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Going Back to Work

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Breastfeeding keeps you connected to your baby, even when you are away at work, and your baby will continue to receive the best nutrition possible.

• After you have your baby, arrange with your employer to take as much time off as you can, since it will help you and your baby get into a good breastfeeding routine and help you make plenty of milk.

• If you can't breastfeed your baby directly during your work breaks, plan to leave your expressed or pumped milk for your baby. The milk can be given to your baby by the caregiver with a bottle or cup. Some babies don't like bottles; they prefer to breastfeed. So, be patient and give your baby time to learn this new way of feeding. Babies may better learn other ways of feeding from their dad or another family member.

• You can help your baby practice bottle-feeding by giving him or her a bottle occasionally after he or she is around four weeks old and well used to breastfeeding. During these practice times, offer just a small amount (an ounce or two) of milk once a day.

  Your Business Can Take Easy Steps to Support Breastfeeding! The Office on Women's Health has a partnership with the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to encourage business owners to support breastfeeding. The Business Case for Breastfeeding program points out the benefits of breastfeeding to businesses and gives them easy steps to make a breastfeeding-friendly work environment. The program includes tools you can use to help your workplace support breastfeeding, including a letter you can ask your state's health commissioner to send to employers (PDF, 152 Kb) and a letter you can ask your doctor to send to your employer (PDF, 108 Kb). You can also share the program's information with your supervisor or your company's human resources department. Order a free information kit today!

• Before you deliver, talk with your employer about why breastfeeding is important, why pumping is necessary, and how you plan to fit pumping into your workday, such as during lunch or other breaks. You could suggest making up work time for time spent pumping milk. If your day care is near your workplace, try to arrange to go there to breastfeed your baby during work time.

• Request a clean and private area where you can pump your milk, preferably some place other than the bathroom. You also need a place to wash your hands and your pump parts.

• You can start pumping and storing your milk before you go back to work so that you have lots of milk stored and ready for the first week when you are away from your baby. It is helpful to copy your baby's feeding schedule when coming up with your pumping schedule. Pumping patterns are affected by your breast size and milk storage capacity, so pay attention to your breasts. When they start to feel full, pump until your milk stops spraying and then for a few more minutes each time. Don't wait until they are very full and swollen. Expect each breast to make about one ounce of milk every hour.

• Some states have laws that require employers to allow you to breastfeed at your job, set up a space for you to breastfeed, and/or to allow paid or unpaid time for breastfeeding or pumping. See the resources below to see if your state has a breastfeeding law for employers. Even if your state does not have breastfeeding laws, most employers support breastfeeding employees when they explain their needs. Learn about the breastfeeding laws in your state.

• You should know that if your family receives financial assistance from the federal government's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and you have a baby under 12 months old, your state has the option as to whether or not it will require you to work during that year. Each state also makes the decision on the type and amount of payments, the range of other services provided, and rules for who is eligible for benefits and how long you are eligible. If you are a single mother and the only parent or caretaker of a family with a child under the age of six and your state requires you to work, you are only required to work part-time, so you can have needed time with your child. You can visit the Federal Office of Family Assistance web site for more information on this program. If you have questions or concerns about your own state's TANF policies, you should contact your state's TANF office.

Additional Resources

Publications

1. Breastfeeding (Copyright © AWHONN) — AWHONN supports legislation and initiatives that promote and protect breastfeeding and lactation in the workplace. This statement describes elements of breastfeeding support legislation supported by AWHONN and provides background information.

   http://www.awhonn.org/awhonn/content.do?name=02_PracticeResources%2F2C1_Breastfeeding.htm...

2. Breastfeeding and Returning to Work (Copyright © AAFP) — Going back to work and keeping up with breastfeeding can be a challenge for many new mothers. This publication answers some commonly asked questions about how to transition back to work after having a child and still maintain a breastfeeding schedule.

   http://familydoctor.org/827.xml

3. Breastfeeding and the Law (Copyright © LLLI) — This site provides a list of publications that address different legal issues and breastfeeding.

   http://www.llli.org/Law/LawMain.html

4. Breastfeeding: How to Pump and Store Milk (Copyright © AAFP) — This fact sheet discusses ways in which learning how to pump and store breast milk can make returning to work easier and less stressful. It does require some work and careful planning, but it can be done.

   http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/pregnancy/birth/828.html

5. Returning to Work While Breastfeeding (Copyright © AAFP) — This article discusses how to plan for pumping at work before you go on your maternity leave and after you have your baby. It gives information on talking to your employer and coworkers, practicing pumping at home, and it gives a checklist with everything you'll need before returning to work.

   http://www.aafp.org/afp/20031201/2215ph.html

6.   Supporting Breastfeeding in the Workplace (Copyright © Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles) — This publication describes the benefits of providing a breastfeeding-friendly work environment, and provides a template with suggestions about how to develop guidelines to become more breastfeeding friendly. It also provides other recommendations to businesses to help them become more breastfeeding friendly.

   http://www.breastfeedingtaskforla.org/BF_Policy_Brief_FINAL.pdf

7. Working It Out: Breastfeeding at Work (Copyright © LLLI) — This publication addresses the issue of returning to work and breastfeeding. It provides ways to be proactive about educating your supervisor and provides information on the latest legislation regarding your rights at work.

   http://www.llli.org/Law/LawEmployment.html

8. Workplace Lactation Programs: Good for Working Families. Good for Business (Copyright © Corporate Voices for Working Families) — Corporate Voices for Working Families has developed a toolkit to help working mothers establish a breastfeeding support system in the workplace.

   http://www.cvworkingfamilies.org/lactation

Organizations

1.   Womenshealth.gov, OWH, HHS
2. National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
3. World Alliance For Breastfeeding Action

= Indicates Federal Resources

Content last updated February 27, 2009.