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Kelly's Guide to Working and Pumping

9/9/2015

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In the United States, the average maternity leave is approximately 4-6 weeks. It takes about 6 weeks for your milk supply to stabilize, and then you’re expected to leave baby behind and return to work. This is not only emotionally difficult, but presents challenges when you’re breastfeeding. Working moms have an unfair disadvantage when it comes to breastfeeding, and the statistics make this very apparent- 80% of mother’s will stop breastfeeding within one month of returning to work. These statistics are very discouraging. That being said, if you have the right tools under your belt you will be ahead of the game and can take down the obstacles working and pumping put in your way. It’s important to be aware of potential challenges and know how to beat them- so let’s break it down!


1. Make breastfeeding your #1 priority

It is essential that you make breastfeeding, at the breast, your main focus first. You can read my tips for breastfeeding success here. As I mentioned, it takes about 6 weeks for your milk supply to stabilize. Establishing a healthy milk supply is crucial and your focus should remain on nursing your baby at the breast according to your baby’s cues during this time period. Don’t worry about pumping yet, and don’t worry about having baby practice with a bottle, there is really no need for that. The more you nurse your baby, the more milk your body will make. In these early weeks, you want to avoid pumping to “build a stash” of milk. If you are pumping while home with your baby and nursing your baby you will tell your body to make more milk than you actually need. Then, upon returning to work, you are much more likely to experience plugged ducts and increase the potential of mastitis from having an oversupply of milk. 


2. The week before you go back to work.

Now that breastfeeding is going well and your milk supply is well established, it’s time to start thinking about pumping. This is your time to really get to know your pump, how to use it, and make sure it fits you properly. Once or twice a day, go ahead and practice with your pump and store any of the milk you get out. Keep in mind, how much you are pumping is not an indicator of how much milk you are making. There are many factors that can affect your pumping output. (That’s why you’re reading this article, right?) Babies are very effective milk drinkers, and pumps are less so. When you are pumping milk while you are home with your baby, you are likely to get less milk while pumping than when you are away from your baby. Keeping this in mind, remember your main goal is to practice, practice, practice! You really only need enough milk for the first day that you are away from your baby. Which would roughly be 8-12oz. You can get that much milk in a week!!!



3. Getting the right pump and the right fit.

There are so many pumps! Which one should you choose? Choosing a pump is a very personal matter.  Breast pumps can be expensive, so you want to be sure to get one that will work well for you and really make pumping easier. I highly suggest using a brand that has excellent customer service and replacement parts are easily located. Medela and Ameda are both popular brands, with excellent customer service. You can find replacement parts for Medela at most big box stores and also medical supply stores like Binsons. Ameda parts are sold at medical supply stores as well. You also want a pump that is electric and you can pump from both sides at once, aka double electric. Avoid pumps that are manufactured by formula companies, as they are not made well and typically have poor suction. Check the warranty on the pump you would like to purchase as well. This is an indicator of how long the pumps are meant to last. Pumps are meant to be single use and their motors are typically only fully functional for about the first year or so.

After you have your breast pump it is important to make sure that you know how to use it and even more important that it is fitting you properly. When I support breastfeeding mothers, I always offer to do a pump fitting for them. Pumps come with one size parts, and breasts are not all one size fits all. More often than not the parts that came with the pump are not the right size.




4. Maximizing output and minimizing time. 

There are a few simple techniques you can utilize to make pumping faster and more efficient; hormone manipulation, massage, breast compressions, and hand expression. First things first, get yourself comfortable and relaxed. Your milk let down relies on those happy hormones your body releases when you experience something pleasurable- like holding your baby or thinking about something that makes you happy. Associating pleasure with pumping will help your body relax and let that milk down! So, while you’re pumping look at pictures or videos of your baby, eat a piece of chocolate, drink a cup of tea, or daydream about taking a vacation somewhere. Anything that gives you the warm fuzzies will be helpful when you are pumping. If you’re worrying about pumping or how much milk your body is putting out, then you are releasing stress hormones and this will inhibit your let down. Second, once your pump is all hooked up and you’re ready to go, use breast massage and compressions to help your milk get moving. Start by massaging your breasts by gently kneading, then compress or squeeze them gently. This will help get the milk stored deep in your breast to come out more easily and quickly. You can use both of these techniques while your pump is running. (Having a hands free pumping bra makes this easier too!) Lastly, at the very end of your pumping session, utilize hand expression to get those last bits of milk from your breasts. There is a bit of a learning curve to proper hand expression, but once mastered it is a very fast and effective way to remove milk from the breast. It also comes in very handy in situations where power isn’t accessible or if you (heaven forbid) forget your breast pump! Hand expressing for a few minutes at the end of your pumping session may help you get that last ounce of milk from your breasts that your pump just couldn’t get.



5. How much milk will I need?

Many times moms find themselves very worried over how much milk they need for their babies, and like we discussed before, that leads to triggering a stress response in your body and inhibits milk supply. Having confidence that you are pumping enough milk for your baby will help you succeed. I love this calculator for determining how much milk you will need while you are away from your baby. Being aware of appropriate amounts of milk and baby’s tummy size will help you, and your care provider, understand how much and when it’s appropriate to feed your baby your expressed milk. There are lots of great phone apps out there to help moms keep track of pumping. I highly recommend this one. Using a paced method of bottle feeding and continuing to follow baby’s feeding cues is crucial too. Sometimes babies are unintentionally over fed when a care provider doesn’t understand how to bottle feed a baby, or if they are unfamiliar with a breastfed baby’s feeding cues. It is highly discouraging to hear from your provider that you need to provide them with more milk because they are misinterpreting your baby’s cues. So please, make sure your care provider is on board with both of these. How much milk you continue to make while you are pumping at work will also be affected by how often you are pumping. It is important to pump every 3 hours. You need to keep your breasts stimulated during your work day to help maintain your milk supply when you are away from your baby.



6. Making it all happen.

Now that you have mastered techniques of using your pump it is time to have a conversation with your employer about your plan to pump when you return to work. One of the biggest hurdles you may face is finding an adequate space and the time while you’re working to pump your milk. Thankfully, there is a federal law set in place called “Break Time for Nursing Mothers” which requires employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk. Employers are also required to provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk. You can read more about it here. When you plan to have the discussion about pumping with your employer make sure they are aware of this law. They cannot discriminate against you for needing to express milk for your baby. It may be helpful during your conversation to give your employer some information about why it is important for them to allow you this time. It is important for your health that you are able to have the time that you need to pump. If pumping sessions are missed you could become engorged and experience plugged ducts and a breast infection called Mastitis which would lead to you needing to take time off of work. Furthermore, breastfed babies are normal, healthy babies. If you’re not given adequate time to pump at work, it will affect your milk supply, leading to supplementing your baby. This will then affect the overall health of your child and lead to your needing to take more time off of work to stay home with a sick baby. How could your employer deny this logic?

Courageous women and breastfeeding advocates are making big changes for you and future breastfeeding mothers, not only in the workplace, but in everyday life. It is my vision that our daughters will not face the same obstacles that we have faced as nursing mothers. One day I would like to see every employer be breastfeeding friendly and go above and beyond to accommodate the needs of their breastfeeding employees. Some great things have been put in motion by organizations such as the Oakland County Breastfeeding Coalition. Last month, the Coalition, along with the Oakland County Health Division, announced the Breastfeeding Friendly Place Awards in order to promote working and breastfeeding during National Breastfeeding Month. In October, the Coalition will be offering a free conference, with guest speaker Barbara Robertson of the Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor, for mothers who are planning to return to work and pump. You don’t want to miss out on this exciting opportunity!


Using these techniques will really help you be successful with breastfeeding when you return to work. Instead of becoming one of those 80% of women you will be lowering this statistic and paving the way for other mothers in the future. Use these tips and find support from other mother’s who have been there. Most importantly, know that you can do this! You’ve got this momma!
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Oakland County Breastfeeding Coalition Guest Blogger: Kelly Doresi, CLE

Kelly Doresi  is a CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator (CLE). Breastfeeding and family bonding is her passion. Kelly loves sharing her passion and empowering families in her community. She is happily married and currently tandem nursing her two sons ages 2.5 years and 6 weeks. She teaches breastfeeding classes in her community, supports moms during pregnancy and postpartum with breastfeeding, works in a breastfeeding clinic three days a week, and is working towards becoming an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. It’s a lot, and she loves every minute of it. Supporting breastfeeding families is her passion! Kelly is always available for breastfeeding support either in person, by phone or email. You can reach her here.

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Black Breastfeeding Week - Oakland County Breastfeeding Coalition - National Breastfeeding Month 2015

8/26/2015

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Showing up at a funeral wearing HOT PINK when everyone is wearing BLACK being a VEGETARIAN at a HOT-DOG EATING CONTEST; or walking into your grandma’s house NAKED while she celebrates her 75th BIRTHDAY are pretty much what it’s like for me being Black and Breastfeeding.  It’s weird, it’s not normal, and for some in my family it’s considered gross.  Breastfeeding just isn’t done in my family or in much of the black community where I live. My husband was number nine of ten children; none of them were breastfed.  When I came to his sister’s house to celebrate mother’s day, his mother was in complete shock that the milk she was feeding her new grandson in a bottle came from a human being. If she was shocked with that information, imagine her reaction when she discovered that I barely used a bottle and am more comfortable feeding directly from the breast; I might as well have said I don’t believe in God.  My husband’s sister flat out said that breastfeeding was gross, that breasts were used for sex, and said that I was weird and should pump. (As if pumping is so easy.) I was the strange one for wanting to breastfeed, and often times I was told that it was my “white” side that was eager to do it and comfortable doing so 


Why is breastfeeding a “white” thing?

My side of the family is a little more excepting of breastfeeding but it is still seldom done by the younger members. My grandmother breastfed for a short while, my aunts breastfed as well for an even shorter period and my cousins never breastfed at all outside of the hospital. Though my family is much more excepting of breastfeeding there are a long list of stipulations:

1. No breastfeeding past a year - “After a year they are too old to breastfeed, you better pump it into a cup”

2. You have to use a cover or isolate yourself completely- “Nobody wants to see all that”

3. The number of times you nurse or length of time you nurse is limited -”He isn’t hungry! He’s using you as a pacifier! You feed him to much!  Are you still feeding him? That’s way too long.  Start giving him rice cereal.”

For my husband, the idea of breastfeeding, was new and foreign. It wasn’t anything he was exposed to beforehand and he wasn’t very excepting of it right away. The change in him was gradual and I must admit came about for selfish reasons. When he first heard that I was going to breastfeed, he asked why I had to be different. He couldn’t understand why I couldn’t just give him a bottle like everyone else and kept accusing me of trying to be abnormal on purpose. He saw breasts as sexual objects strictly to be used by him. When he accepted the fact I couldn’t be moved on my decision, he tried to implement a list of rules: No breastfeeding outside the house, no breastfeeding in front of the kids, always use a cover, and so on and so forth. It was a very difficult time for our relationship because he just couldn’t see breastfeeding as a natural and beautiful thing. It was exhausting trying to get him to understand that just because he hadn’t any experience with it, that didn’t make it wrong. What finally made my husband see the light was after our son was born. It was 3 am and my husband had to be at work at 6 am. The baby wakes, and begins to cry, but within about a minute all was quiet again. I had whipped out my breast so fast and got the little one back to sleep so quickly that my husband barely missed a wink. He told me that he was so glad I had “those” things.  From then on he was a believer in the almighty power of breasts. He was so happy that I was able to comfort our baby so quickly. Not to mention the fact that with him being the sole breadwinner, he was saving loads of money by not having to purchase formula. Though time has gone on and he has become more comfortable with breastfeeding he still has a bit of a way to go. For instance he is still a stickler about using a cover and breastfeeding in public altogether.

For me, sometimes being  Black and Breastfeeding is like being alone on a deserted island. Where are all of my fellow black breastfeeding mommas?  They don’t exist in my family, in my group of friends, my coworkers, until now with Meet, Nurse, Love breastfeeding support groups I’ve attended in the past were non-existent, they weren't anywhere. I just wished there were more of us out there. It could be that I was mistaken then and they just weren't in my area and if so that sucks, especially for the people that are in need of the support I've found at Meet, Nurse, Love.  I mean, until now breastfeeding would've be so much nicer if I didn’t feel like I was one of the only sisters doing it in the neighborhood. I thought, if I could meet others like me struggling to make breastfeeding the norm in our community, or even in just our families, it would be a relief knowing I wasn’t alone in the struggle. Hopefully, by standing up and supporting the normalization of breastfeeding and the continued growth of Meet, Nurse, Love in our community new black moms would see that it’s not strange to nurse our little ones, and families will nurse their babies without a second thought. I also hope that some of us women with similar struggles of be accepted in our family can gather together and be a sense of strength for each other.  I know I sure could use that help and support.



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My name is Natasha.  I am a 27 year old biracial mother of three boys; two of which I gave birth to myself and one wonderful stepson.  My oldest and my stepson are both nine and my youngest is 4 months.  The three of them, my husband and myself make up my family.  I am currently a stay-at-home mom and love having the opportunity to spend time with my babies. I breastfed my oldest for only a month due to being young and unsupported. I am currently exclusively breastfeeding my youngest and it has been one heck of an experience that I wouldn’t trade for the world.

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Breastfeeding in the Community: Wherever Moms Are - Oakland County Breastfeeding Coalition - National Breastfeeding Month 2015

8/18/2015

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As the Oakland County Breastfeeding Coalition celebrates World Breastfeeding Week and National Breastfeeding Month, we reflect on ways we, the public, can support breastfeeding mothers and babies by creating spaces that are welcoming and supportive of normal infant feeding at the breast.  So what does this mean - a "breastfeeding friendly place"?  And where is such a place even needed?  Well, to me, as a mother who has nursed 3 babies, a breastfeeding friendly place is a place where I can safely sit and feed my baby in a clean environment - bonus points for climate controlled spaces !  

We hear in the news about specific places set aside for a breastfeeding dyad, such as in airports  - this allows for a mother to seek out a private space if needed.  It also allows for a private space for breastfeeding moms who use a pump to express milk for their babies.  Some retail establishments create mother/baby spaces also - some places that come to mind for me are Nordstrom Department Store at Somerset in Troy and Modern Natural Baby Store in Ferndale.  We have to remember; however, that wherever we have people, we have nursing moms !  Libraries, sports stadiums, zoos, malls, restaurants, farmers markets, amusement parks, outdoor festivals, concerts, churches, schools, doctor office waiting rooms……nursing moms are everywhere in Oakland County !  And breastfeeding moms are hopefully not feeling as much pressure to nurse in private - their cars, a restroom stall, someplace hidden, with OR without a cover.  Moms have the choice of where to feed their babies based on their comfort level. 

Target was in the news recently for a section of their employee handbook addressing breastfeeding customers   - the policy allows for a nursing mother to be given a fitting room in order to privately feed her baby, even if others are waiting for rooms.  It tells employees NOT to approach a nursing mom unless she requests assistance.  These types of policies are needed in order to remove personal bias that employees may have or due to employees who are uneducated about the rights and needs of a nursing mother to feed her baby. 

I applaud all businesses and organizations who recognize the needs of nursing moms and work to create a breastfeeding friendly place and I encourage them to reach out to the Oakland County Breastfeeding Coalition if they want more information on how they can further support nursing moms.

I am hopeful for our mothers and babies in Oakland County, that as breastfeeding is normalized through the efforts of mothers and organizations, that these breast-feeding "couples" can go about their days not having to worry about their ability to safely feed their baby, to feel supported, to be encouraged, to be protected from harassment, to be applauded by their communities !  From Royal Oak to Pontiac, from Oxford to Bloomfield Hills, let's create communities that support mothers and babies and their right to feed at the breast.

Where's Breastfeeding? Everywhere!


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Marisa Prince is a mother of 3 who recently relocated from Ferndale to Ortonville.  She is a La Leche League Leader who provides free mother to mother information and support to expectant and nursing moms.  She can be reached at 
marisaprince@gmail.com.

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Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding - Oakland County Breastfeeding Coalition - National Breastfeeding Month 2015

8/7/2015

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In the year 2015, to be discussing the idea of protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding, is perplexing to me.  Perplexing because its hard to believe that in America we need to be fighting for the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding.  As we continually hear news stories of woman being told to leave establishments if seen breastfeeding, or being belittled for the same reason, is disheartening.

The way to protect breastfeeding is to stand up for the right of women to feed their babies as they choose, no matter where they are.  We can start by educating the public on the lifelong benefits of breastfeeding.  We, as a nation, need to desexualize the woman's breasts and have them be seen as they are, a means to feed our babies.  I feel as breastfeeding gets promoted and supported and looked upon as a 'normal' means to feed your baby, our nation will desensitize themselves on the notion that breastfeeding is a sexual entity.  In other countries, a woman breastfeeding is not even questioned.  It is so normal to see a breastfeeding mother, that others around don't think twice about what she is doing.

Also, we as lactation specialists, of all kinds, need to support one another for our efforts.  I find we too often look at credentials of one another and fail to support one another for our efforts and work supporting the breastfeeding mother.  We are all in the realm of education and supporting breastfeeding mothers because it is our PASSION.  Any efforts we can make towards a breastfeeding mom is an effort well worth the time and energy put forth.  Supporting each other, while supporting many breastfeeding moms is only going to benefit the whole breastfeeding population.  We all come to the table with differing backgrounds and knowledge but have one goal in mind, to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. How glorious is that!!!

I do feel that our nation is turning a corner regarding breastfeeding.  I think we are in the midst of Protecting, Promoting and Supporting breastfeeding.  I think breastfeeding is becoming more normalized.  We see this in our daily news.  We have government, celebrities and media discussing it and normalizing it.  I believe the continual attention to breastfeeding will help us turn the corner and see it as a natural and beautiful way of feeding and bonding with our babies.

The best scenario would be to hear nothing on breastfeeding because it is so normal in our country that we don't think twice about seeing a mom breastfeeding anywhere.  Through continued Protection, Promotion and Support of breastfeeding, we can only hope for every mother to be breastfeeding her baby and giving her the unconditional support needed to do so.

Jennifer Lewandowski-CLC, CD(DONA), PCD(DONA), CCCE

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I am Jennifer, the proud mother of 3 children.  I have a wonderful husband, Michael, in which we are going on 20 years of marriage.  I have my Bachelor's degree (BS) in Elementary Education with a ZA endorsement (Early Childhood Education). I have taught preschool and owned my own daycare for 4 years, as I started to raise our young children.

I have been a volunteer for the Beaumont Parenting Program for 14 years, in the areas of breastfeeding support, individual family support and currently as a parenting partner.  I teach a class at our church, which is a support group for pregnant and new moms, called Infant Insight.  

I am a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) and a DONA trained Birth and Postpartum Doula.  My mission as a Certified Lactation Counselor is to give each mom the experience and education needed to make their breastfeeding journey a successful and joyful one. My goal as a Doula is to EDUCATE and EMPOWER you, so you can EMBRACE your new role as parents.

http://www.jenlewthedoula.com/
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    The Oakland County Breastfeeding Coalition provides breastfeeding support, networking opportunities, partnership building, advocacy and program development among community members and professionals. For more information about the coalition, please visit www.oaklandcountybfingcoalition.weebly.com or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OCBFCoalition or Twitter
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