Many women combine motherhood with a job or career outside the home. If you're a new mother planning to return to work, you may be wondering just how you're going to manage both successfully. Don't worry — feelings of anxiety about how to balance multiple roles are perfectly normal.

If you plan to continue breast-feeding when you return to work, you'll face some unique challenges. Among these are talking to your employer about your plans to continue breast-feeding and figuring out the logistics of using a breast pump at your workplace.

These tips can help as you prepare for breast-feeding after you return to work.

• Communicate your plans to breast-feed before you resume work. Let your supervisor know how important breast-feeding is to you. Find a mutually beneficial plan for breast-feeding. Because breast-fed babies tend to have fewer illnesses, you might have fewer ill-child emergencies. Between you and your employer, you can determine the best way to fit breast-feeding into your work schedule.
• Discuss the times when you will pump, noting that you will use your breaks for pumping so that you won't take time from your work schedule. If you generally work eight hours, plan on two 15-minute pumping breaks. Spacing your breaks evenly throughout the day is ideal, but often times that's not possible. What's important is to keep up the frequency — for example, pumping twice during your eight-hour workday — to maintain your milk production. If you miss a session, try to make it up later in the day.
• Ask your employer to recommend a private room with a lock where nursing mothers can express their milk. Although more and more organizations are setting aside special rooms for nursing mothers, many women still face obstacles in finding a place to pump their milk. Some resort to pumping in their car or in a dressing room. A good rule of thumb is that you'd never want to pump breast milk in an area where you wouldn't eat your lunch — in a bathroom, for instance. Discuss this with your employer before your maternity leave, so you'll have a plan in place upon your return.
• Purchase a personal pump or rent a breast pump. It's not recommended that you share a breast pump with anyone. Electric pumps generally are more effective than hand pumps for milk expression. Double-breasted pumps are fast — allowing you to express your milk more quickly than a single pump — and help maintain your milk supply.
• Find a place in your office where you can keep supplies in addition to your breast pump, such as breast pads, empty containers for expressed milk and extra blouses in case you have milk leakage during the day. If you don't have an office, ask your employer if a locking cabinet or closet is available for you and any other nursing mothers to use.
• Plan for storing and transporting your breast milk once it's been pumped. For example, use an insulated bag with cold packs. Breast milk will stay fresh and safe for up to 10 hours at room temperature, eight days in the refrigerator, three months in a side-by-side freezer or six months in a deep freezer.
• Ask your caregiver not to feed your baby right before you're due to pick him or her up. That way, you can nurse your infant immediately after returning home. You'll be able to maintain your milk supply, and it will be a great way to bond with your baby after spending the day apart. Of course, there will be times when that's easier said than done. If your baby seems particularly fussy or hungry on a given day, you might want to give the go-ahead to your caregiver for a feeding. Then plan on pumping when you get home.
• If you can't express your milk at work, pump just before you go to work and after you return home. You could also pump one or two times a day on weekends for extra breast milk to be used in bottles. Pumping any breast milk your baby doesn't take in a 24-hour period and using it during your working hours will help keep your milk supply up.
• Well before your return to work, introduce your baby to bottles filled with breast milk. This will give you both a chance to get used to some feedings by bottle. Because your baby associates you with breast-feeding, it might be easier if someone else gives your baby the first bottle feedings.

Talking with a lactation consultant, either from the hospital or clinic, or contacting a representative from La Leche League might be a good resource for you as you prepare yourself and your baby for your return to work.

Returning to work poses emotional conflicts for new mothers. You might have feelings of guilt over leaving your baby in child care, but you might also feel relieved to be back at work. You're juggling more in your life — not only the usual work hours, dinner preparation, household chores, time for yourself and time with your partner, but now the time-consuming tasks and pleasures of your new baby. Here are some things you can do to make your transition a little easier.

• Return when the time is right for you. You'll probably need six to eight weeks to recover fully from childbirth and to establish a feeding schedule. Many women opt to take three to four months off. Discuss with your employer your options for how much time you can take for maternity leave. You might not have the luxury of deciding whether or not to return to work, but you can take as much time as you're allowed.
• Have a talk with your boss before you return. Discuss your job duties and schedule so you'll know what's expected of you. If your workplace offers some flexibility, you might discuss working flexible hours or working from home on occasion. Be prepared to suggest ways of making a more flexible arrangement work. For example, if you have a personal computer at home that links with those at the office, working at home part of the time may be more feasible.
• Find dependable child care. After your baby is born, you'll probably have concerns about leaving your infant in the care of someone else. Your child-care options range from individual in-home care to a child-care center. Make an informed decision about what's best for you and your child. After you've made your choice of child care, be confident in your decision.
• Accept that you'll feel guilty or sad at times. If you're like most moms, you'll struggle sometimes with feelings of guilt. You might feel sad that you can't spend as much time as you'd like with your baby. Missing your baby and wanting the best for your baby are part of being a good mother. These feelings are common, and it might help to discuss them with your friends or other mothers in similar circumstances. When you feel pangs of guilt, re-evaluate your standards. Don't compare yourself to an ideal that you can't reach because of your work commitments. Talk to your spouse about how you're feeling. If your sadness or guilty feelings are increasing or overwhelming, be sure to mention this to your doctor.
• Stay connected. You may find yourself distracted during the workday with thoughts of your baby. Find little ways to stay connected even though you're away from your child. For example, plan a daily phone call to see how your baby's doing. Keep some photos on your desk. Look forward to spending time with your baby that evening.
• Establish a support system. Give up trying to do it all yourself. Accept help from your partner, family members and friends. Seek out other women, either friends or colleagues, who are working moms. They may be able to offer you invaluable advice and support as you make the transition back to work.
• Manage your time and be organized. Combining a job with raising a child demands time management and organizational skills. Too many demands and not enough of you to go around mean you may have to pay attention to priorities and let less important matters slide.
• Make backup plans. There will be days when your baby is sick or your child-care center is closed. Be prepared with alternative plans on those days, and you'll feel a lot less stress. Check with your employer beforehand about taking time off when your child is sick. Talk with a family member or close friend in advance about care for your child if you can't bring him or her to child care.

• Focus on the task at hand. When you're at work, try to focus on your job responsibilities. When you're at home, don't let your time with your baby get clouded by work-related thoughts. If you're working from home, this is harder to do. You might find you need child care so that you can concentrate on getting your work done.
• Take time for yourself. As difficult as this may seem, it's important that you nurture not only the well-being of your child but also your own well-being. Ease your daily stresses by exercising regularly. Taking the baby for a walk is enjoyable for your baby, and it's good exercise for you. And you might have a chance to meet other mothers in your neighborhood who are out walking their babies. Relying on easy-to-prepare meals or relaxing in a bath after putting your baby to bed are other ways you can ease stress. If you feel less stressed, you'll be in a better mood to enjoy your baby when you're together.
• Try to get as much rest as possible. You'll have times when you feel so tired you'll wonder how you can do it all. Unfortunately, fatigue is a normal aspect of new motherhood. Try going to bed early one night each week. Cut down on unnecessary commitments. Set aside time on weekends to take a nap while your baby is sleeping. The better rested you are, the easier it will be to handle those everyday problems that crop up.

Combining motherhood with work isn't easy. Certainly you'll have days when you won't feel like going to work, especially if your baby is fussy or seems particularly clingy. But as you and your child become used to your schedule, as your baby settles into a routine and as you become more adept at managing multiple demands, you'll learn how to handle these normal ups and downs.