Electric Breast Pumps

Electric Breast Pumps




For many new parents the choices for feeding your baby are usually rather starkly presented as: breast or bottle. These two camps tend to be fairly polarised, and each will try to convince you why their way is best. But there is another way: bottle-feeding using expressed breast milk which you collect using a breast pump. This method allows you to have the best of both worlds: the convenience of bottle feeding combined with the natural goodness of your own breast milk - see here for a more thorough discussion of the benefits of breast pumps.

Some moms tend to primarily breastfeed, and only occasionally express for the odd feed if they need to leave their child for a short period which coincides with a feed. Others, especially working moms, tend to express enough for a full day's feeds - and obviously your choice of breast pump will be heavily influenced by your circumstances. Occasional expressers can get away with a manual or low-end electric pump, while those needing to express in greater volumes will need the speed and efficiency of a higher-end electric model - see our roundup of electric breast pump features to look out for.

How does a breast pump work?

Different models vary somewhat, but all share common features: cone-shaped cups called breast shields which fit over your nipple and areola that are connected via a pump to a detachable collection container. As the pump exerts suction on your breast it mimics your baby's suckling and stimulates your breast to release milk. Manual pumps rely on you depressing a lever to create the suction effect, whereas electric pumps are battery or mains powered and do the pumping for you.

The more sophisticated electric breast pumps often start off with relatively quick, shallow suction to stimulate your let-down before settling into a slower, deeper rhythm, thereby mimicing the way a real baby feeds. Many also have adjustable controls so you can tailor the machine's operation to your own needs.