Certified Pediatric Nurse (CPN)

Why should a mother use a breast pump for postoperative feeding of her baby?

1. Pumping will maintain the mother's supply

2. Bottle feeding pumped breast milk is a more accurate way of monitoring intake

3. Giving the mom a task will help promote mother-infant attachment

4. Most infants are unable to breastfeed postpartum

The correct answer is: Pumping will maintain the mother's supply

Using a breast pump for postoperative feeding of a baby is often recommended primarily because pumping helps maintain the mother's milk supply. After surgery, there may be interruptions in breastfeeding due to physical limitations or discomfort experienced by the mother. By using a breast pump, she can express milk, which signals her body to continue producing milk and prevents a decrease in her supply. This is crucial for ensuring that she can provide breast milk for her baby when she is able to resume breastfeeding. Maintaining milk supply is especially important for continued breastfeeding, as it supports the nutritional needs of the infant and promotes the bond between mother and child when direct breastfeeding resumes. The other options, while they may have some merit, do not fundamentally address the main reason for using a breast pump in this context. For instance, while bottle feeding expressed breast milk does allow for monitoring intake, the accuracy of feeding isn't the primary concern compared to maintaining the mother's supply. Similarly, engaging the mother with tasks can have benefits for attachment, but that is secondary to ensuring milk supply. Furthermore, while some infants may face challenges breastfeeding immediately after surgery, this is not universally applicable, and many infants can successfully breastfeed with proper support and assistance. Therefore, maintaining the mother's supply remains the most compelling reason for using a