Breast pumps

Working mothers who are committed to continuing breast-feeding need to obtain breast pump equipment. A double breast pump built into a bag, such as the Medela Pump in Style, which looks like a thick briefcase, costs about $250. A single electric pump costs about $80. Hand pumps cost about $30, and renting a hospital-grade pump can cost between $40 and $65 a month.

Many local hospitals offer lactation consulting services and pump rental through their maternity departments.

Help lines

La Leche League hot line for the Greater Pittsburgh area, 412-276-5630. The hot line provides numbers of local La Leche League leaders who are available to answer breast-feeding questions.

Magee-Womens Hospital Lactation Center, 412-641-1121. Lactation consultants can answer breast-feeding questions by phone. If more extensive help is needed, outpatient consultations are available by appointment for $50 per hour.

Allegheny County Health Department breast-feeding help line at 412-247-1000. Answers 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

The U.S. government source for women's health information offers breast-feeding help. Call 1-800-994-9662 or see www.4woman.gov/breastfeeding on the Web.

Helpful reading

Supplementing other advice, mom Kate Rothstein recommends women with plans to breast-feed prepare by reading a book, such as "Bestfeeding: How to Breastfeed Your Baby" by Mary Renfrew, Chloe Fisher and Suzanne Arms and La Leche League International's "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding."

Dr. Todd Wolynn says "Medications and Mother's Milk" by Thomas W. Hale helps mothers and pediatricians determine what medications in mother's milk are safe and which may not be. Entries are based on the most recent research before publication.