Married to the Pump
by Barbara Dehn - 28th June 2007
I saw a patient a few weeks ago who was pumping her breastmilk so that she could build up a large reservoir in her freezer for when she returns to work. She pumps 8 times each day and gets about 1 – 1.5 ounces each time. Now, it takes about 20 minutes just to pump each time, and then washing the equipment, labeling the containers and putting things away is another 10 minutes. When you add it all up, she spends about 4 hours each day on this one aspect of mothering.
She was upset because she felt that she was spending more time with the breastpump than with her baby. She felt, “married to the pump.” She was frustrated that despite increasing fluids, and taking Fenugreek, the amount of milk she was producing in addition to breastfeeding was only enough for only 2, maybe 3 feedings. I’m always impressed at how much women are willing to do for their babies and told her that. She was conflicted though and wanted to talk about not pumping, because she wasn’t sure that this was the best thing for her to do with her limited time.
I should tell you that I’m not the kind of health care provider who tells people what to do. I prefer to offer my patients a full “Menu of options” that we discuss. I trust my patients to know themselves and their situations, and to know what’s best. I can be a sounding board and explore what the outcomes might be with any of the choices. I rarely say, you should do this, or you should do that. I prefer to say something like, “In this situation, that’s a good choice.”
So when she told me that she was going to stop pumping 8 times each day and spend more time with her baby, we explored what that meant. And in her situation, it meant that she’d continue to breastfeed and pump twice/day. She decided to start using formula and mix it with her breast milk and that would not just be OK, but be the best choice for her and her baby. I called her to see how it was going and she reported that she felt that a weight had lifted off her shoulders. She could spend more time with her baby and less time “married to the pump.” She’s pumping 2 times each day, and continues to breastfeed, supplementing with formula. She said that she’s not feeling as crazy and is more relaxed because this is the right thing for her to do. She’s not trying to live up to other people’s ideals about how she should feed her baby.
Is this the right solution for every woman? Of course not, but it was the right decision for her and her circumstances. We are all so different, we have such different lives, that’s important to acknowledge that we are the best judge of what’s best for us.
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