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  • Breadcrumb

    1. Home
    2. Health and wellbeing
    3. Living well
    4. Birth to five
    5. After the birth of your child
    6. Feeding your baby

    Breastfeeding and going back to work

    Exclusive breastfeeding (giving your baby breast milk only) is recommended for the first six months of your baby’s life. If you plan to continue breastfeeding when you go back to work (or college), you will need to think about how your baby is going to be fed.

    Making it work

    There are several options to help you continue to breastfeed when you return to work.

    You can:

    • arrange for childcare close to work so you can breastfeed during breaks, or before and after work
    • express breast milk (removing your milk from the breast by hand or using a breast pump) so that someone else can feed your baby while you’re at work
    • ask your employer for flexible working hours that are arranged around your breastfeeding needs
    • use a mixture of breastfeeding and formula feeding to fit around your work hours

    You can start planning before your baby is born. Before you go back to work, write to your employer to let them know you wish to continue breastfeeding.

    A brief guide for your health and safety is available through the health and safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI):

    • Protecting pregnant workers and new mothers

    A booklet for pregnant women and new mothers who are thinking about combining breastfeeding and working is available from the Public Health Agency;

    • Breastfeeding and returning to work

    Talk to other breastfeeding mothers

    Find out at your local breastfeeding support group how other mothers continued to breastfeed when they returned to work.

    • Local breastfeeding support groups

    Information for employers

    It is for a mother to decide how long she wishes to breastfeed. Returning to work doesn’t mean that she has to stop. On returning to work, she should give her employer written notification that she is breastfeeding.

    Employers are required to provide suitable facilities where pregnant and breastfeeding women can rest. They must also protect the health and safety of new and expectant mothers.

    The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland recommends that it’s good practice for employers to provide a private, healthy and safe environment for breastfeeding mothers to express and store milk. It is not suitable to use toilets for this purpose.

    • An employer’s guide to supporting breastfeeding employees

    It is also recommended that workplaces have a policy on supporting breastfeeding mothers. A sample policy is available from the Public Health Agency website.

    More useful links

    • National Childbirth Trust
    • The Breastfeeding Network
    • La Leche League
    • Healthy eating for breastfeeding
    • Common problems when breastfeeding
    • Bottle feeding your baby
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    Feeding your baby

    • Bottle feeding your baby
    • Breastfeeding
    • Breastfeeding and going back to work
    • Common problems when breastfeeding your baby
    • Feeding your baby (aged nine months to a year)
    • Healthy eating for breastfeeding
    • Problems with eating and food allergies in children
    • Taking medication while breastfeeding
    • Weaning your baby

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