding time to give it a shot – otherwise he had to be fed with a bottle or gavage (feeding tube) and I was off to the “milking room” to hook myself up to the pump yet again.

It was a horrible experience for both of us. But I continued pumping for three months because I strongly believe that breast milk is best. Even when little dude’s appetite surpassed the amount of milk I was producing, I continued pumping and supplemented with formula.”

Thanks for sharing your story Cara!

Tandem nursing refers to breastfeeding siblings who are not twins. Sometimes a mother finds herself pregnant before her baby is ready to wean, and she keeps on nursing through her pregnancy. You can nurse both a newborn baby and and older child that is not yet weaned. If you are nursing two children, it is not necessary to feed them simultaneously, though this may contribute to sibling bonding time.

Contrary to popular belief, nursing an older baby will not harm your unborn child. Your body is intelligent and knows to give your fetus nutrients first. Your milk will likely drastically drop in supply at around 16 weeks gestation or so. Unless you have some special circumstance that limits your activity, such as a high risk pregnancy, tandem nursing is quite safe.

While nursing does cause uterine contractions, so does sexual activity. If sex is still on the menu, then nursing during pregnancy is ok too.

The main thing to consider is that you need to get the right amount of rest and nutrition to handle tandem nursing physically and emotionally. Having the help of a supportive partner may be the single most important factor in successful doing this. When both parents are committed to breastfeeding, your chances of success are far greater.

Read more about the challenges, rewards and adventures in tandem nursing.

Nursing twins is a challenging task but it can be done!

The key is to find a schedule and positioning that works for you. If you prefer to put the babies on opposite schedules, keep in mind that you will be feeding someone every hour to hour and a half.

If you can master it, you may be able to nurse your twins at the same time. For the first several times, this may require the assistance of another person. Have someone else hold one of the babies while you get one to latch on, then help you position the other.

Moms who are nursing twins often find that their milk supply is not an issue since they are getting the double dose of stimulation from the babies and the extra hormones that provides.

Many women have mastered breastfeeding multiples and found it to be a very fulfilling experience.

Recommended:
Mothering Multiples: Breastfeeding and Caring for Twins or More!