Breast feeding in working mothers ( PART 3)

#brestfeeding #lactation #workingmother

Work outside the home is not in itself a barrier to breastfeeding. National maternity protection legislation should make it possible for the mother to manage both work and breastfeeding.

· Job security after delivery.

· Paid maternity leave for at least 3 months after delivery. · Paid breastfeeding breaks of 1.5 hours, flexible hours or shorter shifts.

· Child care or crèches near or at the workplace (so that the mother can continue breastfeeding), alternatively a suitable location for expression of her breast-milk (with cold storage facilities).

Source: ILO Convention No. 3 on the Protection of Maternity (adopted 1921) and Recommendation and Revision Nos. 95 and 103, 1952

• What you can do?

1.The breastfeeding mother should take her baby to work with her, or to go home and feed her baby, or to ask someone to bring the baby to her at work, whatever is possible.

2. Explain to employers why breastfeeding is important. It can be in the employer’s interest to support breastfeeding. Explain that the baby is less likely to get ill so that the mother will need to take less time off work. It has also been shown that there is less turnover of staff and thus costs on training are saved. Some doctors write prescriptions to say the baby must be breastfed.

3.The mother should adopt the following practices if she has to leave her baby with a carer, especially if the baby is less than six months old:

A. Breastfeed without supplements up to the day she returns to work. It is not necessary to get the baby “used” to a bottle and/or artificial feeds. Many breastfed babies refuse any other food while the mother is present, but almost all accept alternatives when the mother is away.

B. Continue breastfeeding, even if she has to be away from her baby for many hours.

C. Express milk during the time at work at least twice during an eight-hour shift. Some mothers also express milk at home when they feel more relaxed. The more they express the more they stimulate milk production. Many mothers can express enough milk to cover the time they are away. The milk is best stored in a cool place, but can also be stored at room temperature if it is given to the baby the next day.

D. Teach the carer how to feed the baby by cup.

E. The baby will adapt to a different pattern and adjust its intake accordingly. The mother’s body will adapt too.

F. Accept that the baby will probably demand quite frequent feeds when it is with the mother both day and night.

HOW TO FEED BY CUP?

1. Place the baby in a semi-upright position on your lap.

2. Support the baby’s back and neck with one arm.

3. Place the cup at the baby’s mouth, so that the milk touches the upper lip (see illustration). 4. A pre-term baby will at first lap the milk with the tongue (like a kitten), but a full-term baby will sip the milk.

5. Be patient.

6. Do not try to make the baby drink a certain amount, let it decide when it has had enough.

Understand the advantages of cup feeding:

1. The risk of poor attachment at the breast is less.

2. The baby experiences using its tongue while feeding.

3. The baby paces its own intake.

4. The baby takes only the milk it needs and is less likely to vomit.

5. The risk of infection is diminished since cups are easier to keep clean than bottles.

Storage and re-heating of breast-milk

Expressed breast-milk must be stored in a sterilized, closed container in the coolest place available. It can be kept for 24 hours at 18–20 °C in a shady place, for about 72 hours in a refrigerator (at 4–5 °C) and for about four months in a freezer (at -18– -20 °C).

1.Store expressed milk in a shady place or refrigerator. Milk kept cool conserves more cells than freezing, though frozen milk contains sufficient of all the important properties. Stored milk can be frozen up to 24 hours after expression, but no longer.

2. Freeze milk in small, ready-to-use, portion-size amounts.

3. Let frozen milk thaw at room temperature. Do not heat the milk as this destroys some anti-infective substances. It is quite all right to give the baby milk that is cooler than milk from the breast. Thawed milk must not be refrozen, but it can be kept refrigerated for use within 48 hours.

4. If you have not thawed the milk in time and must thaw it quickly, place the container in warm water.

5. Never heat the milk in a microwave oven. The milk may be boiling in parts, while the container remains cold.