• How to store the EBM?

We recommend using pre-sterelized breast milk storage bags. Pump directly into the storage bag, seal it and label the date, time & name. Use a holder or small container to hold the EBM upright to prevent leakage. Use the small cooler box to keep fresh EBM when you are out from hotel. Line the cooler box with ice bricks and keep your EBM & breast pump (in a separate zipper bag) in the cooler box. Do not leave the cooler box in the car under the hot sun. Top up ice cubes from time to time.

• Where and when to express?

Be ready to express anywhere like the toilet, an empty room or even in a car. Have a flexible pumping schedule. Express whenever there is a chance.

Important tip for expressing in the aircraft’s toilet while on-board: express when other passengers are having their meals. You should then have about 30 min to use the toilet undisturbed. Inform the cabin crew that you need to occupy the toilet for some time and ask them to serve your meals later.

• How to keep the EBM in hotel – freeze or chilled?

It is easier to handle and transport frozen rather than chilled EBM. Freeze as much EBM as possible and keep in the large cooler box. Only chill those expressed within 12 hours before departure so theres less chances of leakage.

In the hotel, you can ask (or rather insist) to freeze and store your EBM in the hotel’s bakery freezer room or ice-cream chest freezer. Allow at least 12 hours for EBM to freeze completely. Those you express within 12 hours prior to departure can be chilled in the room’s fridge/ minibar. If the room does not have a fridge/ minibar, you can keep them in the hotel’s chillier - just make sure they only store fruits & dessert, not meaty stuff. Alternatively, you can check with the hotel whether a fridge (1-door or 2-door) is available specifically for hotel guests.

How husbands can support breastfeeding?
give moral support and word of encouragement during bad days.. (Kit, A supportive husband)

By helping to do some housework (esp for those who don’t have maid or relatives) to ease the wife’s burden & thus enabling the wife’s to concentrate on bf. (Sheela SAHM)
My DH has a joke. He says he helped me to breastfeed by keeping his mouth shut! (N)
Hubby always ask what I have for lunch at office… make sure that I’m eating healthily. If I eat with him, say like fish, he will gimme the meaty part… if soup, he will make sure I have extra more. Because hubby is quite thin also, sometimes, I will insist that he eat more…so sometimes, we are like playing tai-chi at dining table. (Mama to Jiann Yang (07/07/2002) and Jia Ee (15/04/2004))
Get the brand of pump the wife requested and not go to the shop and find the cheapest and then, ask the promoter - can try ah? After that, check the breast pump like he is buying a vaccum cleaner (Lilian)

When men say something good about breastfeeding, it makes a strong impact, esp on all the “well-meaning” elders, friends and strangers etc.. Husband’s endorsement of the breastfeeding movement in the family helps to keep excessive negativities that come mummy’s way, esp for first time mothers. (Audrey)

William does not openly say he supports breastfeeding, but he helps to sterilise the breast pumps and bottle (in a steam steriliser, as easy as ABC each night before he goes to bed, so action speaks a thousand words!!! (GH)

helping me to field criticism/negative comments about bfg. He did great at telling our respective moms to stand back and let us deal with our child the way we wanted to. I really needed that support ‘cos I was getting so much rubbish from both moms. It was too much emotion for me to handle at the time. (a proud tandem nurser)

Give the moral support and assurance that the wife is doing great; she is such a wonderful wife and mother; say words like I’m so proud of you; etc will help. (Vivian)

Tips for Breastfeeding Mothers who Go Overseas

(Special thanks to Fei Ru and Siaw Fui for sharing their experiences with all breastfeeding moms.)

Breastfeeding while travelling is not a ‘mission-impossible’. We would like to share our experience of bringing EBM back to Malaysia from overseas trips, to countries like Taiwan, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore with other mums.

• What do you need?

A set of good breast pump, breast milk storage bags / container & accessories, good quality cooler boxes (recommended 1 big and 1 small), ice bricks, some thick towels and most importantly - positive mindset. Manual (or battery operated) pump is recommended, as an electric outlet is not always available especially in toilets – most of the time this is the only available place to express.

• How to choose the right cooler box?

It depends on the quantity of EBM you can express daily. For example, if you can get 8oz of EBM every 4 hours, within 24 hours you will have 48oz of EBM / approx. 1.45 L. Multiply with the number of days per trip (the longest that you are expecting), e.g. 5 days, then in total about 7L of EBM. This means, you need a cooler box with a capacity of more than 7L, say around 9L to allow space for ice cubes.

Get a good quality cooler box with better insulation and with wheels if possible as stored EBM can be heavy, easily more than 10kg. It is recommended to have 2 cooler boxes, 1 big and 1 small. Use the big box to store frozen EBM at the hotel and for transporting EBM at the end of the trip and the small box for daily use. You can keep the small cooler box in the bigger one but get a much larger cooler box if you plan to do so.