"After giving birth to my teeny tiny son at 25 weeks 6 days, I expressed milk for him religiously as I wanted to be able to give him the best start that I could in his very early life.
I had soooo much milk! It felt great to know I had more than enough to feed him, but I knew I could afford to share it. So I contacted Milk Matters.
It felt so good to give my precious milk to other little babies just like my son. It has now been over a year & I still donate.
The gift of life is the most amazing gift one can give, and donating milk to feed tiny little fragile tummies makes me feel I am part of that gift of life for these precious little miracles."
Autumn (breastmilk donor) - Wetton
"I remember with fondness the year when I was able to help with my milk I pumped every morning. Talita is now 4 years old, and she feels very proud of sharing her 'lolo' with sick babies in South Africa."
Laetitia (breastmilk donor) now living in Saudi Arabia
"I viewed a pamphlet about Milk Matters one day and I thought to myself wow can people actually do something like that.
My daughter was eight months old, I was breastfeeding and I thought to myself I have more than enough milk for my daughter so I might as well spare some for those small little angels."
Jacky R (breastmilk donor) - Claremont
" I am so thankful that my babies got the best by receiving donor milk, and that I was given a bit of leeway to get my own milk going without too much stress. My twins are four months old now and still breastfeeding."
Cathy S (breastmilk recipient) Cape Town
Breastfeeding And The Working Mother
- Continue Breastfeeding
- Continue Breastfeeding And Expressing
- Continue Breastfeeding, Expressing And /Or Using Formula Feeds
- Weaning onto Formula
Continue Breastfeeding, Expressing And / Or Using Formula Feeds
NB. Mixed feeding as described here is not ideal but some breastfeeding is preferable to none. Mixed feeding can only be practiced safely in the absence of HIV infection.
Perhaps expressing at work does not suit your particular circumstances. Your third option offers a combination of breastfeeding and formula feeding. (Take note that cow's milk is not suitable for babies under the age of 1 year. It is also imperative that the formula is strictly made up according to the instructions on the tin).
Continue to breastfeed your baby before leaving for work in the morning, while relaxing after work, at least once during the night (depending on your baby's age) and over weekends.
Express, what you can and when you can, at work. The younger your baby the more important expressing during the day would be to maintain your milk supply.
From three or four months onwards your milk supply may be well enough established and you could start to express less frequently during your working day.
Store this expressed milk in a cool place for use the next day. Avoid mixing expressed and formula milk in the same feed. Your baby could drink a suitable formula feed for the remaining feeds while you are at work.
A baby over 6 months, who is eating three solid meals, is likely to need only one milk feed while you are at work. It is however important to breastfeed when at home in order to maintain your milk supply.
Over weekends offer breast only as this will help build up your milk supply for the coming week.
