How is It You Manage to Feed the Rest
Going back to work
If you're returning to work after maternity leave, you might wonder whether you can continue breastfeeding your baby. The answer is yes, it's completely possible and many women do it.
Make breastfeeding at work as easy as possible
Find childcare close to work
If you're lucky enough to be able to have your baby close to you in the daytime, you can breastfeed in your breaks.
Negotiate a flexible working pattern
See if there's an option for you to work flexibly. This could include working part time, working from home, breaking up the working week, having shorter workdays or working fewer but longer days.
Experiment with partial breastfeeding
This involves breastfeeding while you're at home and expressing milk while you're at work so that your baby can drink your breast milk the next day, even when they're away from you.
Whatever you decide, it might be worth doing a trial run before you return to work, so you can see if the new breastfeeding pattern works for you and your baby. If it doesn't, there'll be plenty of time to try something different.
Chat to other mums about how they managed breastfeeding and going back to work - you can do this online via forums like mumsnet. Talking to other mums who've been through the same thing will be really helpful.
Maternity Action has lots of practical advice on continuing to breastfeed when you return to work.
How do I express at work?
Your workplace is legally required to provide suitable facilities for you to rest while you're pregnant or breastfeeding. This might be a mother and baby room, first aid room, spare office or private room. You can use this space to express milk throughout the day. It shouldn't be a toilet – you wouldn't prepare your own food in a public loo, so you shouldn't have to prepare your baby's there either.
You'll probably need to express your breast milk at least every 3 hours when you're first away from your baby. It's a good idea to practice before you go back to work, so that you're used to it.
Your legal rights
Let your employer know in writing that you'll still be breastfeeding when you return. They're required to provide somewhere for you to rest during the day, including somewhere for you to lie down.
For more information on the legal side of breastfeeding while you're at work, including examples of best practice, the ACAS guide on returning to work after having a baby is a really useful resource.
When should I stop breastfeeding?
It's entirely your decision. Ideally, aim to breastfeed your baby exclusively for the first 6 months. When you start your baby on solid foods, they'll need breast milk or first infant formula as their main drink, until (at least) their first birthday.
The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for up to 2 years (and beyond if you choose). Basically, the longer you breastfeed, the longer you share all that natural goodness with your baby – but the first 6 months is the most important part.
Remember, there are many benefits of breastfeeding for you both from the natural (germ killing) antibodies, and vitamins and nutrients it gives your baby; to the fact it protects your health too – did you know breastfeeding lowers your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes and cardiovascular disease?
How do I stop breastfeeding?
Stopping breastfeeding should be done gradually. You need to give your body time to adjust to making less milk – phasing it out will also help prevent you getting mastitis and engorged breasts.
Lots of mums find dropping one feed at a time the best way. For every feed you drop, allow yourself about a week to adjust.
Weaning your baby off breast milk should be a gradual process, it's best if you can be flexible and not rush it. You may need to slow things down at times, for example if your baby is poorly, they tend to want to feed more frequently. Remember, if weaning off breast milk is proving tricky, try to be patient – you can always take a break and try again in a few weeks.
Babies under 1
Replace dropped feeds with first infant formula. Babies under 6 months will need to be bottle fed. Babies older than 6 months can have their feed in a beaker or cup.
Babies 1 year and older
As long as your baby is having a well-balanced diet, they won't need a replacement feed.
Breastfeeding Friend from Start4life
The Breastfeeding Friend, a digital tool from Start4Life, has lots of useful information and expert advice to share with you – and because it's a digital tool, you can access it 24 / 7.
Source: https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/baby/feeding-your-baby/breastfeeding/going-back-to-work/
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