Breastfeeding
What type of Breast Pump should I purchase?
Oct
This is by far one of the most popular questions we get from women ready to embark on the journey of motherhood with the aim to breastfeed.
We then go on to assess your personal circumstances by asking a range of questions…
- What are your expectations?
- Are you a working or stay at home mum?
- How old will baby be when you return back to work?
- How frequently will you need to use the breast pump?
- What is your budget?
I bet you are wondering why we are asking you all these questions. Well, this article will give you enough information to allow you to make an informed decision.
The motherhood journey is getting easier by the day as technology advances. This is certainly true for our expressing mothers. We have a wider variety of breastpumps available to us compared to our mothers. The manufacturers of breast pumps focus on drawing a good amount of milk with the least amount of effort. Although, there are other qualities to consider, such as…
- Size
- Noise
- Weight
- Design
Let’s look at the type of breast pumps available on the market:
- Manual breast pump – The manual breast pumps are the cheapest type of pumps on the market, well that might not necessarily be the case anymore (you will find out why). However, it is certainly inexpensive. The suction is created by you squeezing the handle. This has to be repeated several times to create that constant flow of milk. As you can imagine, this requires some form of manual hand labour and can take some time to get a large volume of milk for your little one. We therefore recommend the manual breast pump for the occasional or short-term use.
So for mothers who are mostly with their babies, but occasionally take that deserved break by leaving baby with their spouse, grand parents or nannies, can go for the manual pumps. Almost all the well-known child care brands manufacture their own manual pumps; Medela, Tommee Tippee, Philips Avent, NUK, Lansinoh and many others.
2. Electric breast pump – The electric breast pumps are a better option for mothers on the go. They express your milk quicker and with less effort compared to the manual breast pump. Most electric breast pumps have different presets of suction power which also mimics the sucking mechanism of a baby, to produce the nearly natural demand and supply of milk from the mammary glands.
Most electric breast pumps are powered via the mains, however the newer models can run by both mains and battery, giving mums the flexibility to express wherever they may be without the need to be connected to the mains or in the event of “light off”. Some brands have taken it a step further by making their breast pumps rechargeable; Tommee Tippee Made for Me Electric Breast Pump has a USB port.
One disadvantage of the electric breast pump is the noise it produces once it’s in use. The electric pumps run on motors, which create the pressure within the vacuum to extract the milk from your breasts. Manufacturers are faced with the challenge of producing an electric breast pump with minimum noise. Well, we are not surprised that a couple of brands have been successful, Elvie and Willow, which are both rechargeable hand-free pumps and have impressive features. Having the noise off the electric breast pump in the background can disrupt baby’s sleep…we certainly do not want to wake a sleeping baby.
Similar to the manual breast pumps, the electric breast pump is produced by many child care brands; Medela, Tommee Tippee, Philips Avent, NUK, Lansinoh and many others.
3. Silicone breast pump – These are “newish” to the breast pump club. There is some form of controversy as to whether they should be classified as a breast pump or a milk catcher or collector. Well, let’s look at the silicon breast pump concept for a second; it uses suction to extract milk from your breasts. Which is what all breast pumps do, the difference lies in the way the suction is achieved. In our opinion, silicone breast pump is a type of breast pump and should not be compared to a milk catcher or collector.
It is designed to reduce milk wastage, by placing it on the other breast, whilst your little one is nursing on the other. Neither the manual or the electric pump can be used whilst nursing, not as easy as it is with the silicone breast pumps anyway. Although it was designed to be used whilst breastfeeding, most mothers have used it on its own, with good results. The silicone breast pump was a game changer to breastfeeding mothers and we will say with confidence that it is a new mother’s must have. It is hands-free, has no wires attached, no batteries required and it is user friendly. The disadvantages of the silicone breast pump is it extracts the milk at its own pace, or should we say at your body’s pace, patience is needed. Some mothers have reported that their active babies have managed to kick the silicone pump from their boobs…at this point we will all be crying over spilt milk. Both the 3rd generation of NatureBond and Lansinoh Silicone Breast Pumps come with a strap, which hangs over your neck to prevent the little “kickers” succeeding in spilling this precious gold dust. The good thing about the silicone breast is that it is affordable, and it has taken the place of the manual breast pump being the most affordable breast pump. They are also discreet and can be carried in your bag.
The are several brands on the market, with the original silicone breast pump being the Hakaa® brand. The other trusted brands include NatureBond, Tommee Tippee and Nuby. We have no doubt that the well known brands in the mothercare industry will be producing their own silicone breast pump in the near future.
Now that brings us to the end of our three main types of breast pumps. Before you make a decision to buy a breast pump, think about the following…
- Do I need a breast pump
- How frequently will I need the pump
- How much volume does baby require per feed. Bearing in mind that the volume increases as baby grows
- How much free time do I have on my hands
- How frequently do I breastfeed my baby
- What is my budget
There are other breast pumps on the market, which goes beyond the scope of this post, but they will be addressed in a separate post.
