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If your work schedule requires that you be away from your baby, a breast pump may be the best option for providing breastmilk for your baby, relieving breast fullness, and maintaining your milk supply. There are lots of breast pumps to choose from depending on your needs. The best breast pump is the one that works for you!

Milk expression (pumping), like breastfeeding, is a learned art - one that takes patience and practice. Some moms prefer to pump on a set schedule, others find it easier to pump whenever their breasts feel full or whenever it is convenient.

How often you express depends on your needs and the needs of your baby. Moms who return to work after 6 weeks will need to pump more often than moms who return to work after 6 months. If you use a breast pump, you should still learn to hand express, just in case. Hand expression is easy and economical.

Your first tries at expressing (by hand or with a pump) may produce only enough milk to cover the bottom of the collection container. That’s normal! I repeat, that’s normal! It often takes several days or weeks before you see an increase in the amount of milk obtained. For detailed instructions and tips on how to express your milk, see Chapter 19 in BREASTFEEDING, A Parent’s Guide.

There are lots of strategies for increasing the amount of milk obtained including applying warm compresses and massaging the breasts. Some moms find that listening to a compact disc (CD) containing music, guided meditation, or relaxation and visual imagery techniques helps to stimulate milk release.

There are a number of CDs on the market expressly (no pun intended) for this purpose. The two I am most familiar with are Pumping Secrets by Jenniffer Milone and Breastfeeding Meditation by Sheri Menelli.

After returning to work, Jenniffer struggled to meet the demands of her growing baby for breastmilk. She was ready to stop breastfeeding until she discovered that by using her senses she could trigger a let-down response. She recorded the sounds of her son breastfeeding and combined them with piano music. The music may not appeal to every mother, but every mother will relate to the sounds of breastfeeding that only a baby can make. Jenniffer plans to combine the breastfeeding sounds with other types of music as well, so if you prefer jazz or rock and roll, you might want to put in your request!

Sheri Menelli is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist who has taught relaxation techniques to more than 250 birth mothers. Sheri’s CD, Breastfeeding Meditation, contains a series of meditations and affirmations designed specifically for breastfeeding moms. Breastfeeding Meditation contains no music - only what one mother describes as a lovely, soothing voice.

Both CDs highlight the need for mothers to discover pumping strategies that work. And to remember that babies are worth the effort!