Jill,
Hello, it is great to have the opportunity to collaborate with a fellow offshore mom! I would love to chat about my thoughts on pumping offshore. Thank you so much for reaching out through seasisters!
In order to really understand your situation and to gauge the logistics you will encounter traveling to work and during the duration of your offshore hitch, can you tell me more about your offshore assignment during which you will want to try pumping and storing your breast milk?
Water quality onboard different vessels varies. The engineering team onboard our vessel currently uses a reverse osmosis system. Seawater is pumped from the sea chests, the osmosis plant separates the salt from the seawater, the now-fresh water is run through UV filters and then chlorine tablets are added to the potable water tanks to kill any remaining bacteria. I have talked to several engineers and there is no clear standard to exactly how much chlorine is added to the potable water which scares me a little. We are talking the same chlorine tabs that you add to pools to keep them clean. But on the other hand, most of the engineers feel comfortable drinking the potable water themselves. This is the fresh water supply the vessel uses for bathing and general catering purposes. They tell us not to drink the water here, not because it is necessarily unsafe to drink, but because they don't want to risk the water somehow becoming contaminated and a $650,000-per-day vessel losing all of its crew members because they consumed bad water.
It is less risky for my company to just purchase bottled water and tell the crew not to use the potable water for drinking. This being said, I would feel safe washing my pump parts in this water. Check onboard your vessel for the specifics. If I was to keep the breast milk I pumped offshore, I would either wash with the regular potable water or bottled water, and then sterilize the pump parts after I washed them so there would be no issue of bacteria whatsoever. You can buy sterilizers that plug into an outlet, or my personal favorite is the microwave steam bags that you can reuse around 20 times and then throw away. In an absolute pinch, when there isn't a microwave handy, I used Dr. Brown's Breast pump part sanitizing wipes [Dr. Browns are no longer manufactured but these Medela sanitizing wipes are the same thing.]
My husband, sister, and several of my mom’s friends brainstormed MANY scenarios in regard to my personal situation of wanting to keep my breast milk supply going for my son and keeping the milk without dumping it. The issues I faced included the below topics:
Supplies
-Breast pumps (BP): battery operated vs. AC power vs. hand pumps
Places to pump. This is where the battery-powered pumps are king because you can use them wherever, whenever, as long as the battery is charged. Battery longevity varies per pump and age of the machine. Pump power and effectiveness also varies per BP manufacturer. Make sure you try the pump at home and know it well prior to traveling with it.
Places to charge the battery-operated BP if you are traveling on long flights/long distance to the vessel; have an extra cord in case the power charger fails.
Keeping a manual pump on hand means at least you have one to get the job done as a backup when all else fails.
Breast pumps have A LOT of accessories!
-“Keep Cool Bag” for breast milk when in transit
There are many different types to choose from but the wisest choice would be to find something that is neither too large/bulky to be a carry-on in a plane, nor too small to fit the quantity of breast milk you need to transport.
Finding a reliable bag that actually keeps the contents cool
Method of keeping the contents cool: Ice pack - will the ice melt and then leak? Will the ice pack last long enough to get home? Will TSA let you travel with a bag containing ice, or will they confiscate it? Could there be places to refreeze the ice packs along my trip to or from the rig?
-Shipping container to ship the frozen breast milk that I have pumped throughout my hitch offshore on the vessel.
TSA will not allow "more than a reasonable amount of breast milk" as a carry-on through TSA security. *See below section for info I found on the web regarding TSA and breast milk.
Filling the shipping container with the breast milk and enough keep-cool material (ice, ice packs, dry ice) to make it home safely.
Transporting the shipping container full of BM from the vessel to the airport.
Freezing conditions onboard the vessel and transporting the BM home
My husband and I were really worried about curious crew members poking around in my personal effects and the capability level of the Campboss patrolling or enforcing Angolan catering crew to stay out of my frozen breast milk. There are only the walk-in freezers onboard my drillship. If the galley crew is willing (as you said in your email) to let you keep your breast milk in their freezer, that is a huge bonus.
I was worried about the copious amount of "carry on items" I would need to bring with me through security and on the plane and eventually to the vessel. I am/was self-conscious about having to explain and defend myself to everyone around me about traveling with breast milk and the necessary supplies without my child. I was worried that I would put all this work into breast milk travel logistics to only have the milk thrown away by a disrespectful TSA agent or refused transport by the airlines. I was not confident enough to "power through" all the physical and emotional challenges of saving my breast milk to bring home.
I absolutely, 100% want to support you in your breast milk pumping and storing adventures. Please let me know your situation and we can brainstorm together! My husband and I are trying for our second currently (fingers crossed!) and together we could come up with a plan for storing and bringing home breast milk for our little ones, or as an afterthought, donating the milk to a local family. I can't wait to hear your thoughts.
Carrie