Home Forums Induced Lactation aka Adoptive Breastfeeding Medical Interventions to Induce Lactation/Increase Milk Supply HELP: How/where to pump on a plane

Hey ladies, I need some help. We are going to Ethiopia next week to pick up our daughter . We'll be traveling for about 18 hours. Our longest flight is 7 hours and I am at a loss for how to pump on the plane, and in the airports.

Biggest question is WHERE to pump on the plane?? We'll be flying Lufthansa, if that makes a difference.

Also, in the airport, I'm tempted to plug in my pump in the bathroom, but I have a Medela Lactina that I am debating packing in my suitcase rather than carry with me. I'm mostly afraid of going through security with it. It's borrowed from work, can't risk it getting confistcated. Thoughts?

Thanks much for your suggestions.
Jenny

I pumped for 7 1/2 months to induce lactation because I couldn't take BCP's only domperidone. During that time I did a lot of traveling so I'll tell you what I did. If it was a short flight I tried to find a quiet spot in the airport like a gate that had few people waiting and pumped there. I wore a bulky sweater over a nursing tank so I could just pull the sweater up, attach the pumps and drape it over the pumps. The nursing tank meant that I was completely covered and most people had no idea what I was doing.

On longer flight I just made sure I had a window seat and just pulled everything out of the bag and pumped right at my seat. Most people didn't notice or I just joked with them about feeling like a cow but needing to pump milk. It explained what was happening yet people rarely noticed. Let me tell you that airplanes are noisy and no one noticed because of the sound. I am not overly modest so pumping in public never bothered me. It was good practice for nursing in public when my daughter arrived. You might try a few dry runs at home until you are more comfortable with it. Personally I have never pumped in a bathroom because there is rarely a place to sit and it seems gross to me.

As far as getting it through security I have never had a problem in the US. It is a medical device and while they can check it for explosives, which they never did, they can't require you to check it. I also worried about taking breast milk on board without a baby but was never once questioned. Again I did not travel internationally during this time. It always seemed that the toughest security was heading to the US when I have been in Europe.

I would never check it because it could be damaged and it could go missing. Besides for probably 20 hours without pumping you will be so engorged. Take my word for it after just 5-6 hours I HAD to pump just before my daughter was born!!

Hope I answered all your question!! Congratulations on adopting Helina!!! She is almost home!!!!

Hi there,
I don't have an answer to pumping on the plane (other than getting a battery operated pump to use in your seat? I got one to use when I'm out of the house--not sure if that's helpful or not).
I wanted to ask, though, if you have a minute when you return from Ethiopia would you post about how the latching goes for you? I'm also adopting from Ethiopia and my daughter is now 11 months old and has been off the breast since 4 or 5 months old.
Thanks in advance!
Em

Michele,
Thanks so much for your very encouraging post. Mothers like you give the rest of us the courage to make breastfeeding 'normal' by pumping and nursing our babies in public. Good point about the plane being noisy. I hadn't thought of that.

The only reason I was thinking I'd have to pump in the bathroom in the airport is my Lactina has to be plugged in to work. I figured I could find an outlet in the bathroom. I'm pretty sure the airports here have Mom/baby bathrooms or handicap bathrooms and maybe that would work. Anyway, you got me thinking.

I guess I'll buy a manual pump for the plane and just plan to pump in my seat. It won't work as well as my Lactina, but it'll get me through the day of travel I guess. And I'll pack the lactina as a carry on. Good idea.

Thanks again. I knew someone here would be able to help!

Jenny

Hi Em. We are going from ET to the States (we live overseas) to finalize citizenship and get her US passport and Italian visa. I'm sure I will get around to posting at some point about getting Helina to take the breast. I have a strategy, and I think she will learn to breastfeed just like she will learn to use a cup, a spoon, etc. When do you pick up your daughter? What agency are you adopting through? We are using Illien, our baby is at a fantastic orphanage called Miskaye.
Jenny

I would LOVE to hear about your strategy, if you have time...

Rapids, how exciting!!!! I cant wait to hear how your trip went, especially how the bf is going!
I had been thinking about what I will do as well, while travelling. I have a pump in style so it is battery and electric. It is also in a back pack style. I could probably get away with pumping in a quiet area without too many people even noticing.
Let us know how that goes too Rapids!

I bought a medela manual breast pump last night. It was the least expensive at $32 and I really like it! It has the dual expression gimick thing that I like and a soft instead of hard plastic flange. It's not noisy since it doesn't have a motor and it's real comfortable to hold. I also bought a nursing cover. So now the dilemma is solved. I'll just manually pump in the airport and on the plane. No big deal. I don't know what I was freaking out about.

J in Tx. I got my strategy from Lenore and another poster on this forum. My baby was breastfed for the first month of her life, but since then has been living in an orphanage and sometimes gets held for feedings, sometimes gets a propped bottle. She'll be 10 months old when we pick her up (next week!)

So the strategy is a slow pressure-free introduction to skin to skin care and to the breast. I'll start by bottle feeding her (with a newborn slow flow nipple) breast milk without a shirt on so she is next to the breast, and gradually spend more skin to skin time with her, take baths with her, and just get her used to being up against me and up against my breasts. Then I'll offer the breast. I think she'll take it and gradually learn to nurse. But if she resists, I'll put the bottle nipple over my nipple and thread the LactAid tube through the nipple hole and try to feed her that way. That part actually sounds complicated and I really think if I take the skin to skin thing gradually, she will go for the breast on her own. It was suggested to me to feed her at the breast with a newborn one hole nipple shield on to give her the feel of a bottle nipple at the breast. I really think that would work, too, but I couldn't find the right nipple shield. They all have 3 holes. Maybe I'll just buy that kind in case all else fails.

Meantime I'll keep pumping and hopefully what she gets from a bottle will be mostly breastmilk. That's it!

Thanks! That does sound like a good strategy! I hope it works well for you... let us know?