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Home › Articles › Pumps and Pumping › Good Breast Pumps and Bad

Good Breast Pumps and Bad

Is Your Breast Pump Worth It?

By Ann Calandro

Pages:  1  2  3  4  5  

Using a breast pump should never hurt! If you are using a pump and it is painful, make sure that you are using it correctly. Lower the suction and see if it is more comfortable.

Some pumps come with different size flanges to fit different sized breasts. Perhaps a larger flange should be used. Many mothers find that if they lubricate the inside of the pump with fresh water or a small amount of olive oil that pumping goes smoother and more comfortably. Do not continue to use a pump that is painful or your sensitive breast tissue could be damaged.

Breast pumps should be cleaned thoroughly between each use. Wash your hands before pumping, and take care to keep the containers you are going to store your milk in very clean. If you are pumping for a sick or premature baby, use extra care in collecting and storing your milk.

When you are practicing with your pump, most mothers find that pumping once a day in the morning is enough to begin saving some milk and to become familiar with their pump before returning to work. Milk can be frozen for many months in clean, hard-sided containers. Some of the one-hand manual pumps or automatic electric pumps can pump one breast while the baby is nursing on the other. Pumping this way takes advantage of the baby inducing your milk to let down.

Babies are always better at removing milk than pumps. Their sucking action is quite different. If you are pumping and worry that your baby may not be getting enough because you can't pump a lot of milk, look to your baby. If your baby is growing on target, wetting and stooling adequately, your milk supply is just fine. It's your breast pump that isn't.

Good vs. Bad

A pump is good when:

  • You talk to five working moms who love it and would recommend it.
  • It comes with a warranty of a year or more.
  • It cycles 45 or so times per minute.
  • It is available from a lactation consultant (who would not be associated with pumps that are not effective).

A pump may not be good if:

  • You can buy it in every drugstore or discount store.
  • You see one in every garage sale that has baby items (and it still looks brand new).
  • It is sold by a company or given away by a company that also promotes infant formula.
  • You cannot find on the package how many times it cycles per minute (if it is electric).


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Comments

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Ameda Breast Pumps by April on 12/09/2009 01:59PM

I recently bought an Ameda Purely Yours pump, and it has been really effective. It was reasonably priced compared to the others I looked at. I also recommend getting Ameda pumps from http://www.AmedaDirect.com, they have a 30 return policy if your pump doesn't work well enough. It was the only place I found with a policy that allowed you to return a used pump.

Re: by sherry on 03/18/2009 11:31AM

Has anyone used Dr. Brown's pumps? I'm trying to find a better one for my next baby that's due in June.

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