If you are planning to return to work or study, you can continue to give your baby breast milk and breastfeed your baby. In more recent years, governments and private employers have become more pro-active in facilitating a supportive environment for breastfeeding women.
The main advantage of continuing to provide breast milk for your baby is that they tend to be healthier and less likely to get ill (therefore fewer days off work for you). This combined with being able to continue this special relationship with your child and feeling you are doing something good for your baby, can be strong motivating factors. If you intend to express your milk, you can read more on this in
expressing and storing breast milk. If you work for yourself and/or at home you may be able to keep your baby with you (or bring your baby to work) and continue breastfeeding.
You will probably need to talk with your employer about how you can facilitate your breastfeeding and/or expressing. By law you should not be discriminated against because of your family responsibilities. Arrangements may need to be made, depending on your job, workplace and childcare situation. You may look at feeding your baby if you have onsite childcare, or your child is being cared for close to your work. Alternatively, your child carer may be able to bring your baby in to you at work for you to feed them.
Some women will look at other options to continue their breastfeeding, or make it easier to facilitate. These may include delaying your return to work until your baby is having less breastfeeds and more solids. (Say after 6 months). Work shorter hours or part-time, or combine the use of formula feeds with expressed breast milk breastfeeding, to meet your baby's feeding needs. It may be that your baby has formula during the day, but breastfeeds morning and night or overnight.
Some strategies that other women have found helpful when combining work with breastfeeding include: