Medela Mini Electric

We bought this pump and for two weeks it was great - gave us freedom for NYE and my partner's birthday, so she could have a few drinks for the first time in 11 months! We would express a 4-5 times during the preceding couple of days to build up a surplus of milk, and then she would express milk at feeding time after having a few drinks which we would discard until the alcohol in her system had definitely all gone. It was a perfect solution until we were preparing for this weekend - the pump suddenly lost suction, and the unit no longer worked.

I contacted Medela and was told that they would expect the pump to fail with such continued use! Even when I called back, spoke to a manager and pointed out that I considered using the pump in this fashion 'occasional use' (we only wanted enough milk to last half a day, and no more often than once a week), the woman said it should be used 'no more than once or twice a week'! I pointed out that even if you could get enough milk from just a couple of uses to cover the time it takes to process a few drinks (which you can't - our LO feeds 4oz at a time) you still need to express the alcoholic milk to avoid risk of mastitis. They still said this pump was not designed for this and they were happy it would fail if used more than once or twice a week. I feel let down that we paid all this money to go with the best brand, and got such a fragile and short lived solution, with such poor after sales support.

It seemed to work fine for the 6 weeks I used it, but it was definitely struggling towards the end... I think the motor would have given out any moment...
However, it could be plugged into the mains (although it would be nice if the lead was a little bit longer) which was good.
It's also pretty noisy, but this can be muffled by putting a jumper over it!

I borrowed one of these from a friend to begin with and it was great - much easier to put together and to use than a manual pump that I had. I only needed to have it on the lowest suction setting to make my milk flow.

So I then bought my own and ran into difficulties. I found the suction on the pump that I bought was stronger than on the one I had borrowed (which was probably quite old). I have quite small nipples and, even on its minimum setting, the suction was too strong and quite painful - leaving me with sore nipples. I've ended up going back to the manual pump as I can control the suction on that - even though it is more fiddly to put together and to use.

I found this really simple to use - I borrowed it from a friend and didn't have the instructions but it was really obvious. It was also quite efficient - despite copious supply I find pumping really difficult but once I got the first ounce or so out it really gushed! Also I could sit and use it with one hand and leaf through a magazine which made the whole process more enjoyable. Previously I have only tried a manual Avent so can't compare this to other electric pumps. It was much easier to clean and put back together than the Avent.

Noisy but very effective - I've also used the Swing and found this really as good and vastly cheaper.

I found this pump very east to use. I didn't buy it until I had my third child and had a used a manual pump with my other with no sucess.

It is a bit noisy but worth it when the milk starts flowing!

excelent had real trouble expressing with first child but using this this time and its made all the diffrence.althoiugh bit noisy

Easy to use and I cleaned it in the dishwasher.

Very good economical electic pump. Easy to clean and light weight. Previously purchased Avensis hand held which was useless.

Great breast pump - bought last minute and so pleased it wasn't manual..you end up with hand cramp! Very easy to use, although the valve is a bit fiddly but you get used to it very quickly. All the pieces are easy to put together and it's small and super convenient and very effective. I agree with the others about the noise but to be honest, you get used to it and for what it's doing it's great at that price.

Had high hopes of this as is by Medela, but found it very noisy and quite uncomfortable compared with the infinitely superior Swing. OK to use in an emergency as is very portable, but would not recommend for regular use.

Far too noisy ... used it for a few weeks, then went out and bought a manual pump!

i loved this pump so easy to use as it was my first time breast feeding i did not know what pump to bye as i felt like a cow at milking timw lol but im so glad i chose the medla pump plus if i was out i could just use it with the battries so an allrounder for me

I struggled to breast feed as my baby would not latch on and the medela mini electric breast pump was an absolute god send. It does make noise but by the time I had resorted to using it I was at the end of my tether and it made all the difference. I was able to express for 6 weeks.

Yes it worked- but I wouldn't buy it again. It was very noisy- DH had to leave the room every time I cranked it up. Also it sometimes didn't work and took lots of fiddling with little valves and pieces of plastic to get it sucking properly. And the instructions are worse than Ikea instructions- completely baffling.

Great breast pump. Especially for traveling. It is a lot louder than the Medela Swing but has the same efficiency.

I would seriously recommend this pump over any manual pump as its efficient and easy to use. I used it for all my children.

Although i did find this noisy (as i can see most other people have), the fact is that this is a very useful tool to pump milk quickly and without having aching hands at the end of it. Its also very easy to use, clean and store. Since it comes with its own little storage bottle, its quite easy to pop into the fridge rightaway. It also has a battery operated option which makes it extremely portable too. For someone who wants to pump a bottle or two everyday - you could not ask for more!

Easy to use and gets the letdown really fast. I don't mind the noise as I find it helps me switch off from the outside world and express more but it is very noisy!

Horrible. This Medela pump was the reason breastfeeding dd1 was so painful and awful. The pump is very monotone - it just pumps hard, thats it. the pumping itself was not so bad, but it is too forceful on the delicate milk ducts.
Rent a professional pump is my advice, they are a miracle, soft, easy to use, not painful, super speedy.

Very easy to use and assemble as it doesn't have as many parts as some other pumps. VEry portable as quite small and works from mains and batteries. It is noisy but I can live with that. Much less work than the manual pump I used with my first child but I'm not sure if it's as efficient (difficult to say). Quite expensive but I've found it worthwhile

This is a great electric breast pump but actually prefered the manual avent one I have and it was noisy and not as quick as the manual for me personally

straightforward, reliable (has lasted three children with regular use), works for me.

I have found this pump easy to use and clean. It seems very effective too. I like the variable speed, which means you can start slowly and build up. Spare parts are available from Medela UK and come very quickly.

Works really well, but so loud I felt restricted by when I could cope with the noise, which defeated the purpose somewhat. Will prob try a manual type next time round.

Really good, quick and comfortable. Very easy to use. Only drawback is that it's very noisy, I ended up putting a blanket over the top to make it quieter which works. Would be handy if it came with more than 1 bottle.

I found it really difficult to use a manual pump but found this brilliant, so much so that I bought a new one for my third child after I'd managed to lose my first one after baby number two. It was just a shame that it wasn't a bit cheaper

Very noisy and not easy to see which setting it's on. You change the suction by a little wheel on the side and if you try to start it on full strength it is EXTREMELY painful. No adaptor for larger breasts, which can lead to a lack of suction. That said, once you've got the knack of it, expressing is relatively easy and quite fast.

Noisy but got the job done, I used the soft rubbery shell bit from the avent pump as found the plastic quite hard and it fitted the Medela perfctly.

Easy to use, easy to steam sterilise, comfortable, efficient and much easier than expressing by hand.

Brilliant buy! Far better than any hand held pump I tried. Really comfy. Easy to use. Easy to clean. Spare parts are available. A tad on the noisy side but it did not prevent me being able to express.

Fantastic I wish I'd got this sooner as the hand pumping one got tiresome! It's a good price & so easy to use,not too many bits to forget sterilising & construction is so easy.

So noisy! You can't watch telly or anything like that with it on... nor can you use it while baby sleeps as the noise will wake baby up! Not a huge fan tbh.

Fantastic! I have had mine for 5years and used for two children its always been a god send!

Easy to use and sterilise. Convenience of mains or battery, but it is a bit noisy!

Easy to use when you get the hang of it, can even use with one hand if you need to. Quite noisy. Not compatible with Avent bottles, so need to pour into other bottles once you've expressed.
Quite pricey as well.

Found it a bit fiddly to start with. Very noisy. Don't turn it on without checking suction is set to minimum- ouch!

This is very convenient and compact. I took　this away with me on holiday and it doen't take much space. It's very effective and quick to use. I found the device very simple to put together. it really draws out a lot of milk. Highly recommended.

I found it much beter than the Avensis electric model but it was far too noisy which made it really off putting to use. I wish I had saved loads of money and stuck to a manual breast pump.

Small, practical, portable, noisy! Couldn't have lived without it

The only way to express breastmilk. Fast, easy and comfortable...although a little bit noisy!

It's so noisy I had to stop using it. Was too depressing.

Not a fan - too noisy, and uncomfortable to use. The noise made it too difficult for me to relax, and therefore difficult to express.

more expensive than the avent isis, and not as comfortable to use.

I used this pump for my second child, having struggled with a manual pump for my first child & it was fantastic! The only cons are the noise (like a small generator), which in turn did nothing for my maternal feelings thus producing a rather small amount of milk. But if you are going to express this is by far the best way to do it. My advise though is (having breast fed my first child untill she was 3) to stick to the normal breastfeeding for as long as possible as it is simple, great for your child & your figure & so much less mess & fuss. If you are only away from your child for a small ammount of time water will be fine.

So glad I bought it from the beginning - made expressing so easy

It didn't work for me. I found the noise very off-putting and this affected my let down so badly that I struggled to get any milk at all.

I swapped the pump for a manual one and do much better with that one

I was unimpressed with this breast pump but unfortunately have nothing to compare it to! Extremely noisy and took hours to empty one breast. Not very comfy either in my opinion. I felt I'd been ripped off, given how expensive it is compared to others. All in all - very disappointed. Will be trying another for baby number 2.

A Godsend - small and light, easy to use and efficient. A little bit noisy but I could put up with that. Definitely worth the money.

Its fab- quick easy to use, effective which I never foundthe hand held ones to be. Only quibble is that it can be difficult to keep clean!

Absolutely essential if you are planning to express regularly, I have many friends who have bought other pumps and given up expressing because they are a nightmare to use. The variable suction controller means you can start off quite gently, great in the early days if you're sore. I broke the mains adaptor on mine though and haven't been able to get another without buying a whole new pump so am stuck with batteries which can be a bit hit and miss, the connection doesn't always seem to work. It's also not as practical as some other pumps in that you can't feed from the bottle - or I can't anyway, haven't been able to locate teats anywhere, so you always have to decant into another bottle. Also, if you want to express a lot the 5.5oz capacity isn't very much. Generally a great buy though.

It is small so very porable. Although incredibly noisy and very uncomfortable. I have been expressing every night for the last 4 months with a manual breast pump (Avent) and found that the Avent manual was much more effective and comfortable than this - a big disappointment!

Having used hospital expressers as my little was in Special Care for a few weeks this was ideal when returning home. However, it is very noisy - you certainly cant speak on the phone or watch TV at the sametime!

The one item I couldn't be without! I can leave milk for my baby when I am away. Or, at the first sign of engorgement, a blocked milk duct or mastitis, I can express my milk and avoid the symptoms getting any worse. Has been a real gem!

i origianally bought a hand manual pump, which didnt work. My son is now 7 months and refuses to drink formula but is also too busy with life to be bothered breast feeding.
i bought this as a last resort and now i wish i had bought this one to start with. its easy and quick to use, 4 oz in just 5 mins difinitly 10 out of 10

Easy to use. has batteries so is portable. Easy to sterilise.

excellent, comfy and worth every penny if expressing regularly

very easy to use and assemble and clean, only need 1 hand so can breastfeed at the same time. Noisy, but start expressing early and the baby gets used to it. Can buy replacement valves at John Lewis as they tend to go.

It is so easy to use. Really easy to emsemble and clean. I first used it 5 years ago and am now using it again for my new baby.

after failing with one breast pump, and getting stressed out by that fact, i was thrilled with this as it is comfortable quick portable and more imprtantly works every time recommend it without reservation

Tried a hand pump first and found it difficult to express. This electric pump is wonderful to use - can express enough milk in just 10 minutes! Not too many parts so easy to assemble and clean

It was slower to pump with than a manual pump. It was incredibly uncomfortable; I was used to the gentle massage action of the avent manual and felt like the Medela was going to make me very sore! It was so noisy - there is no way you could sit in room and hear the TV whilst using - wish I had never bought it - I went straight back to my manual pump.

It was great to start with, although noisy! However, as I expressed regularly, the motor soon started to go and therefore the rating scores are a lot less than they should have been.

great as i have to use it every day so well worth every penny.
wish it was a bit quieter but nevr mind.
seriously fast (if you have a good milk flow.)

The only problem I had with these pumps is that the plastic tube kept splitting over a month
I got through 5 in 5 months - but I kept going back for the same one as I liked the product

Had a manual pump for the first time round, did the job fine, but was given one of these by a friend who never used it, as she gave up breast feeding before she needed it. It is so much quicker and easier, I wish I had bought one before. Expressing is nolonger the chore it used to be. It's abit noisy (can't pump and watch the telly) and dosn't work so well with batterys as mains, but I LOVE IT. Julia

Great - comfy and easy to use. Noisy though!

Really practical, enables you to express lots quickly- great.

Great. Easy to use and clean and not too noisy. However the only draw back is that you have to buy more medela storage bottles or just pour the milk into your normal bottles. If I was to buy one again I would think which bottles I would be using to feed my baby.

extremely noisy and not terribly efficient
easy to assemble and clean though

Easy to use, although it takes a bit of getting used to, especially the noise.

Noisy, but does the job. You can watch telly with the subtitles on or mumsnet and pump.

Expensive, but definately the best on the market. really easy to use and keep clean. It is a bit noisy, but the sound sent my son to sleep! the only negative thing was that I couldn't find teats to fit the bottle supplied, so I had to tranfer the milk to another bottle for the feed.

It's quick and easy to use ... and really easy to clean not many parts to it so it's idiot-proof too !! Well worth it ... helped me to keep breastfeeding for longer.

loved it imagine having the hassle of handpumping. the action of the pump is just right and I had letdown in just a few seconds. Great buy

Really good value for money (mine was half price in Boots) and works really well. Gets out much more milk than a hand pump. It is, however, really noisy (it sounds like a hoover!!), so no watching tv whilst pumping!!

No complaints whatsoever. Easy to use and practical.

Nice and compact. The suction variation is useful but if you're just starting out with breast feeding save the strongest setting until your nipples have toughened up a bit or they may feel tender.

great but still too noisy

Worth every penny - only pump that got a decent amount out of me and I didn't get wrist ache!!!!