Returning to Work and Breastfeeding
Downloadable Worksheet
Download this worksheet to hep you prepare for returning to work.
Plan Ahead
Things you can do during your maternity leave to prepare:
- Breastfeed exclusively 8-12 times per 24 hours
- Practice expressing milk using a quality breast pump
- Begin storing milk in the freezer
- Consider a gradual return to work (Take off one day mid-week for a few weeks, return to work on a Thursday to have a weekend to adjust)
- Review available options for onsite daycare or bringing infant to work
- Consider appropriate places to express milk at work
- Introduce a bottle to baby sometime after his first month of life
Sample Feeding / Pumping Routine
- Feed your baby at the breast before leaving for work
- Pump at about the same time your baby would be breastfeeding
- Pump both breasts at the same time for 10-15 minutes
- Breast feed your baby when you pick him up after work
- Breast feed more often in the evenings and weekends
Returning to Work
- The first few days after you return to work may be hard
- You and your baby need to develop a new routine
- Give yourself time to adjust as your body and your baby respond to the change
- You may have a decrease in your milk supply the first week you return due to the schedule change but with regular pumping it will return
Contact us
For additional information on this Health Topic, call the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine at 513-636-2326.
Rev. 5/09
