I’m just getting back from a week-long business trip to Spain/Boston. Prior to leaving, I googled around and found next to nothing about how to do international business travel with pumped breastmilk — only domestic. So, I guess I’ll be the one to write the guide about that.
International travel is a bit of a different beast because you have to deal with the TSAs of multiple countries, and the transit times are much longer. Also, you can’t necessarily rely on having a fridge with low enough temperatures in your hotel room, and the country you’re in might have outlets with different voltages.
What to bring
- Pump, pump parts, hands-free pumping: Bring lots of contingency parts. I brought a Medela PISA, its wall adapter, spare bottles and flanges, its battery pack (buy the Medela brand, not the knockoff one on Amazon), lots of spare AA batteries. As a backup, I also brought my Willow pump, though I only use it when there are no other options since its not as strong. With the Willow, I also bring a scarf, since the Willow isn’t too discreet and makes you look like a fembot.
- Adapter/converter and transformer: This is important. I blew up a good wall adapter and wall charger in Spain because I forgot to use a transformer with my wall adapter.
- Storage bottles and bags: I use the medela bottles and Kiinde ones (bc I like the twist tops).
- Ice packs and lots of spare freezer and sandwich bags: Ice packs must be frozen to go through the airport; Sandwich bags are to fill with ice after you get through security and to toss dirty pump parts into.
- Insulated cooler: I have one that’s more of a foldable picnic bag to store in my luggage when departing, since there isn’t really breastmilk to store at the beginning of the trip.
Air travel
The first challenge is getting through security. Having TSA pre-check helps. Try to aim for lines staffed by women, who tend to be more understanding. Otherwise, you get stupid questions like “Where is the baby?” (Not here, obviously) and you end up dealing with people who have no idea what to do and are clearly uncomfortable (one security guy at London Stansted felt awkward about saying ‘breastmilk’ and resorted to instead spelling it out: ‘b-r-e-a-s-t-milk’ — pulease, grow up).
Note that every country’s version of TSA security has its own rules on breastmilk, but so far, I’ve been able to get through security in the US, Mexico, UK, and Spain with it. I don’t bother trying to find/read/understand the rules anymore — I’m moreso counting on the human pleading/sucking up/desperate mom factor to get it through.
If you happen to have forgotten ice packs, chill using sandwich bags filled with ice. I’ve had instances where security let me keep the ice, and other times when they threw out the ice (but told me where to get more ice after going through security — hint: if its a foreign country with no Starbucks, find the nearest coffee shop or restaurant).
At most U.S. airports, they have nursing rooms, diaper changing rooms, or Mamava rooms. Internationally, look for diaper changing rooms or buy a pass to a lounge — they’re usually happy to let you use a shower room or have nicer, cleaner restrooms than the public ones.
When on the airplane, surprisingly, the bathrooms of airport cabins usually have changing tables. I usually pull one of those down and use it to set everything up. Since you’ll be in there for a while, try to time it around times when people aren’t using the restroom. This will depend on the length of your trip, but its cleanest at the beginning. Everyone always gets up to use the restroom after beverage/meal services. If its a longer international flight, wait until the middle when most people on the plane are passed out.
Hotels
Hopefully you have a mini-fridge. Hopefully that mini-fridge is decently cold (try turning it on max). If not, you can try asking the front desk if the hotel has a fridge you can use, or ice it all down (take the ice bucket or your cooler, pop in your pumped milk bags, and cover it with ice).
For pumping, if you’re in a different country, make sure you have both a converter AND transformer.
Sidenote: There are services out there that help you ship back your pumped milk, but I think most don’t ship internationally (plus, there’s the time issue if you’re literally on the other side of the world).
Hopefully, this helps you get your liquid gold back home to baby without confiscation or spoilage. Safe travels!
