If you are a working woman and a new mother, it must be difficult for you to manage work and baby together. Busy schedule at work makes it impossible for the mothers to stay close to their babies. A baby has an ability to recognize mother by smell, touch, feed etc. To overcome this issue, moms can express and store breast milk before going to work.
Where
You can use your work place for expressing your breast milk. It may be conference room, restroom room, store room. Note that the room should be clean; there should be a chair, table, electric socket and locked door and window. Tell your colleagues or manager about the situation to get support from them.
Equipment
There are so many ways to express breast milk. Many products are available in the market for expressing:
Hand pumps- Electric pumps
- Breast pads
- Manual breast pumps
- A plastic container or bottle for storing the milk after expressing
- An ice bag for storing
Put the expressed milk in the refrigerator.
How Long
Breast expressing takes the same time as breastfeeding. Regular practicing produce more milk and takes ten to fifteen minutes.
How
By Hand: If you are expressing milk by hand, place the forefinger and thumb at the edge of the areola (the dark area of the breast) and press back firmly against your breast. Then bring your fingers together and compress the areola using the finger pads.
- By Hand Pump: If you are expressing by hand pump. The flange of the pump is placed over the areola. Pump continuously for five minutes,on each breast and give massaging the breast in between.
- Electric Pump: If you are using electric pump for expressing, set the minimum power before increasing the intensity. Electric pumps are considered best for working women who express daily.
