BabyFirst Lactation video

Traveling as a Breastfeeding Mother

By Nicole Goodman One of the biggest challenges working mothers face is traveling away from their babies while they’re still breastfeeding. Pumping while on the road – or in the air – can be inconvenient, uncomfortable, and downright unpleasant, but many mothers find that is it worth it so they can continue breastfeeding. Here are some hints to help you prepare for trips away from your little one. Working mothers going on a business trip or those that stay at home getting away for a weekend can benefit from planning ahead. Supplies Checklist Pumping while traveling requires some additional supplies that you may not need when you’re at home: ◾Batttery pack & fresh batteries – Make sure your battery pack works BEFORE leaving and load your pack with fresh batteries. ◾Extra batteries – Depending on length of your trip, it’s always a good idea to carry an extra set of batteries. Remember to keep batteries with your carry-on luggage to avoid any problems with checked luggage. ◾Convertor/adapter – If you are traveling internationally, make sure to pack the appropriate power convertor/adapter plug so that the pump will work at your final destination. ◾Milk storage bags/containers – If you plan to bring milk home after the trip, make sure to pack plenty of storage bags. I like the Medical-Grade, Pre-Sterilized Plastic Storage Bags. Freeze them flat so you can stack them up on the return trip. ◾Ice or cold packs – Especially for long or multi-segment flights, ice or cold packs will help keep milk frozen on the return trip. Some thawing may occur, so put the milk into the freezer as soon as possible. Use the milk pumped on a trip as soon as possible after you return. ◾Cleaning supplies – I LOVE the microwave disinfecting bags. You might not always have access to a place to scrub pump parts while traveling, but most hotel rooms and offices have a microwave. Throw everything into these bags, pop into microwave for 3 minutes, and everything is sterile for their next use. ◾Power cord, tubing, membranes, breast shields & pump parts – A breast pump won’t do you any good if you don’t have all of the essential parts with you! Pack a few extra pump membranes, just in case. ◾Hand sanitizer – It’s always a good idea to pack a little (3 oz or less) bottle of hand sanitizer in your carry-on. Pack Smart If you can fit a pump into your small rollerboard suitcase, great! Otherwise, you’ll need to check your suitcase and keep your computer bag/purse and pump as carry-on items. Do NOT check a breast pump in a suitcase or as a stand alone item. Travel delays happen all the time; luggage gets damaged or lost. The last thing you need is to end up at your destination without your pump! Be Security Savvy In the United States, pumping mothers are permitted to travel with breast pumps and breast milk, regardless of whether or not they are traveling with their children. If a security agent says otherwise, ask to speak to a supervisor. To make the security process as smooth as possible, you should alert the security officers so they know you are traveling with a pump: ◾Pull the pump out of your carry-on bag and place it in a separate bin before it goes through the x-ray machine. Tell the agent that the item is a breast pump. ◾If returning from a trip and carrying breastmilk, place the milk in a separate bin and alert the agents that the liquid is breastmilk. Breastmilk is NOT subject to the three-ounce limitation. ◾If a security agent asks to test the milk, ask to speak to a supervisor. They may want to swab the outside of the milk bags or containers, but they cannot make you open your milk and test it. A mother may be asked to go through additional screening. I’ve had my pump searched and swabbed and I’ve also been subjected to a pat down. Be prepared for either scenario. Pumping en Route Sometimes it’s necessary to pump before you reach your final destination. Because I fly in and out of a small airport, I always have to make at least one connection, which can make for a long travel day. Most major airports have family bathrooms with electrical outlets and they are a great place to pump. On longer or international flights, you may need to pump in your seat or in the airplane bathroom. Ask the flight attendants if they can suggest a pumping location. Well Worth the Effort! Pumping while traveling presents some unique challenges, but it’s ultimately worth the extra effort. With a little planning, preparation and patience, you can maintain your milk production while you’re away from your little one and they will be ready to welcome you home at your breast.

The Doula Guide: Skin-to-Skin Contact: It's Not Just For Birth

The Doula Guide: Skin-to-Skin Contact: It's Not Just For Birth: More people are hearing about the benefits of skin-to-skin contact between babies and parents.  As a Certified Lactation Counselor, one of m...

Don't be a "Strong Mom"

When Big Pharma “Strong” Arms Mothers, We All Lose By Contributor on May 6, 2013 Mother feeding newborn sonCorporations have a very bad habit of telling moms how to be. Or better yet, co-opting some very common “mom” archetypes for their marketing pursuits. For decades, we were told “Choosy Moms Choose Jif.” More recently, “It Moms” were more likely to choose a particular fabric softener. This week, infant formula maker Similac has taken on the dubious role of connecting their brand to “Strong Moms” — those supportive, they say, of a less judgmental environment for mothers. This new affinity for strength is being launched with a Strong Moms Summit on May 7th in New York City featuring a number of high-profile mom bloggers. Please forgive me for being suspect. It is certainly true that there is way too much pressure on mothers today, and we all could take a proverbial “chill pill” on the mommy-bashing. But when a multi-million dollar pharmaceutical giant (Similac is owned by Abbott Laboratories) plows millions of dollars into telling mothers to be “strong” and “non-judgmental,” I think I’m rightfully engaged in a side-eye glance. Selling women messages that sound good on the surface but actually undermine them has been a corporate tactic since at least the 1950s. We aren’t really being supported to be strong moms–whatever that means anyway — we are being sold the idea of “strong” as a marketing tool for corporate interests. There’s a big difference and all parents should take note of the dangerous undercurrents. What I typically find most insulting is that these corporations are counting on moms not knowing better. That we are so weary from the pressures of motherhood, that we will hang on to any messaging that appears to be a “release valve” without delving one centimeter beneath the surface to find the real facts. Apparently “strong” does not mean savvy. Because one centimeter beneath the surface of Similac’s “Strong Moms” Summit and online campaign you will find that framing of infant formula use around a “lifestyle choice” that is not to be judged has been its primary marketing strategy for decades. Ah, choice. It used to be such a powerful word–one that conjured up women’s suffrage, the feminist movement and our battle for reproductive rights. The problem today is that “choice” has been taken out of the context of women’s rights and misconstrued into a dirty and insidious word. In its most disgusting reiteration it is being marketed to women and girls by corporations — in this case, by infant formula marketers, who are more concerned with profits than infant health outcomes. Women have been led to believe that the “choice” between formula feeding and breastfeeding is merely a matter of inclination–a personal decision, a feather in the cap of liberation. And since choices are individual, they have no social consequences; women are therefore relieved of responsibility of considering the broader implications of their decisions. And once I make my choice, no one is to challenge me. We can’t talk about it. And if you do, you are judging me. This is dangerous territory for all women and mothers as the issue of breastfeeding vs. formula feeding is turned into a mere lifestyle choice as opposed to a child health matter. No wonder Similac is supporting so-called non-judgment. What is really happening is that by leaving each other alone in our so-called non-judgmental circles, we are simply leaving the current unjust system in place and discouraged from forming opinions about the value of different choices. With this type of continuous marketing messaging, we lose the ability to have critical discussions about where the real choices lie and which “choices” are merely illusions. Most problematically for the future of mothers, it deters us from addressing the systemic problems such as improving child care options, increasing the market for part-time work, the lack of a paid federal maternity leave, and other deep-rooted, anti-family policies that actually devalue mothering and shape our infant feeding choices, and prevent us from being active agents of change because we are being told that many aspects of mothering from our infant feeding to work decisions are “choices” and, therefore, private matters. Choice becomes the silencer on a dangerous handgun. In this context, choice is not liberation. It is suffocation. In this context, Similac is asking moms to be strong when they really want us weak and silenced. Framing the infant feeding conversation as an empowerment experience erases the context of corporate interests and deep pocketed marketing machines that have always put profit motive ahead of infant health and the health of mothers and our actual empowerment, for that matter. Let’s face it, this isn’t the first time that women have been sold on an ideal that sounded good on the surface but was actually manipulated to undermine them. It’s been over 50 years since Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique ripped the veil off the problem behind a very good-looking pretense of waxed floors, perfectly applied lipstick and domestic bliss in the 1950s to help women breakthrough a malaise they didn’t know existed. At that time, the idea that women were naturally fulfilled by devoting their lives to being housewives and mothers was borne out of similar cultural forces and commercial interests. It was presented as if this was the woman’s choice, when in fact cultural forces dictated that preparing for marriage and motherhood even from the teenage years was her only option. Meanwhile, the dialogue around the real issues that could actually significantly impact our lives and the health of all infants has been suffocated while we clamor behind choice and non-judgment and use it as a shield to deflect our mommy guilt. Our ability to build conversation and support among each other has been quashed because we won’t discuss what we have been told is a private choice. With so much individualism embedded in our views about choice, there is little room for examining interdependence or acknowledging individual fallibility of our choices. It is women and infants who are paying the price for this so-called freedom of choice. Until “choice” is presented with accurate information, then choice is just a mirage. What’s more, we have to understand the difference between choice and options. Having unequal options doesn’t make for true choice. And truly strong moms don’t need big pharma’s underhanded and predatory marketing ploys under the guise of a summit. Thanks, but no thanks.

What is power pumping?

What is power pumping?