Breastfeeding, Expressing and Postpartum Recovery on Transatlantic Flights

Breastfeeding 

People swear on all that is holy that 'Breastfeeding is the best thing for traveling!' 

They say just breastfeed as the plane is going up and down and it's so good for baby's ears and tummy. It will make their little ears 'pop.'

I've made 6 transatlantic trips and one to Europe since Dec 2011, and I was lactating for all of them. This means I have breastfed on a total of 26 flights.  

Everyone assumes it's Edenic to breastfeed on flights but I think like everything there's more to the story.

The legs up against the wall/mom's face position

Pros

• you have milk on tap within reason
• your breast milk is always the right temperature
• helps prevent diarrhea in baby
• staves off dehydration in baby
• you don't have to carry around formula and sample it at Security
• keeps you from having to smell formula on the whole trip
• helps soothe baby
• the act of breastfeeding can clear baby's ears on takeoff and landing
• breast milk may calm baby's tummy
• produces poo that is not so smelly or terrible as non-breastfeeding options - and babies always have their worst diapers on planes.
• you can sometimes even feed baby to sleep
• some gifted, flexible individuals have learned how to breastfeed without troubling the people around them. I saw one Australian mum from London breastfeeding with baby in a sling.
• you can claim you 'need' a bulkhead seat because you're a breastfeeding mum (I heard a Glaswegian mum do this once - successfully)

The legs in the aisle position - works for everyone but flight attendants with trolleys

Cons

• Your nipples get sore from excessive feeding and/or friction against baby while sharing a seat for hours, bouncing baby between connections and staggering through customs and immigration. Packing nipple cream/coconut oil/whatever you use for sore nipples is essential. Otherwise it can negatively impact breastfeeding for weeks.
• You get dehydrated
• If you try hard not to get dehydrated, you end up needing to go to the bathroom constantly. If you are traveling without your spouse, you need to get a stranger to hold baby so you can go to the bathroom. You also end up drinking disgusting lukewarm water. Certain airlines need to learn about coolers and ice cubes.
• You can never find the nursing shawl when you need it
• Baby always needs it now when just about to hand passports to flight attendants to get on bus to get on the plane, and no one offers you a seat on the bus.
• People stare. Think about breastfeeding in front of sleek businessmen. A whole cabin of sleek businessmen.
• The breastfeeding-at-takeoff-to-help-ears-pop trick only works if baby is willing to sit on your lap without breastfeeding for 1+ hour till takeoff. We were on one flight that boarded the young families first, then had delays, and we were sitting 2 hours later without having moved an inch. We had breastfed quite a few times before this point and he had fallen asleep. He woke up with a shriek as we finally took off and cried for hours - finally falling asleep as we were about to land 9 hours later. I then learned that you must exert an iron will to refuse to breastfeed until takeoff if your child is old enough to be distracted with something else - clearly you should never refuse a dehydrated baby or a tiny baby who needs regular feeds.
• Breast milk doesn't calm tummies to the point that baby never spits up. Baby spits up when least expected.
• It can be tricky or even impossible to get a large baby to breastfeed while eating dinner, or without invading the space of those around you or without the passing trolley clonking baby's head or feet.
• Breast milk is not limitless. No matter what experts tell you. Baby wants to feed the whole time but you can't. I have the best milk supply of anyone I have ever met - hence why I am still breastfeeding a 3-year-old - but there is a point about 6-9 hours into a trip when it just dries up. I am sorry but no one is conditioned to breastfeed for 9 hours straight, while stressed, while queasy, while drinking lukewarm water to stay hydrated, while hightailing around airports to catch connections. By the time we are landing on our last flight, I am usually waaaaay out of milk.

Expressing Breast milk

Pumping milk is another vexing issue when traveling. If your body is accustomed to pumping 10 oz a day at certain times, then you are going to want to pump 10 oz.

Toting a pump in the airport seems like a waste of your precious carry-on baggage. Sterilizing and packing pre-sterilized bottles can also be tricky. You probably feel the need for privacy while you pump - and it's hard to pump under a blanket (try it, really).

You can ask your airline ahead of time if there is somewhere clean and private for you to pump while traveling.

If you need to pump during a 6 hour Seatbelt Sign saga then you will be one uncomfy passenger. I know there are Seatbelt Sign eras which are fairly lax but we were on one trip that was extra turbulent and the flight crew shouted at anyone over the intercom who dared to stand. So it really depends.

If the extra 10 oz are not consumed by baby on a regular basis - say at an 11 pm night time bottle feed with dad - but instead you stick it in the freezer or pour it over your older child's cereal, I would recommend weaning yourself over the month or two prior to the trip from 10 oz a day down to no more than 2-4 oz. Your baby might need an extra few ounces or your body will probably absorb those extra ounces without too much trouble.

You could just assume baby will drink 10 extra oz than usual on the trip but baby might go off breastfeeding in response to getting a cold or wanting to wean or just general travel - you never know. It's better not to add the pain of engorgement and possible mastitis to your itinerary.

If you express milk before your trip to feed baby during travel, you are allowed to bring more than the normal 3 oz limit. Remember you may have to taste it going into security. I always felt this would be weird so I've never done it but I know mums who have.

If you have to leave baby behind

If you leave your breastfeeding baby behind on your trip and want to maintain a good milk supply, you may have to tote pumping equipment through the airport so you can pump regularly to maintain a good supply for a very young baby. If you save this milk you pump, you may not be able to bring it through security if it's not for a baby on the actual trip.

Heathrow was shamed recently for not allowing a pumping mom to bring four gallons of frozen breastmilk through security and home to her kid in the States. Heathrow has now made changes to its policies to be more friendly but other airports may not be on board yet.

Postpartum Recovery

A lot of people find delivery of a child changes many things in their lives - not just the C section scars but the huge hormonal changes of having a baby to cause all sorts of issues. The tricky thing about planning a big trip in the postpartum stage is that you often plan the trip months or weeks before the baby is born, or soon thereafter, so you don't know the full effect of labor and delivery.

Here are some common postpartum recovery issues

• hair loss - this makes a difference if you can't do anything to cover it up on a long trip and people take lots of photos on your visit. Most people find they're back to normal after a year.
• difficulty regaining pre-preg shape - a lucky few lose all their weight by 6 months but it always took me 9 months to 18 months.
• excessive sweating - usually over by 3 months but may continue a bit longer
• incision pain if you have a C-section - final checkups usually at 3 months
• tearing during labor - which should be healed by your 6 or 12 week checks
• bleeding/lochia - could be over in 3 weeks but might last 3 months
• lack of return of normal periods so you don't know if you're pregnant or not
• hemorrhoids/piles
• backache - usually develops after a weakening of abdominal muscles and you need to recover and work on posture though in some cases as with me you'll need physio therapy to get back to normal
• joint ache - I found this was gone by 3 months but I knew someone for whom it didn't end till total weaning
• mastitis - this can develop any time but the three times I got it were in conjunction with trying to wean too swiftly whilst generally overdoing it
• other infections - bladder, etc
• stress incontinence - needing to go to the bathroom more and not being quite so in control anymore - usually over by 4 months if you're good about your exercises
• sleep deprivation - usually not so bad after your baby weighs more than 12 pounds and becomes capable of sleeping through the night
• postpartum thyroiditis - I never had this but supposedly it's similar to:
• postpartum depression - some people find it doesn't go away till they finish breastfeeding and that travel exacerbates it

Most of these problems you can technically travel with but will make things a tad more complicated. It is definitely something to keep in mind while planning a trip. 

I was always desperate to take my new baby back to the States to meet the family. I eagerly suggested travel a month or six weeks postpartum but my parents wisely counseled to wait till four months. Waiting till four months can smooth the bumps in your travel experience and go a long way toward recovery.