Returning to work after maternity leave

[pzyck]

I will still be EBFing my daughter when I'm due to return to work in April. My usual job entails 12 hour shifts working remotely, so I have two questions regarding my position:

1. My daughter will not take a bottle and does only feed from the breast. I know EBF by the time women usually return to work is quite rare (if statistics are anything to go by)... are my employer going to expect me to pump? How will this work actually feeding my daughter?

2. There is no where I could store any breast milk I did actually pump whilst being remote. There's also no guarantee I would be given the opportunity to pump due to the nature of the job. How will my employee likely mitigate these issues? Might they offer me an alternative role?

I don't really want to raise these questions with my line manager without understanding any rights I might have, as from speaking to other colleagues who have recently come off of maternity leave, my line manager has allegedly been very difficult with just flexible hours for them and so I can only imagine how pleased they'll be at my awkwardness...

TIA

How old will your baby be and what's the nature of your job? The website pregnant then screwed will likely have more info.

You would have to discuss with them but they should as a minimum offer you a private space to pump and store milk in.

@MuggleMe I've not heard of that website so I'll check it out, thank you

She'll be 12 months but won't be eating enough solids to forgo milk due to a lot of allergies and gastro issues (which we're working with a dietician for and awaiting review by gastroenterology).

I work as a paramedic so @nicknamehelp there is no where to store milk, and potentially no where to express either. And as I say, I couldn't be guaranteed to express at regular intervals.

I feel for you op but if the baby won’t take
a bottle, there’s no point in storing the milk is there? Unless of course you can use the milk as per of baby’s food, like porridge or something. But if you’re out on 13 hour shifts as a paramedic then surely the only answer is to get more food into baby’s diet, as you simply won’t be able to breastfeed during the shift

I went back to work and was away from my breast fed babies for about 8 hours. They just breastfed more when I was around. Neither took bottles. They just fed a lot when I was around. It did improve their intake of solid food as they had to eat something!

I thought legally they had to provide you with facilities to express and store. However it would be fine in a coolbag. Would she drink from a cup? By a year old she may only need two feeds a day.

This is the law:

Law

A friend who was a paramedic and couldn't go back on the roads immediately after returning for a different reason was put in the call centre so it's definitely an option. Appreciate it's not the easiest point to raise!

But your job makes it very hard to stick to that. Do you have any shift breaks, eg at a hospital?

Even if they did change your job to something more office based for example, how would you plan to feed the baby? there’s more to this than pumping and storing, as you say the baby won’t take a bottle. Could you get to the baby on breaks?

I went back to work at 12mo and my DD had always refused a bottle. She has adjusted to drink water from a sippy cup quite happily and BFs before bed (and 2-4 times a night, which I'm working on). If your DD is in childcare then she'll adapt when you're not around.

My son was drinking from a sippy cup by a year old. Would that be an option rather than a bottle?

I returned when my daughter was 11 months and didn’t bother to pump - couldn’t pump much anyway! I just fed morning and when I got
home (and over night) if you’re uncomfortably full then I would pump so you don’t get mastitis - or hand express if that works better.
Lots of snacks and small meals, water, and milk in a cup? Mine never took any other milk than mine!

@CatsEatDogs We are working on increasing food but it's a very gradual process with specialist input. Being away from her for 12/13 hours would mean I wouldn't get the chance to offer at least a couple of feeds so that she wouldn't need so much food.

@NerrSnerr That sounds reasonable, however with the length of my shifts it would be unlikely I'd see her at all when she was awake. The eating issue isn't so much resistance from her, it's the usual learning to wean but much more restrictive and so is taking a lot longer to learn and get used to.

@LIZS She drinks small amounts from a cup but I mean <100ml a day despite regularly offering as she aspirates a lot. She currently has around 8 feeds at 10.5m so will probably still need a reasonable amount of that in another 7 weeks.

@Crumpledstilstkin I had considered asking about that as a possibility as a last resort. The call centre is a 1.5 hour commute so it'd be swings and roundabouts to be able to get an opportunity to express.

@SheilaFentiman We get one 30 minute break back on station in the whole shift, which very occasionally doesn't happen at all.

If you need to express you need to express but you might be OK.
If you do need to express hands free pump and a cool bag with iceblocks in will be fine. You don't need to sterilise a breast pump just wash in hot soapy water dry with kitchen towel and keep in a sealed plastic box.

Your baby will be fine as long as she's taking a sippy cup for water or equivalent. They are very good at adjusting to feed when with you.
You can start with cows milk in a sippy cup if you want around 12 months but don't stress if she doesn't take it.

My 12 month old goes to nursery he just feeds when we are together which is fine and my boobs are able to go a good while without issues now.

Can you request night shifts? Would that solve the issue and you just feed her in the day?

Might be an issue if you need to break a feeding to sleep association but maybe your DP doing bedtime will solve that?

Obvs don't know your situation so might not work out.

If I were able to do a role on station and leave the premises for 'expressing breaks' then yes, as MIL who will be having her while I'm at work only lives a couple of miles away. That is ultimately my ideal scenario but it feels like it'd be received and perceived as an unreasonable request.

That looks like a good solution then if you can get that. However id echo what others have said and wonder if she would take expressed milk via a cup, she may be refusing it now as there are other options eg boob. Can you start withdrawing the breast and offering cup in preparation in case you can’t make it work re your employment? It’s hard to know as there are allergy issues etc but it seems likely that baby’s feeding habits can change at 12 months without too much difficulty, eg less breast, more cup, more food

If your station based then you could express at work. I don't think they would be impressed leaving the premises unless on lunch break but mil could bring baby to you

You could consider an insulated bag and some ice packs? I just pumped and stored whilst out travelling and then popped in freezer when home.

How are you planning on feeding her the milk if she won't take a bottle? x

I went back to work when my little girl was 12 months and we were still breastfeeding round the clock 😅

Every 2 hours when I was with her and never took a bottle, also didn’t really eat solids at that point either.

I took a cool bag to store my milk in and my employer provided me with a private room to express. I only pumped once in a 9 hour shift and that was fine.

My daughter was fine too and easily adjusted. We’re still breastfeeding now at over 😊

From the NHS website
www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/breastfeeding-and-bottle-feeding/breastfeeding-and-lifestyle/back-to-work/

“Before returning to work, she should give her employer written notification that she's breastfeeding. Her employer must then conduct a specific risk assessment.

Workplace regulations require employers to provide suitable facilities where pregnant and breastfeeding mothers can rest.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recommends that it's good practice for employers to provide a private, healthy and safe environment for breastfeeding mothers to express and store milk. The toilets are not a suitable place to express breast milk.”

• over 2

Your employer is obliged to provide somewhere private to pump but I don't believe they have to provide paid breaks. Your job sounds quite tricky to make this work- I guess they could say the ambulance is a private enough space but they wouldn't be obliged to allow you to stop work at specific times to pump. In your position I would probably try the elvie pump which you can put in your bra and as long as you don't bend over too far forwards, it will contain the milk and you can let the pump work while you're working. Then I would use a coolbag and ice packs.

I'd equally, potentially, have no facilities to wash a pump at between needing to express if we didn't go to a hospital.

She can't have milk or any alternatives because of a huge array of allergies. She's only eating small amounts of some fruit and vegetables at the moment, so that with only water and very little breast milk wouldn't be sufficient.

Believe me when I say I'm trying to form some self employment so that I'm not expecting anyone else to be accommodating of our situation.

You can put your pump in your cool bag and you wouldn't need to wash it up between pumps. (I used to do this and I worked in an office with a kitchen, just because it was easier than having to dismantle it in the kitchen with colleagues taking an interest or feeling weird about it!)