By Laura McGrath
Expert review: Lola&Lykke lactation experts
Going back to work while you're still breastfeeding involves some practical planning. You need to know where and when you can express, where you can store milk, what you need to take with you and what happens when the working day doesn't go to plan.
A meeting might run over. The room you expected to use might be occupied. Your shift might finish late. The arrangements need to work on those days too.
You might breastfeed before and after work and express while you're away. You might combine different ways of feeding, or change your plans once you're back. Those decisions are yours. This guide covers the practical arrangements that can make your chosen approach easier.
In the 2024 Infant Feeding Survey in England, 56% of mothers who had returned to paid work did so when their baby was between six and nine months old. Among mothers expecting to start or return to work, 36% surveyed when their baby was eight to ten months old planned to stop or reduce breastfeeding when they returned.
If you're returning to work while breastfeeding, talk to your employer before you go back. Work out where you can express, when you'll have time to do it, where you'll store milk and who to speak to if the arrangement doesn't work.
You don't need to predict exactly what you'll need months from now. Start with the working day in front of you.
Start with your actual working day. Consider questions like:
The NHS recommends talking to your employer before you return about what you’ll need and how they can accommodate it.
Before your first day, establish four things:
For equipment and other items you may want to take with you, Lola&Lykke's Return to Work Nursing Kit List covers pumps and accessories, milk collection and storage, cleaning items and personal essentials.
Tell your employer in writing that you're breastfeeding before you return to work. Once you've notified them, they should consider your individual circumstances and carry out a specific risk assessment.
You should also agree the practical arrangements you'll need during the working day. You can include these in your written notification or discuss them with your manager or HR team.
For example:
“I expect to need somewhere private to express during the day. Can we agree where that will be, how I can access it, where milk can be stored and who I should speak to if the arrangement isn't working?”
If you work shifts, travel between sites or can't simply move a meeting, say so. The arrangement needs to work for the job you actually do.
One respondent highlighted the importance of having colleagues who understood why expressing breaks mattered:
“What helped was having people that understood that I needed to stop - it physically causes pain if you don’t pump on time and it also ends up decreasing your milk supply.”
- Anonymous respondent
You don't need to predict how often you'll need to express several months from now or give an end date. Agree on what seems workable for your return and review it once you're back.
In England, Scotland and Wales, employers must provide suitable facilities where a nursing mother can rest.
HSE guidance says the area should be private and hygienic so that you can express if you choose, with somewhere to store milk. A toilet is not a suitable place to express.
This doesn't necessarily mean your employer has to provide a dedicated expressing room or a separate fridge just for breast milk. The arrangements will depend on your workplace, but you should have access to a private, hygienic place where you can express and somewhere suitable to store your milk. There is also no automatic legal right to paid breaks specifically for expressing.
The important questions to consider are:
One mother described having to improvise when the room provided wasn’t suitable:
“I had to pump at lunch times with a chair against the door that wouldn't lock and put a sign outside saying do not disturb. It was not comfortable or hygienic.”
- Anonymous respondent
Think about how expressing will fit into your working day, too. If you work at a desk, you may be able to schedule time around meetings. If you're teaching, caring for patients, working in retail or doing another job where you can't simply step away, you may need to agree in advance how your work will be covered while you express.
Make sure anyone responsible for allocating the room or arranging cover during your shift knows what has been agreed, so you're not having to explain the arrangement each time.
There isn't one arrangement that works for every workplace. What matters is whether yours works during the job you actually do.
A pump that works well at home may be awkward to carry to work. You may want spare parts rather than relying on one set all day. If you're travelling between sites, size and portability may matter more than they do at home.
Think about where you'll use your pump, whether it needs charging, how you'll handle and clean the parts and how you'll transport expressed milk home. Depending on your workplace and journey, useful extras might include milk storage bags or bottles, an insulated cool bag and ice packs, breast pads and a spare top.
The Bloome Wearable Breast Pump sits inside the bra for hands-free expressing, without external tubing. It comes with a 25 mm breast shield and 15, 17, 19 and 21 mm inserts for different nipple sizes.
Getting the right fit matters for comfortable expressing. Our guide to breast pump flange sizing explains how to measure and what to look for if the fit doesn't feel right.
For a fuller list of equipment and supplies to consider, see the Return to Work Nursing Kit List.
Expressed breast milk can be stored in a sterilised container or breast milk storage bag. Label it with the date it was expressed, and store it in a fridge as soon as possible if you're not using it straight away.
If you have access to a fridge at work, check where you can store your milk and make sure you can access it throughout your working day. If you have access to a fridge at work, check where you can store your milk and make sure you can access it throughout your working day. If suitable fridge storage isn't currently available, discuss alternative arrangements with your employer.
Current NHS guidance for storing expressed breast milk gives the storage limits for breast milk at room temperature, in a fridge, in an ice compartment and in a freezer. Check the guidance when planning your routine rather than relying on remembered storage times, particularly if your journey home is long.
For the journey home, keep the milk cold and upright in sealed containers or storage bags. An insulated cool bag with frozen ice packs is particularly useful if you have a long commute or travel between different workplaces.
If your baby was premature or has particular health needs, ask your healthcare team for advice specific to them, as different storage guidance may apply.
For more on choosing and using storage bags, see our guide to using breast milk storage bags.
The first few days will show you whether the arrangement works in practice.
Perhaps the room keeps being booked by somebody else. A meeting regularly runs into the time you'd expected to express. You can't reach the fridge during your shift. Getting everything packed away and home takes longer than expected.
When speaking to your employer, name the specific problem.
“The room has been double-booked twice” gives your employer something concrete to fix. So does “I can't access the fridge during my shift” or “the room isn't available at the agreed time”.
Speak to your manager or HR contact about what needs to change. Follow up in writing so there's a record of what you've discussed and any new arrangement.
You can also review the arrangement because your needs have changed. You don't have to wait for something to go wrong.
If you've raised a problem and the arrangement still isn't workable, you can take it further.
Your union or safety representative may be able to help. Acas and Maternity Action also provide advice on workplace issues.
If you're concerned that you're being treated unfavourably because you're breastfeeding, the Equality and Human Rights Commission provides guidance on pregnancy, maternity and returning to work. Whether particular treatment amounts to discrimination depends on the circumstances.
The immediate issue may still be practical: a room you can't access, storage you can't use or an arrangement that doesn't work with your job. Keep a written record of the problem, what you've asked for and the response you've received.
What works in your first week back may not be what works a month later.
Expressing at work doesn't mean you have to stop breastfeeding directly when you're with your baby. You might breastfeed before and after work and express while you're apart, exclusively express, or combine breastfeeding and expressing with formula. Your routine may also change as your baby gets older or your working pattern changes.
If you're worried about how returning to work might affect your milk supply, it can help to think about your feeding and expressing routine before you return. Our guide to combining breastfeeding and pumping has more information on finding a routine that works for you.
If you have pain, concerns about milk supply, questions about your baby's feeding or another medical concern, the NHS breastfeeding guidance and support pages are a good place to start. You can also get individual advice from your midwife, health visitor or another healthcare professional.
The National Breastfeeding Helpline offers free breastfeeding information and support on 0300 100 0212.
Returning to work while breastfeeding may take some adjustment. An arrangement that looks workable on paper might need changing once you're back, and what works in the first few weeks may change again later.
One respondent highlighted how much difference suitable facilities made:
“What made a positive difference was having a warm, clean nursing room.”
- Anonymous respondent
The important thing is that the practical arrangements support the feeding choices you want to make. Your employer can help with the workplace side, and the right equipment can make expressing easier, but you decide what works for you and your baby.
Yes. Returning to work doesn't mean you have to stop breastfeeding. Depending on what works for you and your baby, you might breastfeed when you're together and express milk while you're apart, combine different feeding methods or change your routine over time. The NHS has further guidance on breastfeeding and returning to work, including preparing to return, expressing at work and talking to your employer.
Yes, you should tell your employer in writing before you return to work. This allows them to consider your individual circumstances and carry out the specific risk assessment required for breastfeeding employees. The HSE guidance for pregnant workers and new mothers explains what to tell your employer and what they should do once you've notified them.
Your employer must provide suitable facilities where you can rest. HSE guidance says this should include a private, hygienic area where you can express milk if you choose, and that a toilet is not a suitable place to express. This doesn't necessarily mean a dedicated expressing room: the important point is that the space provided is suitable, private and hygienic. The HSE guidance on rest and breastfeeding at work explains what employers should provide.
There isn't a specific legal right to a set number or length of breastfeeding or expressing breaks. However, your employer must consider your individual health and safety needs, which may mean making changes to your working conditions or hours. Talk to your employer about when you need to express and how this can fit around your work. Maternity Action has more information about breastfeeding when you return to work.
Start with the specific problem and raise it with your manager or HR contact. If the room isn't available, you can't access the agreed storage or the arrangement doesn't work around your job, say exactly what is happening and ask what can change.
If the problem continues, your union or safety representative, Acas or Maternity Action may be able to help.
For more information on breastfeeding, expressing and returning to work, these resources may help:
by Lola&Lykke Team
Please Note
The information shared in this article is intended for general educational purposes only and should not replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional. Every pregnancy, recovery, and feeding journey is different. If you have concerns about your health, your baby’s health, or any symptoms mentioned in our blogs, please speak with your doctor, midwife, or healthcare provider before making changes to your care routine.
