Pump It!

Meet the EXPERT - Effath Yasmin is India's leading IBCLC, a biodynamic craniosacral therapist from Mumbai, India, and founder of Nourish & Nurture. Her special interests lie in infant oral and sucking dysfunction, tongue-tie assessment, treatment and rehabilitation, biomechanics of breastfeeding, and treatment of birth trauma, anxiety, and depression. Yasmin serves on the national board of Birth India and international advisory board of ICAP (International Consortium of Oral Ankylofrenula Professionals) and GOLD Conferences. She is also the producer and director of an award-winning international documentary film Untying Breastfeeding screened across many countries.

Time and again we have heard that mother's milk is the best food for your baby for however long you choose to nurse your child. However, it is not always possible for mum to nurse their babies for as long as they would like to, due to other commitments. For mothers resuming work, expressed breast milk ensures that your baby gets breast milk even when you are at work. Similarly, expressed breast milk is useful if you need to head out for a while (without your baby), are not comfortable nursing in public or you want to catch up on some sleep without compromising on your baby's feed.

If a baby is in the NICU or special care ward, mothers can give their expressed breast milk to the medical staff there for feeding the baby. Expressed breast milk retains most of its health-giving benefits provided it is stored properly. It is important to maintain good hygiene and follow a set protocol for the storage of expressed breast milk.

• It is always wise to take the advice of a lactation consultant to get a clear idea of the correct procedure for expressing and storing breast milk.

• It is important to maintain strict hygiene and cleanliness of the containers used for storage of your breast milk and your breast pump parts.

• When you refrigerate or freeze expressed breast milk, make sure you label the bags/bottles with the date it was pumped. This makes managing your expressed breast milk easier.

• To minimize wastage, store your milk in small portions (around 60 ml). You can always combine two packets after defrosting (if need be).

• Never mix body temperature expressed milk with cold expressed milk.

• Fill bottles/bags only up to three-quarters of the capacity. Breast milk expands on freezing.

DEFROSTING BREAST MILK