Before the baby’s arrival you had to decide to go natural or C-section, epidural or laughing gas, cloth diapers or disposable ones. Now that the baby is here and for whatever reason that you need a breast pump (going back to work or you just need some time away from your baby), it is time for you to decide which is the right breast pump for you.
These handy devices come in 2 types, manual pumps or battery/electric powered pumps. Before you start spending your money on these pumps, there are some factors that you might want to consider in order to help you make the right decision:
How often will you use the breast pump? Are you going to use it at work? How much is your budget? How much time can you spend while you pump? No worries. Continue reading and we’ll sort you out.
Manual pump
A manual pump is used by putting the suction cup over your breast and then you squeeze the handle to create a vacuum action that will stimulate milk flow. This type of pump is favoured for its simplicity and its convenient size. Smaller and lighter compared to electric/battery operated pump, it makes it easier for you to carry it around wherever you go.
Besides being affordable (won’t burn a hole in your pocket), they are quieter too. Once you’ve mastered the skill of using the manual pump, you can pump one breast while breast feeding your baby at the other. This will not disturb your baby because there wouldn’t be any motor noise.
However, manual pumping using your hand can be tiring after a while and it takes up more time to get sufficient amount of milk. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a low cost option and only going to express milk once in a while, then the manual pump is right for you.
Electric/battery operated pump
If you are going to be expressing regularly, this is the best option for you. Working mothers who are back in the office after their maternity leave prefer to use electric/battery pump because it is technically faster compared to the manual ones.
If you were to use a manual pump when you’re expressing in the office, it would take you ages to finish the job (maybe not ages but your colleagues will be wondering what happened to you).
Surprisingly, you can find some electric pumps that are quite light nowadays (thank the heavens for technology). That is a plus point for us mothers since we are already carrying other baby stuffs in the diaper bag.
Now, all you have to do is choose between single or double breast pump. Technically, using the single electric breast pump will take you 20 to 30 minutes to get a sufficient amount of milk whereas a double pumping session can take as little as 10 minutes to get the job done.
It is convenient for busy working mothers, mothers with twins (obviously), if you want to stimulate your supply or if you are regularly separated from your baby for long periods. However, do take note that double breast electric pumps are costlier and harder to carry around compared to the single ones.
Hospital grade pump
This type of pump is normally bulky and uses a plug. It is meant for heavy duty usage and it’s suitable for Exclsively Pumping Mums (EP Mum) that has problems with their baby latching and when their babies prefer to drink from the bottle only.
It is normally heavy duty, bulky, noisy and it’s the same quality as the hospital pumps. This pump is preferably for mothers that pump multiple times a day and it’s not portable so, it is much better suited for exclusively pumping stay at home moms.
Hopefully after reading this you will be able to decide which breast pump is suitable for you. Surely, by reading this article you already have in mind to breastfeed your baby and that is the best decision that you can make as a mother.
Not only breast milk is beneficial to our babies as it provides all the nutrients that our baby needs but by breastfeeding it is also beneficial to the mothers too (helps you to lose pregnancy weights by burning extra calories). Happy pumping!