This document provides information and options for breastfeeding working moms. It discusses maternity leave policies in Singapore, timing options for returning to work, part-time vs full-time work, caregiver options like family, nannies or childcare centers, expressing breast milk, pumping and storage guidelines, dealing with challenges like bottle refusal, and creating a breastfeeding-friendly work environment. The goal is to help moms continue breastfeeding upon returning to work through proper planning, pumping routines and choosing reliable childcare support.

1. BREASTFEEDING FOR
WORKING MUMS

2. TRAVELLING TOGETHER,
BEING APART
LOGISTICS

3. WORK OPTIONS
• Timing of the return
– In Singapore, maternity leave is 16 weeks
• 1st
8 weeks at a stretch then subsequent 8 flexible
• Eligibility: Baby is Singaporean, mum married and
employed >90 days
– Consider extending to 6
months(recommendation from AAP exclusive
6 months of breastfeeding)
• Helps with bonding, getting enough rest and
establishing a regime for breastfeeding

4. WORK OPTIONS
• Working hours
– Part-time vs full time
• Dependent on $ situation, work environment
– Consider rearranging timing of work
• Shorter, more frequent breaks to pump, longer lunch to return to
nurse (baby to be brought to work place for nursing), starting
and finishing earlier (allowing to spend more time with baby
when baby is awake)
• Day of return
– Start of the month/week
– Start towards end of the week easier

5. CAREGIVER ISSUES

6. CAREGIVER OPTIONS
• Family
– Spouse
– Grandma/grandaunt
– Adv: Loving relative, inexpensive
– Disadv: difficult to establish common
philosophy abt care-giving

7. CAREGIVER OPTIONS
• Individualized care
– Nanny- at own home or at nanny’s home
– Individual baby or with siblings or other children
– Adv: more attention, less likely to catch ID,
more flexible arrangement, KIV household
chores
– Disadv: expensive, days nanny is on MC, need
to have a gd understanding of nanny’s
background

8. CAREGIVER OPTIONS
• Infant care centre
– Adv: establish routine, no concerns if teacher
is on MC
– Disadv: more likely to catch ID, less flexibility
if PR are late, limited spots

9. CAREGIVER HANDOVER
• Preparation phase
– Visit the nanny’s house or sch to familiarize
with the environment
– Discuss your preferred mode of caregiving
– Discuss your desire to maintain BF

10. CAREGIVER HANDOVER
Handing over
◦ Discuss and familiarize the care with the feeding
regime
◦ Specific instructions:
 Always hold the baby during feeding- choking, human
contact
 Thawing and warming of EBM
Trial run
◦ Suggest to start 1 week prior to returning to work
◦ Start with a few hours or half a day

11. EXPRESSED BREAST MILK

12. INSURANCE PUMPING
Adequate store prior to starting work
◦ Suggest starting 1month before returning back
to work.

13. CHOICE OF BREAST PUMP
Expressing methods
◦ Hand pump
 Option: preferred for getting more EBM, more
convenient, quieter and more natural, pump not
working or not available, target certain areas of
blocked ducts
 Especially valued in the initial period for colostrum
◦ Machine pump
Collection kit
◦ Single vs double milk collection kit

14. CHOICE OF BREAST PUMP
• Types of breast pump
– Clinical grade pump
• Piston-driven pumps
• Recommended: total EBM, need to ensure a gd
supply
– Near- clinical grade pump
• Recommended: still nursing but separated almost
everyday

15. CHOICE OF BREAST PUMP
• Types of breast pump
– Electric pump
• Heterogenous group
• Run on batteries or electricity from wall socket,
semi-automatic suction assisted by user’s fingers
• Disadv: lack of stimulation for let down
• Recommended: occasional user

16. CHOICE OF BREAST PUMP
• Types of breast pump
– Hand-operated pump
• Adv: better control of site of drainage, cheaper
• Disadv: may not drain as well, single sided-time
consuming

17. EXPRESSING BREASTMILK
REGIME
• Maximize nursing and expressing to maintain
supply.
• Nurse as late as possible before work and as
soon as reaching home. Discuss and plan with
the carer so that baby is not full on mummy’s
return
• Aim: to pump as frequently as nursing ie up to
Q3H

18. EXPRESSING BREASTMILK
REGIME
• Tricks of the trade
– Multi-tasker vs the relaxed mum
– Multi-task: hands-free kit and dual pump
– Relaxed mum: surfing the net, looking at
baby’s photo
– Rest, eat well and drink plenty of fluids

19. STORAGE OF BREASTMILK
• Sterilizing equipment
– All breast pump equipment should be sterilized
– Steam sterilizer vs boiling vs microwave
– Seal/pack equipment well for travel
• Storage options
– Bottles: plastic or glass
– Milk bags

20. HANDLING OF EBM
• Transportation
– Cooler bags with ice pack
• Storage of EBM
– Refrigerate EBM at 4C : 48H
– Air-con room at 25C: 4H
– Frozen EBM freezer of refrigerator: 3months
(store in small aliquots to reduced wastage)
– Frozen EBM in separate deep freezer -19C:
6months

21. HANDLING OF EBM
• Preparation
– Refrigerated EBM: warm up in lukewarm
water to the desire temperature (some babies
can take cold milk)
– Frozen EBM: thaw either in water or by
placing it at the normal compartment of the
refrigerator.
– Frozen EBM needs to be consumed within
24H of onset of thawing and cannot be
refrozen

22. TOUGH TIMES
• Bottle strike
– Introduce the bottle after 3/52 old once
breastfeeding has been established and
continue 3x/week
– Many types of teat available
• Silicone vs latex teat
• Wide neck vs ordinary teat
• Rounded vs orthodontic shaped
• Other: spoon feeding, syringe feeding and sippy
cup

23. TOUGH TIMES
• Bottle strike
– Tips
• Use EBM
• Hold the baby away from carer and bounce baby
while walking and feeding
• Nurse for awhile then slip in the bottle
• Have someone else bottle her
• Offer freq: when BB is hungry and not hungry

24. TOUGH TIMES
Nursing strike
◦ Usually when baby is BF well and suddenly refuses to
nurse
◦ Not to be confused with baby-led weaning which is
gradual
◦ Causes
 Mummy: different smell(changed soap etc), under stress
 Baby: discomfort (teething, OM, stuffy nose)
 Mummy and baby interaction: change of nursing pattern(eg
restarting work), reacted strong after being bitten and baby was
frightened
◦ Solution
 EBM in the meantime with a good artificial teat with lots of skin
to skin contact

25. TOUGH TIMES
• Refusal of frozen milk
– Usually occurs due to a soapy smell from fat break down in
excess lipase
– Can consider scaling it-bringing milk almost to a boil then
immediately freezing it
– Can consider “sneaking” it in via cereals or mixing with fresh milk
• When you forget your equipment
– Familiarize with the equipment available (disposable kit sets and
bottles)

26. BREASTFEEDING
FRIENDLY WORK PLACE

27. BACK AT WORK
• Location
– Ideally: private, quiet and clean
– Range of options: depending on availability and
comfort level
– Room with a lock, nursing room, bathroom (if there is
no other option), screen covering work station
• Storage
– Refrigerator in pantry
– Personal mini fridge
– Cooler bags

28. BREASTFEEDING
RESOURCES

29. BREASTFEEDING
RESOURCES
• Internet

30. BREASTFEEDING
RESOURCES
• Books
• Support groups