Preparation for Travel While Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding mothers may wish to find local breastfeeding support before beginning travel and keep pertinent contact information handy throughout the trip.
A mother traveling with a nursing infant younger than 6 months old need not plan to supplement breastfeeding because of travel . Breastfed infants do not require water supplementation, even in extreme heat environments. While traveling, the best way to both maintain a mother’s milk supply and ensure ideal nutrition and hydration for the child is frequent, unrestricted nursing opportunities. Breastfeeding also protects the infant from water that is possibly contaminated.
A breastfeeding mother traveling without her nursing infant or child may wish to produce and store a supply of milk to be fed to the infant or child during her absence by another caregiver. Building a supply to be fed in her absence takes time and patience and is most successful when begun gradually, many weeks in advance of her departure. It is also important to consider that infants who have never consumed milk from a bottle or cup need opportunities to practice this skill with another caregiver prior to the mother’s departure.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention