Choosing a breastpump

There are so many breast pumps available on the market now, that shopping for one and making an appropriate selection to fit your particular needs can be a little overwhelming! Here are a few tips.

Manual Pumps

There are two main categories of breast pump commonly used by working mothers: Manual and Electric. If you plan to work part time, less than four hours per day, a manual breast pump may be for you. They are light-weight, and fit into most handbags. Manuals are the least expensive pumps available and work anywhere since they don’t require any electrical outlet. They require a fair amount of work since you provide the rhythm and the suction by pumping a handle, or pulling a cylinder like a piston. It takes time to learn the motion and can tire the muscles in your forearm considerably. Manual breast pumps are more difficult to let-down your milk to, but massaging your breasts prior to pumping really helps. Of the manual pumps we’ve looked at the Avent Isis Manual Breast Pump is one of the best, and is widely available. This pump is equipped with soft petals in the cup which massage the areola (brown circle around your nipple) and stimulates let-down. Be warned though that putting it together didn’t strike us as being particularly easy!

If you are considering a manual pump avoid any bicycle horn-style pumps. These devices, in which a bulb is squeezed for suction, are inexpensive and widely available but they collect inefficiently, and must be emptied frequently. Also the bulbs are difficult to clean and may harbor harmful bacteria.

Battery Pumps

Battery operated breast pumps are small and portable, widely available, and relatively inexpensive but tend to be pretty inefficient. Most battery-operated pumps average only 4 to 17 sucks per minute, much less than a baby's 50 to 60 sucks per minute, and are definitely not good choices for long-term daily pumping or for building a milk supply.

Automatic Electric Pumps

These are the most popular breast pumps among working mothers. They are fully automatic and most closely imitate the natural rate and rhythm of your baby's suck pattern, withdrawing your milk very efficiently. Fully automatic pumps have an added feature no other pumps have in that you can "double pump" (pump both breasts at once) thereby increasing prolactin levels and milk production; at the same time you decrease the amount of time a pumping session takes by half! They are relatively expensive but for working mums or woman looking to induce lactation, we think they’re well worth the cash. Our recommendation? The Medela PumpInStyle. Everything is included with the pump. There are a number of styles but the pumping motors are the same so you can choose the pump that most suits your needs.