Are you a mom who is about to join work after the 6-month maternity leave? Does the idea of leaving your baby at home, dependent on packet milk, scares you? Do you have thoughts about quitting work due to a fear of disturbing your child’s feeding cycles? If yes, here are a few facts you must know regarding breast pumping that will assure you to continue working without worrying about breastfeeding your baby.
- Pumping can help maintain a regular supply of milk. Pumping after your baby's feeding cycle makes your body anticipate the same cycle and syncs your production of milk with that anticipation.
- A baby-fed bottle filled with breast milk will not reject the natural act of breastfeeding if the breasts have established themselves as food sources before the bottle is introduced. Babies easily switch between them.
- Mothers think fresh milk is not wholesome compared to stored milk. However, if the milk is kept in sterilized bottles and thawed before feeding after refrigeration; Then it does not lose its nutritional value.
- While, of course, no one can argue that there is an attachment between the mom and the baby through lactation, the skin-to-skin contact between mom and child is also an additional way to build and maintain attachment.
- Breast pumping may hurt a few women. Your body post-birth becomes sensitive. Set the suction to suit yourself. Not too high suction can ease the process. It takes time to get used to the sensation. Even if low suction hurts, you probably need another size of the pump or even different sizes for both breasts.
- There are different types of breast pumps available, electric pumps, single pumps, double pumps, etc. Choose the size according to your breast. At room temperature, breast milk can be stored for up to 5-6h and in the fridge, for about 2 days. Thaw and use it. Even your partner can feed the child in your absence.
- Breast pumps cannot be shared, they are single-user medical devices. Avoid cross-contamination
- As per W.H.O., it is recommended to breastfeed a baby till 6 months conventionally, post which, till 2 years, pumping and feeding the child with expressed milk works similarly.
Breast pumping provides your child with what it needs most 24x7- your milk. It is a helpful technique for both the child’s health and you to go to work guilt-free.
Keep it pumping, mommies!
