Hi mommies, Due to long working hours, sometimes I am unable to pump/nurse for about 8-10 hours. I feel little heavy, but not too hard. Hand expression will not work out for me and also there is no place for pumping at my work place. I am worried if the milk will get infected, or if the milk supply will reduce with such long gaps. How long of a gap can be given between the nursing/pumping sessions ? I definitely want to feed my baby atleast until 1 year. Have anyone faced such similar situations ? Please let me know.
Hi, the milk is not going to change as long as it is in your body. If it is out, it will help to store in a cooler or a fridge at workplace. AT 9 months, it can help if you get at least one pumping session at work. Acc to the Maternity benefits Act, the mother gets 3 nursing breaks till the child is 15 months old, in lieu also facilities to pump. Will your HR be open to the idea of a 15 min pumping break in the place of nursing breaks? It maybe worth the while to give a room for 15 min in the place of 3 breaks to go and nurse your baby and come back in addition to your regular breaks ;-)
YesBee, It is a boon to be able to nurse our children. Even if your company does not have a dedicated place for moms to pump milk, you can still ask for a room. I did that in my company and they allocated the lab room just for my convenience. I will have the lock and key for that particular 20-30 mins. Really you should ask for it. Nursing for a year is ideal. That is what I did too despite demanding work schedule. Go for it. :thumbsup
Your milk will not get infected just because you are unable to nurse/pump for long hours. But definitely your supply will go down. Supply is based on demand. So if you are not nursing or pumping for 8-9hrs then your body thinks it does not need to produce so much milk. So in order to keep up the supply you need to nurse or pump once atleast every 4-5 hrs.
Thank you all for clearing my doubts. I shifted my home near to workplace for the simple reason that I should nurse her frequently. But sometimes it so happens that work pressure is there and I am unable to go home for a break. Currently there is no place at work for pumping/storing milk . Will try hard to go home for atleast 30 mins break and see if it helps. Thanks again for the suggestions.
definitely your supply will decrease if you don't pump that long. either you must go home or convince your employer to find a place for you to pump. you can take an ice-pack from home and that should keep your milk safe for 4-5 hours atleast.