RE: Breastfeeding & Return to Employment/School

I hold several workshops each year to help parents plan for the continuation of
breastfeeding after Mom returns to work or school.  One suggestion that has been
a big hit has been the "How I Did It" notebook. I invite parents to share their
experiences with continuing to breastfeed after they return to work and school.
These contributions I file in a looseleaf notebook. Each parent (I get a few
contributions from dads) has a unique viewpoint. For most new parents the prospect
of being separated from baby and attached to a pump is very weird. (Well, good, it
should be!)  Often the mother will tell me her return-to-work plan by starting with:
"I don't know if anyone has done this, but I am planning to..." Reading the
experiences of other parents makes them feel part of a community, and I think it
encourages longer breastfeeding. When parents read that some babies have been
breastfeed for 2 or more years after mom has returned to employment most are
surprised. And reading some of the obstacles others have overcome makes for
inspiring, even hilarious, reading.

My favs: The mom who commutes 3 days a week from Boston to NYC and pumps
in her seat on AMTRAK; the flight attendant who flies Boston-Asia routes and
pumps during her 5-7 days away (her stories of racing through customs to get to her
hotel room with the pump could make a sit-com!); the CEO who express mails (no
pun intended) her milk (on dry ice) while she's away--she has the hotel concierge
pack and mail it!  The mother who was invited to a preparatory meeting for the
Beijing conference in her home country in So. America. She was convinced that the
"important and powerful women" at the conference would fault her for having a
6-wk.-old baby in tow. Her husband and baby went along, but intended to keep a low
profile. Dad even had a few cases of abm, bottles, etc. "just in case." Well, (long
story made very short here) the "important and powerful" women were appalled
when they discovered she was separated from the baby, invited the baby to
theattend--and even passed a resolution that babies should be at all such meetings.
Then they paid the baby's plane fare for the return trip. I tell moms that you never
know where you will find allies. It's important to let people know how hard you are
working to provide the best for your baby.

This Thanksgiving there are many parents who are giving thanks for YOU!  (So do
I!)

Margery Wilson, IBCLC
MIT Breastfeeding Support Program
ILCA Region I Representative