Breast milk - pumping and storing

Be Prepared

Take time for you and your baby to learn and get good at breastfeeding. Before you go back to work, establish your milk supply. Take care of yourself so you make plenty of breast milk. Try to:

• Breastfeed or pump on a regular schedule
• Drink plenty of fluids 
• Eat healthy 
• Get plenty of rest

Giving Your Baby a Bottle

Wait until your baby is 3 - 4 weeks old to try a bottle. This gives you and your baby time to get good at breastfeeding first.

Your baby has to learn to suck from a bottle too. Here are ways to help your baby learn to take a bottle.

• Give your baby a bottle before she is really hungry so she is calmer. 
• Have someone else give your baby the bottle. This way your baby is not confused why you are not breastfeeding. 
• Leave the room when someone is giving your baby a bottle. Your baby can smell you and will wonder why you are not breastfeeding.

Start bottle feeding about 2 weeks before you go back to work so your baby has time to get used to it.

Plan How You Will Pump Milk at Work

Buy or rent a breast pump. If you start to pump before you go back to work, you can build up a supply of frozen milk.

• There are many breast pumps on the market. Pumps may be hand-operated (manual), battery-operated, or electric. You can rent hospital-quality pumps at a medical supply store. 
• Most mothers find electric pumps the best. They create and release suction on their own, and you can easily learn to use one.
• Either a lactation consultant or the nurses at the hospital can help you buy or rent a pump. They can also teach you how to use it. 

Figure out where you can pump at work. 

• Hopefully there is a quiet, private room you can use. 
• Find out if your workplace has pump rooms for working moms. They usually have a comfortable chair, sink, and electric pump. 
• If pumping at work is going to be hard, build up a store of breast milk before you go back. You can freeze breast milk to give to your baby later.  

Pump, collect, and store breast milk.

• Pump 2 - 3 times a day when you are at work. As your baby gets older, you probably will not have to pump as often to keep up your milk supply.
• Wash your hands before pumping.

Collect breast milk when pumping. You can use:

• Two- to 3-ounce bottles or hard plastic cups with screw on caps. Make sure that they have been washed in hot, soapywater and rinsed well. 
• Heavy duty bags that fit into a bottle. Do NOT use everyday plastic bags or formula bottle bags. They leak. 

Store your breast milk.

• Date the milk before storing it. 
• Fresh breast milk can be kept at room temperature for up to 8 hours, and refrigerated for 5 - 7 days.

You can keep frozen milk:

• In a freezer compartment inside the refrigerator for 2 weeks
• In a separate door refrigerator/freezer for up to 3 - 4 months
• In a deep freezer at constant 0 degrees for 6 months
• Do not add fresh breast milk to frozen milk.

Thawing and Using Breast Milk

To thaw frozen milk:

• Put it in the refrigerator
• Soak it in a bowl of warm water

Thawed milk can be refrigerated and used for up to 9 hours. Do not refreeze.

Do not microwave breast milk -- overheating destroys nutrients, and "hot spots" can burn your baby. Bottles may explode when you microwave them for too long.

When leaving breast milk with a child care provider, label the container with your child's name and the date.

Nursing and Bottle Feeding

• Nurse your baby before leaving for work in the morning and right when you get home. 
• Expect your baby to nurse more often in the evenings and weekends when you are home. Feed on-demand when you are with your baby. 
• Have your child care provider give your baby bottles of breast milk when you are at work. 
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you exclusively give breast milk to your baby for the first 6 months. This means not giving any other food, drinks, or formula. 
• If you use formula, still breastfeed and give as much breast milk as you can. The more breast milk your baby gets, the better. Supplementing with too much formula will decrease your milk supply.

Alternate Names

Milk - human; Human milk; Milk - breast; Breast pump information

References

Payne PA, Tully MR. Breastfeeding promotion. In: Ratcliffe SD, Baxley EG, Cline MK, Sakornbut EL, eds. Family Medicine Obstetrics. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier;2008: section D.

Update Date: 9/9/2012

Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director and Director of Didactic Curriculum, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc.