Breastfeeding - Challenge for working mothers

There is a way to ensure the needs of both baby and mother.

             Most working women face a dilemma when the mother supposed to return to work after three months of maternity leave. How would a mother breastfeed her child when she is not with the child?

          Most working women face the same dilemma. Of course breastfeeding is the ultimate source of nutritents for the baby. All doctors recommend that babies are fed exclusively on breast milk for 4 to 6 months. This ensures the babies overall mental and physical well - being. But to quit a job is not the solution.

 Express and store Milk

            Most women do not know that breast milk can be expressed and stored in a 'Maternal Milk Container' before going to work, which is absolutely safe for the baby upto 4 hours at room temperature and a maximum of 72 hours if refrigerated. 'Breast Pumps' available in the market help mothers express more milk. Storing the milk in the maternal milk container helps keep its essential nutrients intact.

                  Breast pumps are mechanical devices used to extract milk from the breastbof the lactating mother. These are absolutely safe and do not have any long-term side effects.

      Maternal Milk Container are specially designed jars made of easy-to-sterilise plastics, which can be easily stored in the fridge or freezer to preserve expressed milk with all its nutrients intact.

      Now the mother can leave the baby at home with mother- in-law and still be sure that the baby is getting the nutrients the baby needs.

                         Returning to work does not mean the end of breastfeeding. For mothers who want to work after delivery means figuring out how to keep nursing without quitting job.Breast pumps gives them the freedom to leave the baby under someone else's care without having to worry about feeds.

                       It is advisable to start breast pumping and storing in a maternal milk container as soon as breastfeeding is established because many babies will refuse a bottle later. Every 3 or 4 days the baby should be fed the expressed milk.

                            The main challenge is to keep the milk from spoiling. "Expressed breast milk cannot be stored in just any container as the quality of vital nutrients may get lost or contaminated says Deparment of Pediatrics. "The milk should be stored only in the maternal milk container and it should be kept in a cool environment soon after pumping".

      Breastfeeding is essential for well being and proper development of the baby.A combination of "breastfeeding and expressed milk" ensures that the baby gets the essential antibodies through mother's milk to ward off infection and illness that can occur during the earliest years.