Hi, my name is Sara Dion, a student nurse at the University of North
Dakota.  I am following an expectant mother this semester, she is
interested in breastfeeding but is worried about how it will work after
she returns to work and has suggested breastfeeding and formula feeding
both.
As I opened the Fargo Forum, a state wide newspaper,  this past Sunday,
there on the front page of the Lifestyles section was an article titled
"Breast-feeding in the Workplace".  This again sparked my interest in
finding ways that she could ensure a bright breast-feeding future.  The
article suggests for new moms who are considering breast-feeding talk to
other women who have done it and also encourages moms to talk to their
employers.  Breaking the ice with employers may open the door to many
breastfeeding options this may also break the ice for other women having
the same dilemma.   Erica Frank, concludes that while breastfeeding and
employment are both worthwhile, both deserve familial, professional, and
societal support ( 1996).
  A research study in 1996, conducted by Perez-Escamilla, Segura-Millan,
Canahuati, and Allen states that prelacteal feedings, whether water or
milk-based, negatively affect breastfeeding outcomes during the first six
months of life.  Chris Mulford (1995),  in JOGNN, also suggests,  "The
replacement of breast milk by other foods and drinks (formula included),
is the basic mechanism of weaning, normally a transitional process that
begins in the middle of the 1st year".  In the Forum article, Fran Mosey,
a certified lactation consultant, states that if breastfeeding full time
isn't working out, babies still gain the benefits of breast milk if a
mother provides formula during the day and nurses during non-working
hours.
The question, I would like to ask, is what are some suggestions that
allowed you or someone you know to continue to breastfeed and working full
time and are there any risks to breastfeeding and formula feeding
concurrently?

The Fargo Forum. (October 11, 1999). Breast-feeding in the Workplace.
[Online].  Available; http://www.in-forum.com/pub/10031999/8378.shtml
Frank, E. (1998).  Breastfeeding and Maternal Employment: Two Rights Don't
Make a Wrong.  Lancet, 352, 9134, 1081-1082.
Mulford, C. (1995).  Swimming Upstream: Breastfeeding Care in a
Non-breastfeeding Culture. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal
Nursing, 24, 5, 464-474.
Perez-Escamilla, R., Segura-Millan, S., Canahuati, J., Allen, H. (1996).
Prelacteal Feedings are Negatively Associated With Breast-Feeding Outcomes
in Honduras.  Journal of Nutrition, 126, 2765-2773.


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