Breastfeeding Challenges for Working Moms: A personal experience

Balancing two jobs

As I mentioned, breastfeeding is a full-time job, even if you are away from your baby during work hours. A breastfeeding mother needs to pump milk while she is at work. Unfortunately, not all institutions provide time and privacy for the nursing mom to pump milk during working hours or even during the lunch break, which is what most working breastfeeding mothers do.

It is essential to discuss breastfeeding with your employer and HR managers before returning from maternity leave and to ask for a private room and frequent short breaks. Through such claims, you will guarantee your rights and the rights of other working women who wish to continue breastfeeding.

Mothers' work experience varies; some workplaces provide a nursery for employees, meaning the mother can go to the nursery and breastfeed her baby during her lunch break. The mother may also be able to go home if her home is close, and the lunch break length allows for this.

How to overcome Breastfeeding Challenges for Working Moms

A mother who works outside the home and breastfeeds her child needs several things that make her many tasks easier and help her continue breastfeeding:

• A nursing mom needs some flexibility and several daily breaks to pump milk.
• The employer must commit to reducing the working hours of the nursing mother, as stated in the Labor Law.
• It is essential to use modern methods of pumping milk, such as the wearable breast pump, which is placed inside the bra and allows the mother to express milk while working.
• Have a clean refrigerator to store the milk until you get home.
• If there is no refrigerator, it is preferable to have someone deliver the expressed milk to the house in an insulated bag.
• Eating several snacks during the day, such as walnuts and dates, increase breast milk supplies.
• Drink enough water.
• Get the baby used to drinking breast milk through the bottle before the end of maternity leave and returning to work.
• There should be no room for guilt because working outside the home is hard, motherhood is hard, breastfeeding is complex, and the mother is doing what she can.
• Continue breastfeeding, and do not despair, no matter how difficult.
• We shouldn't blame or shame working moms who might be unable to breastfeed or are forced to stop after a few months. Offer support and assistance instead of blame and criticism.

My experience with breastfeeding

My job as a midwife requires me to be at work for long hours, sometimes with shifts lasting up to 12 hours. Despite work pressure, I could pump twice during a shift most days. But sometimes that wasn't possible. There were days when I couldn't eat any snacks or nutritious meals and some days, I had to work so hard that one time, my milk leaked through my clothes because my breasts were so engorged, and I couldn't pump. But, despite all these difficulties, I was able to breastfeed my child for six months as I had planned. Here, I would like to point out the importance of family support. My husband was supportive and helpful, essential to my ability to continue breastfeeding.

A final word,

Breastfeeding is vital for the baby's health and can prevent the mom from several health problems. However, it isn't easy, especially for a working mom. But it is not impossible either; it can be done with enough support at home and at work.