The Boob Group
Back to Work: Travel Tips When Pumping

[00:00:00]

Please be advised, this transcription was performed by a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

[Theme Music]

PRIYA NEMBHARD: If you’re a breastfeeding mom going back to work, pumping is just part of your daily routine. But that routine can definitely become more challenging if you need to travel for work. Whether you’re traveling across town or across the country, how do you make the most of your travel experience? How do you maintain your pumping breaks through airports and bus rides? How do you store your milk and make sure it follows all the TSA guidelines? And how do you stay sane throughout the whole process? We are The Boob Group!

[Intro/Theme Music]

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Welcome to The Boob Group! We're here to support all moms wanting to provide breast milk to their babies. I am your host – Priya Nembhard. I am also the founder of the “Moms Pump Here” nursing locator app which helps moms all over the world to find great places to pump and breastfeed their babies. If you haven’t yet, we encourage to download the New Mommy Media Network app which gives you easy access to all our episodes. You can also subscribe to our podcast through iTunes so our episodes download to your mobile device automatically. And if you are on iTunes, please leave us a review, so other moms can learn about us.
Let’s meet the mamas joining our conversations today! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family!

ELAINE GHEE: Hi, guys! I am Elaine. I started Thrive Momma. I have two little girls, four and six. And on my first maternity leave, I had an awful experience. Going back to work I was a hot mess! And I realized that there was just something missing to help moms in this little window going back to work. So I help moms with returning to work, with time management, meal planning, just helping them thrive as a working mom.

SUNNY GAULT: I love that! Ok, I am Sunny, and I am producing today’s show, and… Well, I‘ve got four kids. My oldest is six, and a have a four year old, both of those are boys. I breastfed both of them, pumped for both of them, but didn’t quite make it to my breastfeeding goals with both of them. My twins are another story! So four in total, my youngest are my twins, who are about to turn three next month, and my original goal was a year with them, and then I made it to almost three years with them.

So, I was able to do that. I don’t have a lot of experience with going back to work. I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to really build a company based on pumping, and breastfeeding, and pregnancy, and everything like that, that’s what we do with New Mommy Media. And so fortunately we were able to record a lot of these shows from the convenience of our own home. I have breastfed a baby while recording an episode!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: That’s pumping at work, or breastfeeding at work!

SUNNY GAULT: I guess it is! I guess it is! I guess I’ve done that, but when you are kind of your own boss, than you can kind of do that kind of stuff. But I have a lot of respect for mamas that need to go back into, you know, a more structured work environment. And I can only imagine the moms that have to do travel for this. It is hard enough to travel, just on your own personal time, but needing to keep up your pump supply, and your breastfeeding…your breast milk supply. It’s difficult! So I am so glad we are doing this episode today, because I think it’s really needed.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: I couldn’t agree more! And I am your host, Priya Nembhard. And I have three children. My oldest is now fourteen, my middle is twelve, and my youngest, Liam, is eight. And I breastfed all three of them, but Liam I breastfed for three years, so I do have experience… So in between being an entrepreneur and having to do that hustle, I’ve had moments where I traveled and, you know, had to do pumping in my office, and going back and forth between clients, and trying to find a space privately, just to pump, or you know, if I had my…

There’s been a time where I brought my child into the office, because I was that crazy! And had to breastfeed in my office! But Liam, talking about having your own business, Liam was around when I started my foundation in my Miami, and I did breastfeed him while I was on the computer, trying to type stuff up all the time…So I get it! Work is work, right?

SUNNY GAULT: It is!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: So thank you all for being with us today! And I am so excited about our conversation!
Hey, American Express Card members! There’s never been a better reason to get out and shop small in your neighbourhood! Because now through December 31st you can earn two times your rewards when you shop small with enrolled American Express Card. Learn more and enroll your eligible card today at www.americanexpress.com/shopsmalloffer. It always feels two times as good to support local stores, and now it's two times as rewarding! Pre-paid and corporate cards, cards issued by other financial institutions, the Plum Card, and certain other cards are not eligible. Reward cap and other terms supply.

[Theme Music]

SUNNY GAULT: Ok, so we have a segment we are going to kick off the show with today called Mama Hacks. And I love this segment because it was created by our listeners. You guys started sending us basically little tips, like breastfeeding and pumping tips that you have discovered that you thought would help other moms. And so I was not going to keep this information to myself! I thought we got to create a whole segment for this! And so it’s called Mama Hacks.

And today, it has more of a work related focus, which I thought was really helpful for today’s conversation. This comes from Jen. And she says what really helped her was to go hands free, to pump on both sides at the same time. She has a couple kids. She said: When I went back to work with number one…So baby number one… I was taking three 45minute breaks a day.

Then she said she was able, you know, just through practice and everything, to get it down to 15 to 20 minutes, when she was able to figure things out. So what I liked about her comment is that it shows kind of what you learn as a mom, like things may take a little bit longer in the beginning, and to not lose hope with that. Because I can only imagine if she is taking three 45minute breaks a day, I am sure her superiors weren’t really happy with that. But she was able to kind of work that out and like she said, get it down to 15 to 20 minutes. And do I think it offers some inspiration for other mamas out there that are maybe struggling with this. Any thoughts on this?

ELAINE GHEE: Yeah! When I couch moms about going back to work, we talk about sort of the 10 and 2. So you typically pump around 10am and 2pm based on your supply. But especially when you go back, you really don’t know, and you are supper engorge. And yes, those pump times can take up to 45min, but you also factor in walking there, washing out your supplies, or wiping your supplies. So yes, an entire session, by the time you get back to your desk, could actually be 45minutes from the beginning. And then you can kind of get really good at it, and your supply naturally will go down over time, which is ok, there’s no shame, this is actually a natural part of your cycle of breastfeeding. But yeah, 15 to 20 minutes, you can definitely bust out!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Is that with an electric pump?

ELAINE GHEE: Absolutely yeah!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Imagine if you have a manual pump… Cause I had manual pumps! And you are thinking like if you have to sit there, and if you pump both at the same time, your hands are going to get tired, you get tired, you are going to get breaks, and stuff like that… And then you are talking about your employer… What if your employer says to you one of these breaks has to be your lunch break, you know what I mean? You have to factor an eating, and just… How do you really mellow out in that one hour trying to pump, and get everything done, and still stuff in your face? How do you manoeuvre?

ELAINE GHEE: It is not glamorous, but it is so worth it!

SUNNY GAULT:Yeah!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Yes! Yes!

SUNNY GAULT:Definitely worth to make it work! So Jen, thanks so much for sending this in! Of course, if you have a Mama Hack you want to share with our audience, you can e-mail us through the website at www.newmommymedia.com. You can also post that to our Facebook page, because I check that daily. So look for The Boob Group and go ahead and send us a message, and we’ll get it on the show.

Hey, American Express Card members! There’s never been a better reason to get out and shop small in you neighbourhood! Because now through December 31st you can earn two times your rewards when you shop small with enrolled American Express Card. Learn more and enroll your eligible card today at www.americanexpress.com/shopsmalloffer. It always feels two times as good to support local stores, and now it's two times as rewarding! Pre-paid and corporate cards, cards issued by other financial institutions, the Plum Card, and certain other cards are not eligible. Reward cap and other term supply.

[Theme Music]

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Today we are considering our series back to work. Today we are focusing on moms who need to travel for work. Elaine Ghee, a www.thrivemomma.com is our expert. Elaine helps moms return to normal life after returning from maternity leave, and that includes teaching moms about their rights to pump at work. Elaine, thanks for being with us today and welcome to The Boob Group!

ELAINE GHEE: Thank you so much! I am happy to be here!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: So moms may need to travel for different reasons. Let’s first talk about moms with long commutes that have to go work and come back, especially moms in larger cities, who are maybe taking multiple modes of transportation. What type of equipment are you travelling with? What additional things moms need to consider? Or carry with them?

ELAINE GHEE: Absolutely! So the electric pump is your best friend! And aside from the sound it makes, it is sort of wonderful device! That sound is forever ingrained in my mind. But you always want to have extra batteries on hand. You never know if you are going to have an outlet nearby. And an extension cord. I always have to give an extension cord in case you find a crazy location. But even if you are pumping in your car, there is a way to do that where you kind of get set up, when your car is stopped, you get set up with your hands free bra, right, so a pumping bra, and you get set up, and you can start driving. Don’t look at it! Don’t worry about the ounces that are coming out! Allow it to go. Try to stay calm as you drive, right? This is not a crazy commute type of pumping. You want to make sure that you are able to relax and allow the let down. And then you need to safely pullover and release…you know, take off the bra, and release the pump, and do that.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: So what are you…So, you are talking about moms driving while they pump. So we have to put a clause in there. We have to make sure moms understand that safety is first! So you know, although it might be convenient to pump in your car, especially if your car is your office…but you have to make sure that you are safe. If it is really bad weather, we don’t recommend it, because you know, you might get distracted from the pumping machine, the electric machine that’s going while you are driving. And then, you know, God forbid, you crash, you know! So we just want to make sure moms are safe, and they consider their conditions before they do something like this. And then you have to also watch out for police because if they see that you are pumping, what they probably wouldn’t…

SUNNY GAULT:Well, I guess it depends if you stopped at a light, or something like that.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Yeah, if not, they might not even see…

SUNNY GAULT: Are there any kind of like rules, like law about don’t pump and drive?

PRIYA NEMBHARD: They might consider it distraction. If you are eating and drinking coffee, that’s a distraction; if there’s something hanging from your rare view mirror, that’s a distraction.

SUNNY GAULT: So it is open to interpretation, perhaps.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Yes…

ELAINE GHEE: And you can put a cover-up on. You can also definitely put a hider on, or a cover-up, so that, you know, you are discrete as well.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: So what about what time…the time of pumping? So we’ve talked a little bit about, you know, doing the 10s and 2s, and the traveling that’s involved. What about the timing of the pumping? Is that something that you… I know a lot of moms that just have to do it on a fly sometimes, cause you are so engorged, you just want to relieve yourself! Let’s talk a little bit about the timing. What would you recommend?

ELAINE GHEE: So definitely in the morning! So when the baby… It depends on your commute. So typically these moms probably have a long commute, so they are waking up early. And you want to make sure that you breastfeed baby straight in the morning, right? So you sort of…when you are typically very engorged, you would then breastfeed baby. And then you want to fully drain your breast, so you can actually pump the rest if baby does not drain fully on the breast. And then you can commute… So hopefully you are fully drained before you start your commute. And to hopefully avoid a pump session during the commute is the goal.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Ok, what about moms who use their office as their car? I definitely recommend that they pullover, just to at least to have that break if their office is definitely their car. What do you think, Elaine?

ELAINE GHEE: Yeah! I mean, the first choice is actually to find a location and your app is the app that I recommend for my mamas to use to find a location…

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Ye!

ELAINE GHEE: Ye! It is awesome! …to find a physical location near you, so you don’t have to do it in your car. But honestly, you know, some moms I talk to, that it’s actually quite, you know, it is quite refreshing. So you are by yourself…I mean, there are windows, but you can be discrete, maybe go in the back of your car if you have tented windows back there and do it while it’s parked. And so, you know, it’s really sort of a personal preference. We talked about pumping while driving as well. But you know, the car can actually be sort of a sanctuary, if you really think about it, in terms of some solitude, and you have control over the physical space. If have that battery pack, you can pump quite nicely and in a quite space.

SUNNY GAULT: For pumping moms, you know, the… I am thinking like adaptors and stuff like that, because the bigger pumps need some sort of source, right? Is it… I mean, in your car, you are not going to have like a regular outlet, right? So are there adaptors or something that moms would need in order to convert it over? Does anyone know?

ELAINE GHEE: Definitely!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: There should be. There has to be adaptors out there. And if you think about it, if you go into an electronic store, maybe an electronic store might have an external adaptor that you could use, that you can plug your pump into.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Yeah… So you need to make sure your bring that with you too.

ELAINE GHEE: And there are what used to be called cigarette lighters, whatever that thing is.

SUNNY GAULT:Oh, yeah, yeah!

ELAINE GHEE: There are adaptors for that as well.

SUNNY GAULT:Ok.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: So what about storing your milk? What would you recommend for that? Because I remember… So storing is sometimes a hit or misses. Because you might be in a location where you don’t have a fridge. Obviously, your car might not have a fridge, or a cooling component, and if you… You know, obviously the locations I have in my app, not all of those locations have areas to store your breast milk while you are pumping, or whatever you are doing during traveling about and stuff, and you can’t come back to it. So what do you recommend to moms who are traveling with their breast milk? What should they do?

ELAINE GHEE: Yes, so if we think about it, breast milk is quite stable, so up to 4, maybe 6hours at room temperature breast milk can stay. So even maybe your last pumping session before you get home could be kept at room temperature. But I advocate for caring a cooler. So this is sort of an isolated lunch bag type of cooler where you can put in your freezer packs. Or even getting some ice and putting it in zip lock bag and keeping that in the cooler with the breast milk. But there are actually for longer distances, even maybe the sales who are driving around in their car all day, there are coolers for your car that go into that cigarettes lighter adaptor that are basically like mini refrigerators that you can put in your car. So you could sort of put in there and keep it cool al day.

SUNNY GAULT: And then you make sure, when you go to make a sales call pr whatever, keep the car running.

ELAINE GHEE: Yeah…

PRIYA NEMBHARD: How big is that? I’ve never seen those…

SUNNY GAULT: Oh, yeah, me neither…

ELAINE GHEE: Yeah, yeah, we have one. Well, I use mine for obviously camping, as well as pumping, but you just kind of plug it in. But yeah, you can run down your batter over a night, which I discovered while I was camping. So you have to unplug it. But that’s when you use sort of the ice packs and you can keep it cool that way.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: So when we come back, we’ll discuss what to do when you need to travel on an airplane for work. We’ll be right back.

[Theme Music]

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Welcome back! Today we are talking about traveling when you go back to work and how that works as a pumping mom. Elaine Ghee of www.thrivemomma.com , is our expert. So Elaine, let’s talk about the need to hop on a plane to travel. What should moms consider when they are going through security, and you know, carrying their breast milk?

ELAINE GHEE: Yes, and I have been…I’ve done this, I am a warrior, I’ve been through the plane with breast milk.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Did you have to taste the breast milk when you went through? Did they make you?

ELAINE GHEE: Yeah, no… They were quite kind. There’s also a while ago to but stuff has changed. But you know, it is sort of…it is a pain. It is sort of like you are interrogated like you are some like bad person there carrying liquid gold with you. But times have changed and the TSA regulation says that breast milk, juice for children and the formula are not part of the 311 rule, so they are not subject to the same sort of liquid ounce requirement, which is great. And so you have to separate them out from the rest of your liquids.

They are however subject to x-ray according to the TSA. Now, this is… You know, the TSAs in general is a crapshoot, you never know what you are going to get depending on that officer that you pass by and what they decide in the moment. But you can also decline the x-ray. It then does say on the TSA that you are subject to additional screening. So we have her to game in of what those additional screenings are, you know. Do they sometimes open up the liquid? Do they taste the liquid? Do they put it trough out other screeners? So it is again a bit of a crapshoot but it is good news for us in terms of that we can bring that milk through. We do not need to have the baby present either. And so especially for women who are traveling for work, you know, bringing that milk through is going to be allowed.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Especially when they are coming back, right?

ELAINE GHEE: Yes!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: And they want to bring all that stuff back with them.

SUNNY GAULT: But if you are carrying food… Well, actually, are you even allowed? Well, just don’t mix it in with everything else though. So have a separate bag for it and kind of separate it out from other stuff that you could be carrying, like liquidy type of items, right?

ELAINE GHEE: That is correct. So all of your shampoos go in their own little quart size bag. And what I recommend… the tricky part here is your personal item and carry-on is what you are allowed. Now, you can, if you are feeling very bold, you can claim that your pump bag is for medical purposes. But once again, TSA is a bit of a crapshoot, so you never know if they are going to push back and not allow that. So what a lot of women do is they take the content of their purse, especially…you know, except for the wallet and whatever is needed just for the plane ride into the pump bag, and then put their purse into their other bags. So you have basically the pump bag and your carry-on. And then you have to basically carry the milk. And again, that isolated lunch type of bag, so you can bring that through screening.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Well, that make sense. You just consolidate everything, so you don’t have to go through that hustle.

ELAINE GHEE: Yes!

SUNNY GAULT: But if you can’t, I am wondering, if you can’t do that… I know for work experiences, like for work travel, you may be trying to bring as little as possible. But just for general travel, I wonder what happens if… You know, because I’ve gone for long periods of time. You know, we travel back home for the summer and I am there for a couple months. And so I am bringing a lot, a lot of stuff. And I wonder if it would get to the point where they would view your pump bag as like… Cause you are not allowed to discriminate against diaper bags, right? So have guys heard of anything like them lumping into that that category where they are like: yeah, we can, you know, if it is a diaper bag or whatever, it doesn’t count against you? Cause airlines are getting crazy right now with the baggage!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Can you say it is a diaper bag even though it’s a pump bag? Oh, that’s my diaper bag, you know…

SUNNY GAULT: Maybe… And put some diapers in it. Isn’t it a diaper bag when you put some diapers in it?

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Yeah…

ELAINE GHEE: That can work!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: And then a lot of these new bags, new pumping bags, don’t even look like pumping bags used to.

SUNNY GAULT: Right!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: They look like fancy purses now, so…

SUNNY GAULT: But that can work against you too though, right? No, you know, it’s a purse; you know it is a leather purse! And like: no, do you see my little pump build into it?

PRIYA NEMBHARD: So when we are traveling, where should moms pump before they get on the plane? Where are the good places to go to? What do they have to consider? There are bathrooms, of course!

ELAINE GHEE: Yeah, oh man, I know! I pumped in bathrooms many time! But there are plenty of locations. Most airports will have a family room, or a lactation room. And again, sort of use the finder to find them. You can call ahead to the airport. You can look on the airport website. But yeah, definitely try to pump before you get on the plane. Because pumping on a plane is a totally different experience. You know, that little tiny bathroom is smelly and cramped, and…

SUNNY GAULT: And everyone is trying to get in at the same time!

ELAINE GHEE: Yes, it’s the pressure, there’s so much pressure!

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, there is!

ELAINE GHEE: Yeah, so definitely try to pump before you get on the plane. And once you are on the plane, there are a couple of things you can try, right? Definitely try to make friends with one of the stewardesses and try to…or the…try to make friends with one of the flight attendances and you can see if they are willing to have you sit on one of their chairs back when they sort of make the food.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Are they allowed to do that?

ELAINE GHEE: They are allowed to do that. You can have a cover-up. You know, it is up to their discretion. You are not quite sure how are they going to respond. But some women actually pump at their seats and if you have big enough blanket. And the white noise and it’s crazy as it sounds, but the white noise actually drowns out most of that sound and if you have some pretty cool people around you, it shouldn’t be an issue.

SUNNY GAULT: I am just picturing this in my head… I don’t know if I might be as bold as breastfeeding on a plane, but the pump…It’s one thing if my husband is next to me, and my kids are next…you know, on the other seat, then I am not worried about it necessarily. But if you have somebody… You know how tiny those seats are! If you have someone right next to you…

PRIYA NEMBHARD: What if you have a big person right next to you?

SUNNY GAULT: The big guy that’s next to you like: what? It is like something out of a sick com, isn’t it?

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Ok, so what about pumping and releasing? So, I know this is going to be a touchy subject and you know, when you are traveling and carrying all those things, all the bags and supplies that you need, but you might have that morning where you are just like, you know, I can’t stuff any more stuff, I can’t carry any more items… What do you do to pump and release? What do you recommend to moms?

ELAINE GHEE:I think the first step is a mindset and that the whole you know “pump-and-dump“ or however you want to it, “pump-and-release“ that there’s no shame in it, and it’s perfectly fine. You want to consider how much the baby is taking right now, do you have any frozen at home, have you completely depleted your supply, do you have some in reserves, and then make a decision at that point. You know, you are on this traveling for work away from baby for a good reason and to torture yourself about a few ounces, is not productive and it’s not going to help you or your baby.

The other thing to keep in mind is that most women take a deep in milk supply when they’re traveling, and it’s perfectly normal. And it’s also perfectly normal for their milk supply to go back up when they’re back at home. And so those two things, those mindsets, you know, accepting those things, it’s fine.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Do you think that’s stress? Do you think that’s stress that causes that?

ELAINE GHEE: Absolutely! Stress is a very . . . I am sure you are a very fast-paced stress, as well as…you know, the plane is very drawing, dehydrating, and we probably don’t drink enough water when we are traveling as apposed as being at home. So there’s a lot of factors why take a dip in the supply.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: So what about the hotel room? So, say you want to keep your stuff, keep your breast milk. What do you have to…What are the steps women should take before they get to the hotel? While they are at the hotel? Should they talk the managers? What do you recommend there?

ELAINE GHEE: Yes! So pumping while traveling for work is all about planning and calling ahead. So you want to call ahead your hotel to see if they can provide you a refrigerator with a freezer. And this really depends on how long you are going to be away. So if you are going to be away just two or three days, you may not need the freezer part. You could pump and release the first day and then keep that through the second days and bring those on the plane with you. But if you are gone longer that those, you know, three to four days, then you definitely want a freezer available. The good news here is once you freeze those bags of milk… And again, bring those, the sealable breast milk bags, so you can freeze them flat, so they can travel really nicely and compactly. Once you freeze them, they actually become their own freezer pack!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: I never thought of it that way!

ELAINE GHEE: Yeah! Wrap them up together and bring tons of, make a note, big zip lock bags, and the ones that have the zip lock slider across a little glider thing, those are really robust. Bring a ton of these so you can actually wrap all of your milk into those larger bags to prevent any sort of leakage. So when you travel with those bags, you bring those through security and use the frozen ones as your icepack.

PRIYA NEMBHARD: So what about the hotels that don’t have like these accommodations? Say you go in some mom and pop place, say you go in the middle of Kansas somewhere and you have like, you know one of those bed and breakfast, or you have a mom and pop hotels, and the rooms don’t have refrigerators. Is this a conversation you need to have with the manager there?

ELAINE GHEE: It’s a conversation you can have. I don’t know if you will be successful. The other…There are some other options to you which are Milk Stork, which is a company that provides the containers to ship back breast milk through FedEx, so that’s an option to you. Some companies are actually paying for that and you can actually make your company to pay for those containers and the shipping of those containers. So yeah, it’s a really good resource. But again, if that’s really your scenario, if there is no fridge there with freezer, then “pump-and-release“ is your situation, and it is fine, right? And we can sort of get through!

SUNNY GAULT: Or hope that you are next to the ice-machine!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: And you can fill up your sink in the hotel room!

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, your sink, you may be even the tub if you are not going to use it, or just the…I mean, depending on how much you are trying to sore, the…you know, I’m sure there’s other…like the bucket that they give you, or something like that. Because ice is usually free, I am just saying…

ELAINE GHEE: Yeah, or fill that zip lock bag with ice and (inaudible).

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Wow, these are a lot of great tips! Thank you so much, Elaine!

ELAINE GHEE: Of course!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: Thank you so much to everyone for being part of today’s show and for sharing their experience! If you are a member of The Boob Group, then be sure to check out the bonus content for this episode where we’ll discuss how to fly with frozen breast milk.
Hey, American Express Card members! There’s never been a better reason to get out and shop small in you neighborhood! Because now through December 31st you can earn two times your rewards when you shop small with enrolled American Express Card. Learn more and enroll your eligible card today at www.americanexpress.com/shopsmalloffer. It always feels two times as good to support local stores, and now it's two times as rewarding! Pre-paid and corporate cards, cards issued by other financial institutions, the Plum Card, and certain other cards are not eligible. Reward cap and other term supply.

[Theme Music]

SUNNY GAULT: Ok, so we have a question from one of our listeners for one of the lactation consultants that come on our show. And so this is from Alara, she posted this on our Facebook page. And she says:
Hi! I am an active duty mom and I am breastfeeding. I am pumping at work and nursing at home. Next week they will be changing the carpeting at work and I was told there will be harsh chemicals and glues. Is this dangerous for me and could the fumes affect my breastmilk? Thanks!

MICHELLE STULBERGER: Hi, Alara! This is Michelle Stulberger, an ABCLC from the MetroDC area. While it’s unlikely that these fumes will cause a problem, it’s probably best to stay away from the area if possible. Some chemicals, like those used at the dry-cleaning shop, do pass into the milk. If you could identify the specific chemicals being used, you can call the Infant Risk Centre at 806 352 2519. They have a free hotline that can look up each item and let you know the safety. The Infant Risk Centre is also a great resource for checking whether medicines and environmental concerns are safe. Good luck!

PRIYA NEMBHARD: That wraps up our show for today. Thanks for listening to The Boob Group!
Don’t forget to check out our sister show:
• Preggie Pals for expecting parents
• Newbies for newly postpartum moms
• Parent Savers for moms and dads with toddlers and
• Twin Talks for parents with multiples.

This is The Boob Group where moms know breast!

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This has been a New Mommy Media production. The information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. While such information and materials are believed to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, medical advice or care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

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