Pumping (milk, that is) as an intern/resident?

[foodlover]

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Hi,

Wanted to know if there are any residents out there who have successfully managed to pump for their baby while at work. I'm not sure how feasible it will be to get away for 20 minutes every 4 hours or so. I'm trying to decide if I can pump when starting intern year or if I should wean before then.

I know most programs *should* be understanding, but if it means having to ask every upper level, every attending, on every rotation if it's ok to do it, is it too much hassle? Will you look like you aren't doing your share of the work? And what about when things get crazy busy?

 

[lowbudget]

Hmmm... interesting. I'm sure programs would allow it. The question really is can your body lactate while you're under the demands of an intern?

 

[J-Rad]

At both my residency (military) and fellowship (civilian) breast feeding mothers (residents, fellows and staff) are allowed ample opportunity to pump. I'm in peds, so that might have something to do with it.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Are you a surgeon?

 

[cartoondoc]

Well, I gave birth midway through my PGY2 year, returned at 8 weeks and pumped at work for about five months. I was lucky in that I was given a really easy three month rotation upon my return, which gave me a lot of flexibility to pump. Also, it's a PM&R residency, which is not terribly demanding.

If I were an intern, I honestly am not sure I could have done it. None of the interns in my class were breastfeeding. A few of my friends got jazzed up about "it's your right blah blah blah" but the fact is, you can't tell a patient with chest pain to wait because you need to pump. There was one moment during my intern year when I had a phone at each ear and then my pager went off.... I can't even imagine if I had to think about breastpumping.

That said, you should see if you could request an elective rotation to start with, that might allow you extra nursing time. But I wouldn't recommend it once you get on wards.

 

[lyn2006]

I will be an intern in July also and am planning to pump. My baby will be 4 1/2 months when I start and I'm hoping to provide breastmilk for as long as possible. I've noticed when I pump now that I often get 3-4 oz per side every 3 hours, but my baby often only eats ~4 oz every 4 hours. So I'm hoping I can spread out my pumping... My supply seems to be overly abundant though which is not the case for everyone.

Good luck!

 

[yadayadadude]

For me, it would depend on a) how old the babe is when you start internship and b) what field you're in.

Having said that, there's no way -- absolutely no way -- I would have been able to pump as an intern. I'm in IM.

 

[lyn2006]

Here's a link to a Mothers In Medicine blog post about pumping at work that I read awhile ago and just remembered about, so I thought I'd share.

http://www.mothersinmedicine.com/2010/03/how-to-and-not-breast-pump-at-work.html

Not the easiest thing but it's been done before lots of times.

 

[2Sexy4MedSchool]

One of our chief residents in OB managed to pump last year. She wasn't an intern, but she kept up with running the board, surgeries, etc. I don't know how she did it, but she made it work.

 

[foodlover]

Thanks for the responses. I'm going into IM and babe will be 5 1/2 months when I start. I've still got some time to decide but it sounds like it'll be tough to manage, especially in the units and ward months. I'm just trying to imagine getting paged, or hearing a code while I'm in the middle of pumping!