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| Time out for Breast Feeding Mothers |
When you feel ready to think about going back to work, or for that matter starting your
usual social activities, there are several options you may want to consider.
When your needs make time away from your baby a fact of
life, you can make plans accordingly. You can decide what plan will be best for you and
your baby -
- working on a part-time basis.
- go back to your baby or have the baby brought to you for a
nursing during a break in work. If you can do any of these things, it may be easier
for you to continue breastfeeding.
- going back to work full- time.
If you are leaving your nursing baby while he/she is fairly
young, you should get your baby used to taking a bottle. But the most important thing is
for you to enjoy and get to know your baby now. You may have heard that for working
nursing mothers the early weeks are the time to establish the milk supply. This isn’t
exactly the case, since a woman’s milk supply is never really established at a
certain level. Rather, the milk supply is always ready to go up or down, according
to how much time is spent nursing.
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| My baby is 4 mth. I want
to resume my duties in a school. How do I get ready? |
There are 3 ways for you to handle going back
to work:
- You may substitute one breast-feed /day with bottle-feeding
(with plenty of holding and cuddling), then two a day and so on gradually until no
breast-feed is left. Nursing less encourages the breasts to produce less and less milk,
which is gradual weaning. And weaning is something that all mothers and babies do
at some point. Whether you wean at one age or another or another is something for you to
decide as you go along
- You may continue to nurse before and after work,
indefinitely, while the baby is given formula in bottles during the working hours. This
way you will nurse more frequently at night and on days off work.
- Another way is to nurse before and after work, but hand
express or pump their milk in between and chill it, so that the next day the baby can be
given this milk in a bottle. Some women who begin by collecting milk for the baby find it
too time-consuming (it is time-consuming) and then change their plans and have the sitter
feed the baby formula.
It is more important for you to be happy with what you are
doing then to try to stick to what others say or suggest. Be prepared to be flexible as
you go along.
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| When and How do I
give a Bottle? |
| As with any nursing baby, your newborn needs
a good chance to learn how to nurse at the breast. For this reason, you may wait till your
baby is about 4-6 weeks old before beginning to offer a daily bottle (of water, breast
milk, or cow's milk). At first, a baby may accept a bottle more willingly from someone
other than his mother, whom he associates with nursing. The best advice on bottles is to use them from a position of strength
– you do have enough milk, but you’ll be away from the baby; the bottle is
appropriate. Don’t use bottle from a position of weakness – you’re
afraid you don’t have enough milk, so you’re using a bottle to fill up your
baby. The bottle is not appropriate, because the way to deal with "not enough
milk" is to nurse more, not less.
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| My sister is usually
free during the time I work and I plan to leave my baby in her care. What thing should I
consider when I will be leaving the baby there? |
| What things should I
look for in a baby- sitter or the people at a cr�che? |
| After you decide when you will be
leaving your baby, you may need to decide who will care for your baby. You may want
to find out how your relatives or possible sitters at a cr�che feel about areas of child
rearing. You will be happier in the long run with a sitter whose routines are somewhat
similar to your own feelings. Be sure to tell the
sitter about your baby’s daily routines, if he has any special feeding or napping
needs, if he has a special blanket, etc.
Obviously, the closer the sitter is to your home or on
the way to your place of work, lesser the commuting time will be.
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| Getting Ready |
| The first time that you are away from your
baby for several hours may seem tiring to you, but less so if you get ready. The night
before, you’ll need to pack a bag for the baby if he/she will be cared for outside of
your home (plenty of diapers, changes of clothing, bottles of whatever you have decided to
use, medicines). A blouse that does not show wetness
is a good choice for women who have a problem with leaking. If you feel your milk let down
or flow out, cross your arms inconspicuously across your chest to hold back the milk. Many
working nursing mothers feel that it is worthwhile to set the alarm early enough to allow
20-30 minutes of nursing and cuddling in bed, and also time for a good breakfast. After
you are back with your baby, you may want to sit down, put your feet up and enjoy a good
nursing. You can ask the sitter not to feed the baby right before that time.
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| I am in a joint family
and the only working mother. I am facing a lot of flak as to how I neglect my baby. I
don't know how to react? |
| You should be forewarned that some people are
opposed to the idea of a mother leaving her baby, especially MIL or going back to work.
You may even encounter a person who – without being asked – gives you his/her
own negative opinion of what you are doing. If you ever find yourself on the receiving end
of negative comments, try to remember that people who make such remarks may be dealing
with their own problems and may not realize that what seems right for one family may be
all wrong for the next family. Resist the urge to feel guilty or feel like giving up on
nursing or working when you’re having a bad day. |
| After resuming
duties, I notice that my milk supply has dwindled. What do I do? |
| If you find that your milk supply seems less
abundant, or if you find that your baby prefers the bottle (not uncommon around 4 months),
then you can decide how to proceed. You can either continue with regular bottles; this is
really a gradual weaning and is what many mothers do. Or you can increase nursing in the
morning, at night, on weekends. You can do whatever seems to make you and your baby
happiest. |
| Checklist while dropping
your baby off at the sitter or cr�che |
- Baby's feeds, medicines, diapers, change of clothes for the
day
- All-important phone numbers incl all your office, husband's
office, your doctor's and any relation close by who can be contacted in an emergency.
- While picking up in the evening, any significant event of
that day, incl exposure to any other sick child
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| If leaving your baby
with a full time maid |
| involve at least one responsible neighbor to
keep a tab on the servant and help out in an emergency. All important phone numbers in the
language your servant understands should be displayed at a prominent place. Inform your
doctor about the status and organise with your doctor and chemist that your servant can
get medicines/ healthcare without immediate payment. If
possible try and get MTNL's ********** phone plus service.
If you have a query and you are a registered user, click here.
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