Back to Work: Strategies to Pump from the Office

Andrea Serrette’s son was three months old when she returned to work at IBM in Boulder, Colorado. She felt lonely and overwhelmed, plus she had to face the “Pumping Room.”

A former janitor’s closet in a lady’s restroom was the unlikely choice designated for breastfeeding women to pump their milk. Andrea didn’t particularly like breastfeeding, but decided to keep going. It would be good for Caleb and would help her feel connected to him during the day.

Though the austere room initially depressed her, she found something there that helped her deal both with breastfeeding and with the stress of being a working mom: notebooks.

About a year before, another new mom, Cate Colburn-Smith, had written a note on a paper towel while she pumped. It said: “I’m a new mom and today is my first day back at work. Is anyone else using this room?”

Other moms started writing back to her, while they pumped. This unlikely support group—many of the women never even met each other—filled notebooks with advice and encouragement.

“It was a great place for me to let my feelings go,” Andrea says. Andrea, who ended up breastfeeding for a year, encourages mothers to seek out support both from professional lactation consultants and from other mothers. The International Lactation Consultant Association and La Leche League are great resources to find a list of consultants in your area. If you live in a small town not serviced by these organizations, a good bet is your local hospital where you may find a referral.

Andrea’s other advice to aid moms in their quest to pump successfully from work includes: * Go to the office before your maternity leave is complete to scope out where you will pump. * When you return, come prepared: bring extra bottles and ice packs. Also take a picture of your baby to help with the let-down process. (Lactation consultants and moms note that when stressed, milk flow slows and so looking at a picture of your baby can often help.) * Try to stick to a schedule as much as you can, though there always will be challenges, such as a meeting that runs late.

Though Andrea felt overwhelmed, many mothers face tougher situations when returning to work. At least IBM had already designated a room for pumping.

If you are not so lucky, Deven McGraw, chief operating officer at the National Partnership for Women & Families, a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit, suggests coming up with a plan and presenting it to your supervisor. Scope out a place to pump and plan a way to schedule necessary breaks without affecting productivity. Be creative. A closet isn’t ideal but you can make it work. You also may have to cut short your lunch hour or add time to the beginning or end of your day, she says.

Remind your supervisor that he or she is creating employee loyalty by enabling you to continue breastfeeding, Deven suggests.

As for Andrea, her story has a happier ending than just becoming a fan of breastfeeding, which she eventually did. She and Cate also wrote and sold a book based on the IBM breastfeeding notebooks, called The Milk Memos, which is being published by Tarcher/Penguin and hits bookshelves in March 2007.