Breast Pumps - Manual Vs Electric

[reneenay]

Hello again everyone.

I’ve been looking at buying a breast pump and I don’t know if I should be going for the manual or electric. There seems to be a big price difference between the two being $198.99 for electric & $109.95 inc storage containers. What is the difference between the two and which would you recommend?

Thanx again ladies

Renee

[visitor1]

A lot of people ive talked to say go with manual....and other advice ive been given is wait til u know for sure you are able to BF before buying one?

I mean u can get it and if BF not possible etc then u can sell it....

I perosnally have no idea how to use them or know of any brands... so im sure ill be asking many silly questions if i am able to BF this time round!!

[paradise lost]

I had the Avent Isis Manual and it was great for the first few months. Unfortunately i got ill with a thyroid problem, broke up with DP and had to find a new place and move house with DD, all before she was 17 weeks old. So with all that stress i had supply issues and my let-down vanished for the pump. I think the combination of feeling hopeless about it and it being my hand (and thus predictable patterns of "sucking") made it more difficult and i will CERTAINLY be hiring and then buying an electric one next time around.

[Visitor7]

I have the Medela Mini Electric pump and it's fabulous!! I bought the pump, a carry bag, 6 bottles for $150.

[aussienic]

I have used both a manual and en electric. I will never use a manual again.. Personally I find it tiring and I can never get enough out..

I hired the medela blue one from a medical supplier. You can also get it thru ABA. If you are only expressing occasionally you won't need to go that expense.

[Janie]

It really depends on how much you need to pump.......

I got the Medela lactaset manual pump, I really didn't think I would be pumping as often as I am (three times a day!). I got tired of hand pumping very quickly, especially as I was used to using a commercial pump in hospital. So I hired the elcetric component to the Medela from the chemist and it has saved my sanity! It's definitely worth it for $22 a week

[Karina]

I have a manual pump.. and to be honest, i dont really like it because i just cant get it to work for me!! Its probably "operator error" though.

[motherduck]

I used an eletric pump in hossy with the twins to get my milk throu ( they were a bit premmie) and then used a manual one once we got home, I would recomend electric over manual depending on how much you are going to pump.

[Ngala]

This is something that I have been thinking about too - electric or manual?

Everyone says that it all depends on how much you pump. How would you know if this is your first baby on how much you are going to 'pump'?

[reneenay]

I think I will be using it quite a bit, I want to always have a bottle on hand. I heard the electric can be a little bit harsh on the ol boobies.

[Lisa]

I too have an Isis manual and I hate it... I think it is an operator problem like Karina... but I perservere... I am definitely looking at getting an electric in the not too distant future.

[blackbird]

I used the Medela Symphony in hospital and then for 2 months at home (hired). I was trying to get my supply going and a various stages DS was fed EBM almost exclusively. I now use a Medela mini electric to get enough milk for one day per week plus the occasional other feed. Oh, plus a bit more for mixing with rice cereal. The symphony was fabulous for lots of expressing but not great for carting around. The mini electric is noisier but doing the job well.

[Janie]

Veronica, you won't know until bubs is here! Personally, I would wait until you have your baby, and then weigh up what you need. I didn't think I'd really need one at all, and I use mine a few times a day! It was no hassle to go to the chemist after Nicholas arrived and hire one then I'm glad I didn't worry about it before.

Renee, I haven't had any problems, but in hospital they started me on a very gentle electric pump (to help bring my milk in cos Nicholas was prem) and then moved me onto the Medela after a few days. I don't find it any more uncomfortable than BFing.

[Ambah]

I went through 3 manual pumps in the first month after Aidyn was born. The first one broke (Pigeon), the second one didn't work properly (Pigeon), and the third one was great (Medela). No matter what manual pump you have, it is quite tiring!
Although next baby I will be saving myself the hassle and definitely will get an electric one.

[min]

I got a manual tommee tippee closer to natural one and although I haven't used it to B/F yet I have put it together and put it on the boob and had a few squeezes to test it out and it seems very comfortable. Plus I accidentally pumped a big stream of colostrum out of my boob on the 1st squeeze, so I am guessing it is quite effective! I am only using to express if I am too full or also to let DH have a feed every now and then.

The tommee tippee ones got a really good write up and the bottles are great too tbecuase they have the flexible teet which is meant to mimic mummy's nipples a bit more so there is no nipple confusion. talking to the lady at baby bunting, the pump's are meant to be almost as effective as an electric if they are used properly

[Jennifer13]

Like some of the other ladies, I used the Avent Isis manual pump. If you aren't pumping often (ie, need to return to work after a couple of months, or that kind of thing) you will probably be okay with the manual.

I really only needed to use it when Lucy started dropping feeds to provide some comfort for myself. I did use it when I had mastitis once and it was too painful to feed her on one side. Every other time I had mastitis I still managed to feed. I had plenty stored away in the freezer by the time I needed to mix it with rice cereal and when I ran out I just hand-expressed for that.

How much you will want to pump will depend on your bf relationship. If I was doing it again, I would probably have hired the electric one for a month first to see how much I used it, but then again, I have found the manual one great over the longer term.