Pumping prevents inflammation in the breasts.
Most mothers choose to express milk during the time they are away from their babies.
Expressed milk is then given to the baby by the caregiver in the absence of the mother.
When making a decision of how often to pump your breasts while at work, you can start by dividing your number of hours away from the baby including the time it will take for you to travel by 3.
Generally, you should pump as often as the baby nurses.
If you have regular breaks in your work schedule, these can be your pumping times.
This should be at least every two to three hours.
At work, this means expressing mid-morning, at lunch and at mid-afternoon.
This schedule is recommended for an eight hour work day.
If your work day is shorter, fewer pumping sessions are needed.
A longer workday requires more pumping sessions.
If you double pump, that is pump both breasts at the same time, this should be done to a maximum of up to20 minutes.
If you pump your breasts separately do it to a maximum time of up to 30 minutes.
An ideal place to pump while at work is where you can have optimal privacy and where an outlet is available in order to plug in the electric pump.
Such places can be an unused private office, the ladies' lounge, or a storage room.
Running water is also required to wash the parts used for pumping.
A comfortable chair and table to place your equipment is also required.
Pumping may not be your only option.
During your lunch break it may be possible for you to visit your baby and nurse during that time.
You should avoid going more than 8 hours without pumping or breast feeding.
In order to effectively have a successful pumping routine:
- You should be able to find a place to wash and/or sanitize your hands before pumping.
- If you decide to conduct double-pumping, allow 10-20 minutes each time to pump and 5 minutes designated to wash your pump parts in hot, soapy water, and rinse.
- In order to decrease on clean-up time, buy extra pump parts.
With adequate sets, you can wash them all in the dishwasher when you get home at night.
This can be achieved by:
- If you can do so, nurse your baby twice in the mornings: once when you wake up and again just before you leave the baby with the caregiver or at day care.
- Breastfeed your baby after work as soon as you have arrived at the caregiver.
If your baby seems hungry just before you arrive, try giving as little milk as possible. - Choose a caregiver closer to work than home to cut down on travel time and reduce your need to pump.