Give breastmilk, even when away from home

• Learn to and practice hand expressing your breastmilk in the first few days after your baby is born as your milk comes in. See Counselling Card 10 for more information about hand expressing breastmilk.
• Learn to express drops of colostrum onto your nipple, something you can do just before putting your baby to breast or to further stimulate your milk supply.
• Breastfeed exclusively and frequently whenever you are with your baby.
• Express and store your breastmilk before you leave home so that your baby’s caregiver can feed your baby while you are away. Teach your baby’s caregiver how to use a clean open cup to feed your baby.
• Express breastmilk while you are away from your baby. This will keep your breastmilk flowing and prevent your breast from swelling.
• Store your breastmilk in a clean, covered container. Freshly expressed breastmilk can be stored for 6 to 8 hours in a cool place, even in a hot climate. See Counselling Card 10 for more information about storage.
• Take extra time to breastfeed your baby before separating from him or her. 
• When you return home, increase the number of times you breastfeed while you are with the baby. This may mean increasing the number of night and weekend feedings.
• Consider bringing your baby with you to work if the kind of work you do allows you to safely carry your baby with you, and allows time for you to care for and breastfeed your baby.
• Check to see if there are options to bring your baby to work where your baby is looked after by another caregiver and has space to play. If this is not possible, consider asking someone to bring the baby to you to breastfeed when you have a break from work.
• Breastfeeding and caring for a baby can be tiring and stressful. Get extra support from family members in caring for your baby and other children. Ask for help in doing household chores.

Notes for the community health worker: Encourage mothers who are working outside of their homes to check what policies are available for maternity leave and if policies allow for breastfeeding breaks or flexible working hours. Also encourage mothers to check to see if there is a safe place to express and store breastmilk at their workplace.