Mothers
are always working whether at home or outside. This chapter is aimed at
those who go out of home to work.
When you are working
outside the home. You are under pressure of work and may or may not
have a reliable care-taker back home. Facilities of keeping their children
at workplaces are almost non-existent in our country. This is the reason
when some mothers choose to give artificial feeding.
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More
and more working women choose to breast feed, Why?
This
is because of awareness that
- Breastmilk is the best nutrition for their baby and it is protective.
- Breast
fed babies are healthier; a working mother cannot afford the
additional worry of a sick child.
- Breastfeeding saves money which was to be spent on bottle feeding.
It may cost about Rs. 500 a month to feed a 3 months old
baby on top milk.
- Working
women don't have to rush around to prepare bottlefeeds.
- It
is better to breast feed for fewer times than not to breast
feed at all.
- Commercial
milks are inferior to Breastmilk.
Those
mothers who for some reasons may not be able to continue Breastfeeding should not feel that they have failed. They can exclusively
breast feed the babies for few months before returning to work and
partially breast feed later on. |
Before
you return to work:
Enjoy this special time with your baby. Frequent demand feeding will
help establish a good milk supply. Working women in India are entitled
for a 41/2 months maternity leave (6 months in Punjab and Haryana).
Maternity leave of 15 days is also extended to working fathers immediately
after the birth of the child.
- Learn how to
express Breastmilk.
- A few days before
you are to return into work, give expressed Breastmilk feed to your
baby by a cup or spoon.
Joining Work:
If you are working mother, you are a very busy person- you have to take
care of your job, other children and home as well. You need a lot of
rest.
You
should:
- Breastfeed early
in the morning.
- Just before
leave and them again when you.
- The caretaker
can use cup and spoon to feed in your absence.
- You can express
Breastmilk during working hours and store it, if possible. When you
come back in the evening, after 1/2 an hour relaxation breast feed
your baby frequently.
- At night keep
the baby with you, he takes breastfeeds more easily than bottle feeds.
Breastfeeding Breaks and Facilities at the Workplace
Many employed women
still have only a short period of paid maternity leave. If they want
to breast feed their baby, this short maternity leave and unfavourable
conditions at the workplace combine to make Breastfeeding very difficult.
Breastfeeding breaks allow a mother to continue to breast feed her
baby after she returns to work, with all the health and economic benefits
that Breastfeeding brings.
Adequate hygienic
facilities for Breastfeeding or the expression and storage of Breastmilk are not difficult to provide: a quiet, clean room, ensuring safety
and privacy, with running water and a comfortable chair are all that
mothers need. Facilities do not have to be clinically clean or sterile
like in hospitals.