When to Pump: How to Create a Pumping Schedule at Work

Are you headed back to work and planning to pump breast milk for your baby? Not sure how often or how long you need to pump? Here’s what you need to consider when putting together your pumping schedule at work!

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What Are Your Legal Rights Regarding Pumping at Work?

This depends on where you on located.

In the United States, the Affordable Care Act included a provision called Break Time for Nursing Mothers. This provision requires employers to provide two things for employees that are covered by the law – a place to pump that is not a bathroom, and break time to pump.

Who is covered by the law?

Employees that are non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards act. However, if you ARE exempt, you may be covered by additional protections at the state level.

Here is a lot more detail, including other exemptions to the Break Time for Nursing Mothers law, and how to find the breastfeeding laws in your state.

How Often Should You Pump at Work?

This depends on a few things:

How long you are at work. Obviously, you’d need to pump more during a 12 hour shift than an 8 hour shift.
How old your baby is. You will want to pump more frequently with a younger baby.
What you can realistically manage at work. Some jobs are harder to get pumping sessions in than others; it can be really difficult for a teacher or bus driver or nurse to take pumping breaks, especially if their employer isn’t legally required to provide them.

Generally speaking, I would suggest aiming for the below number of sessions based on how long you’ll be at work when you first go back:

4 hour workday: 1 pumping session
6 hour workday: 2 pumping sessions
8 hour workday: 3 pumping sessions
12 hour workday: 4 pumping sessions

However, just consider this a starting point to work from as you consider the other two factors (the age of your baby, and what you can manage).

For example, many moms in the United States go back to work when baby is 12 weeks old and start at 3 pumping sessions per day, then drop to two or even one as baby gets older and is eating more solid food. If you are going back to work when baby is 9 months old, 3 sessions at work may not be necessary.

Or, maybe you work an 8 hour day, but are only able to pump once, on your lunch break. (We’ll talk about strategies for how to work with this below.)

How Long Should Your Pumping Sessions at Work Be?

This depends on how many pumping sessions you have.

If you are pumping the number of sessions I recommended above (based on length of your workday), then each pumping session should be about 15-20 minutes. In most cases, 15 minutes will be enough, but some women might need a little more time to “empty” their breasts.

(Obviously, you may need to cut one short every now and then to make a meeting or other obligation, but that is what I would aim for.)

If you are pumping less frequently, either because your baby is older or you are not able to due to your work schedule, your pumping sessions should be a bit longer.

How long?

I would add an extra 5-10 minutes for each session under the number I suggested above. So, if you’re pumping twice during an 8 hour workday, make them 20-25 minutes long if possible. If you’re pumping once, make it 35-40 minutes long.

(I know sessions this long aren’t always possible, so do the best you can.)

Sample Pumping at Work Schedules

I’ll put a few different types of schedules below that will work with different kinds of jobs.

One thing to note: if you can pump WHILE you work, this can help save time. I work in an office and brought my laptop to the lactation room, and would answer emails or do other quick tasks while I pumped.

I would definitely suggest getting a hands-free pumping bra (you can read reviews of different options here) or a hands-free breast pump. It will make pumping at work so much easier!

Office Worker with a 3 Month Old Baby

I started out with a schedule very similar to this with each of my babies when I went back to work.

6AM-ish/Before work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)
9AM: Pump for 15-20 minutes
12PM: Pump for 15-20 minutes
3PM: Pump for 15-20 minutes
6PM-ish/After work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)

Office Worker with a 9 Month Old Baby

Later, I transitioned to two sessions that were a bit longer.

6AM-ish/Before work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)
10AM: Pump for 20-25 minutes
2PM: Pump for 20-25 minutes
6PM-ish/After work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)

Teacher

Often teachers are limited to pumping during prep periods and at lunch. You might want to make one session a bit longer to make sure you get enough pumping time in. Here’s an example of how that might look:

7AM-ish/Before work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)
11:30AM: Lunch. Pump for 30 minutes
2:00PM: Prep Period. Pump for 15-20 minutes
4:30PM-ish/After work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)

Sometimes, a prep period can be right before or right after lunch, which can make getting multiple pumping sessions in during the school day difficult.

What I usually recommend in situations like this is pumping right before and after school (possibly during your commute), with either one long session during the combined prep/lunch period or two shorter ones (one at the beginning of it and one at the end). You can experiment and see what works best for you.

7AM-ish/Before work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)
11AM: Prep Period. Pump for 20 minutes right at 11AM
11:40AM: Lunch. Pump for 20 minutes at the end of the lunch period (say, 12PM-12:20PM)
3:30PM-ish/After work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)

Or:

7AM-ish/Before work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)
11:30PM: Prep Period/Lunch. Pump for 35-40 minutes.
3:30PM-ish/After work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)

Nurse

The below schedule is based on a 7AM to 7PM shift with two short breaks and a lunch break. If you have time where you sit down to do paperwork, that may also be time that you can pump with a hands-free setup to get a fourth session in.

6AM-ish/Before work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)
9AM: First Break. Pump for 15-20 minutes
12PM: Lunch/Meal Break. Pump for 30 minutes
4PM: Second Break. Pump for 15-20 minutes
8PM-ish/After work: Pump (exclusive pumpers) or nurse (nursing moms)

Obviously, your breaks will often depend on patient needs. It’s okay to move times around if necessary. If you have to skip a session, that’s fine, just try to make up the time later if possible.

Strategies for Pumping at Work When You Don’t Get Breaks

It can really be challenging when you aren’t entitled to breaks to pump at work, or when it’s just not realistic or possible with your job. For example, many servers do not get more than a few 5-10 minute breaks over an 8 hour shift.

Here are a few strategies if you don’t get pumping breaks, or if it’s too difficult with the pace of your job to take them.

Use a hands-free pump while you work. A hands-free pump like the Willow, Elvie, or Freemie Liberty are good options. (Here’s a photo of a TSA agent pumping while working with a Freemie Liberty.)
Pump as much as you can before and after work, on your commute if possible.
Get a manual pump and use it to take the pressure off whenever you have 5 minutes or so.

What if Pumping Takes too Long?

One common struggle that moms have with pumping at work is that it takes too long.

It’s not uncommon to sit down to pump and find that it takes 5-10 minutes to get your breastmilk to letdown. This is especially common for nursing moms, because they are used to having their baby there to trigger the letdown reflex. (More on how letdowns work here.)

Some options for speeding things up if this is the case for you:

Try a warm compress (you can put Booby Tubes in the microwave, which might help)
Try replacing your breast pump parts if it’s been a while
Try a warming massager – the combined heat and vibration helps speed things up for some women
If you are a nursing mom, try looking at a photo or video of your baby

More information on how to pump faster here.

What is your pumping at work schedule like? What have you tried that’s worked for you, and what hasn’t?

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