[00:00:00] Dr Renne White: Knowledge is power and we are all about empowering the mamas of the world. In each episode we will unravel and interpret the latest research and evidence based practices for pregnancy, postpartum and motherhood. As mums and researchers ourselves, we have experienced firsthand the overwhelming complexity of information, myths and those classic old wives tales.

[00:00:27] I'm Dr Renee White and this is The Science of Motherhood. Hello and welcome to episode 161 of the Science of Motherhood. I am your host, Dr. Renee White. Thank you so much for joining me today. We have got one of our check in Tuesday episodes, which is one of our shorter episodes. I think this one is going to be very, very useful for many, many mums.

[00:00:53] It's something that we talk about a lot at this time of the year when people are returning to work. But before we dive into this episode, I just wanted to give a big shout out to an amazing new butcher that we have started using in our doula services. Now for all those playing at home back in the day, I used to be a biochemist.

[00:01:17] And so I understand all the intricacies of how the body works and essentially what makes you thrive, particularly in pregnancy and postpartum. And so I am very, very picky when it comes to the food and the source of the food that we provide all of our doula clients here at Fill Your Cup, and we have got an amazing partnership with Our Cow, which is a fantastic butcher and they deliver all across Australia. And my number one, my number one product that I love from these guys is they do this amazing grass fed beef mince and they actually mix the liver into it, and for all those playing at home. The liver is super, super high in iron.

[00:02:13] It's one of the highest food sources of iron that we can get our hands on. And this is something that we cook up for our mamas in this beautiful nourishing cottage pie. And we put sweet potato on top. So that's high in vitamin C, mix that with the high iron in the liver in the mints and you have got two BFFs for life.

[00:02:40] We've got tons more absorption available when you put pair it with the vitamin C. And so this is a particular dish that we provide our mamas who are have an iron deficiency, if they, um, have lost, um, quite a lot of blood during birth, we put this straight to the top of the menu and it just really aids and supports those mamas, get those iron levels back, they're feeling less tired.

[00:03:05] So that is, essentially the product that got me over the line when I was looking for a particular butcher to partner with. And Our Cow has been so gracious and they have provided us with a discount code for all of our listeners. You get $50 off your first order when you order over $199 in that first order.

[00:03:28] Uh, if you use the code, fillyourcup, that's all one word. F I double L Y O U R C U P, Fill Your Cup. If you head over to their website, Our Cow, O U R C O W dot com dot A U, and you can get $50 off your first order. Get the mince, trust me, you can't taste the liver, you can't smell the liver, it is so, so good.

[00:03:56] If you're feeling tired and your iron levels are down, trust me, get onto it. Plus they have really yummy meat, beautifully like sourced, um, produce all ethical grass fed. Oh my God. It is top, top notch. And I'm super, super picky when it comes to meat. So yeah, head on over to ourcow.com.au and use that discount code.

[00:04:18] All right, let's dive into today's episode, which is all about returning to work. And it is holy guacamole my baby is still breastfeeding. What do I do? How am I going to manage this at work? And what are some tools and tactics that I can use to kind of make it a smoother transition, get myself prepared and bubby.

[00:04:42] And so I'm going to walk you through a couple of top tips that we talk to our mamas about with our doula clients. And I guess the first thing that I want to kick off, this episode with is communication. Communication is absolutely key. And when I'm talking about communication, I'm talking about with your workplace.

[00:05:07] Now, ideally, I would love to see some communication with your workplace, like two to three months in advance before you return to work. And if you're hoping to express at work, pump and have, you know, equipment and a space and resources around you. I highly recommend you have that conversation with your workplace well in advance.

[00:05:32] Some forward thinking workplaces have got it down pat and some people, some workplaces might not hire a lot of people who are mums. And so they, this might be uncharted territory for them. So I highly recommend that you start those conversations early, let them know what your wishes are and how the two of you can work together as a team to work out what that looks like for you.

[00:06:00] When you return to work now, ideally you are hoping to get what you really deserve. So you know, you want the convenience of a really dedicated, cozy space to nurse your baby or express milk without any worries. You know, you don't want to be like shoved in a stationary cupboard like Harry Potter styles or anything like that.

[00:06:23] You want to make sure that you've got, you know, a fridge available to pop your milk in. Um, if you're storing it away, ideally we're thinking, you know, somewhere where you can have your drink bottle and some snacks where you are, and you want to be super comfortable, right? Because we know that if you're really uptight, if you're cold, if you're in a situation where you're a bit nervous and anxious, You're in a fight and flight mode and so you actually need to engage that parasympathetic nervous system and you need the oxytocin flowing in order to get that kind of, you know, beautiful let down and ejection of milk.

[00:07:00] So you want an area where you feel super, super comfortable with. So my first tip is always workplace communication, get those comms in play and work out what each other's expectations are with that. Now, my second, I guess, top tip is if you are planning to express and then utilise that milk we're in a bottle or a cup or whatever that looks like for you and your bubba, practice, practice before you return.

[00:07:33] I can assure you as someone who had an exclusively breastfed child who would not take a bottle. It can be one of the most stressful and frustrating scenarios. I feel like I tried every single teat, bottle, combination, everything under the sun, and my bubba just wouldn't take a bottle. Like, that's just her.

[00:07:56] She just wouldn't do it. So, I highly recommend practicing before you get back to work. So you've got lots of time to introduce this new scenario for both you and bubby. And if someone else might be, you know, doing the bottle, then they get practice as well with that. Now, my next tip is timing at work.

[00:08:21] That kind of lends itself back to that communication expectations between you and your workplace, but you want to ensure that you are getting breaks during work hours to have time to express. Now, a workplace that really values your baby's needs and gives you the time to either feed or express comfortably.

[00:08:43] is an absolute must. It's a non negotiable. And so you want to make sure that that's incorporated within your time. My next tip would be nutrition. Now you are still feeding, you are still expressing, you are still making all of this milk and you're returning to work. So you've got like all that kind of mental capacity as well.

[00:09:09] Um, if you were anything like me, when you returned to work, I hardly knew how to even write my name, like it was just so foreign to me, having like, you know, 11, 12 months off. So. Make sure that you are organised and that you have got lots of snacks on hand. If you need to engage with a meal delivery service or something like that for the first couple of weeks and when you return back to work, just to make it a smoother transition, do that.

[00:09:38] You know, absolutely do that. Just try and make it as easy as you can for yourself, but think about some highly nutritious snacks. You want to be thinking about smoothies, one handed stuff, you know, boiled eggs or a nice, delicious snack. So those are the types of things that you want to be looking for. Now, the next tip that I will give is around bottle feeding.

[00:10:02] Now, as I kind of alluded to, This might not come as easy as what you anticipate. And so for someone like myself, um, where I, you know, have already said that my baby did not want to have anything to do with bottles. She was just not interested whatsoever. And so it might be something to think about where.

[00:10:24] You know, you might do the morning feed and the night feed as a breast feed. And then maybe you would be transitioning to formula during the day. If your bubby is being looked after by someone else, um, you know, whether it be at home or childcare or whatever that looks like, but again, that kind of circles back to practice before you return to work and see what is going to work best for you and your family and give yourself time to transition.

[00:10:52] But, it is something where you can still keep those morning and night feeds. They're very sacred. I know for me, it definitely was, um, something that I loved to continue to do until we completely weaned off breastfeeding. And I think, you know, Finally, it kind of speaks for itself, the emotional challenges, they're going to be there.

[00:11:17] This is something that you've probably been doing for quite some time with bubby, having that beautiful opportunity to feed and breastfeeding is not just about nutrition. It's about that bonding experience as well. And so as you kind of taper that off, it can be such mixed feelings about discontinuing breastfeeding.

[00:11:40] So my final tip to you would be just be kind to yourself. Like, honestly, doesn't matter how long or short or whatever it is journey that you had with breastfeeding, just be kind to yourself. You've done an amazing job and you know, if you kind of utilise these tips that I've already spoken about, hopefully it makes it a much more smoother transition for you.

[00:12:06] But it is emotional thing, I still remember my final breastfeed with my daughter. I came downstairs and I just burst into tears, um, with my husband in the kitchen who was kind of whipping up a storm at the time. And I was just like, Oh man, like, you know, another chapter done in your life. So yes, be kind to yourself.

[00:12:31] You're doing amazing, amazing work. All right, everyone. I hope you can take some really useful information from that. If there is anyone who is uncertain about this or new, who needs some extra support, whether that be with a doula to come and help whip up some meals for you to help with that kind of transition back to work.

[00:12:55] Um, or you need a lactation consultant kind of help you with any of these processes, please feel free to reach out. We are on Instagram at fill your cup underscore, or just shoot me an email, hello@ifillyourcup.com and I would be more than happy to help you with some resources and referrals. All right, everyone, until next week, I'll see you.

[00:13:23] Bye. If you loved this episode, please hit the subscribe button and leave a review. If you know someone out there who would also love to listen to this episode, please hit the share button so they can benefit from it as well. You've just listened to another episode of The Science of Motherhood, proudly presented by Fill Your Cup, Australia's first doula village.

[00:13:48] Head to our website ifillyourcup.com to learn more about our birth and postpartum doula offerings where every mother we pledge to be the steady hand that guides you back to yourself. Ensuring you feel nurtured, informed, and empowered so you can fully embrace the joy of motherhood with confidence.

[00:14:08] Until next time, bye!