To ask for your breast pump recommendations?

[Cw112]

Due in the next couple of months and hoping to bf but would like to find a decent breast pump and would love some honest reviews from any you have used to give me a steer on what to buy! There's so much variety and they can be expensive so would be great to know how you all got on with them! Ideally I'd like something that can be used without being plugged in and maybe hands free but open to any and all suggestions! Thanks in advance!


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This thread is a little old now so some of the suggestions may be out of date, but if you’ve landed here looking for an electric, manual, double or wearable breast pump, we’ve recently updated our best breast pumps article with lots of great options, as tried and tested by Mumsnet users. We hope you find it useful.
MNHQ

[soupmaker]

I had one of these, used it for both of mine. £20 well spent. DD1 BF for 4 months, DD2 for 15 months. DD2 was tongue tied so I spent 2 weeks expressing into a bottle for her before she was snipped. After that she refused a bottle!

https://www.boots.com/tommee-tippee-made-for-me-manual-breast-pump-10275925?cmmmc=bmm-buk-google-ppccPLAsAsHeroCompareareBabyAccessories---UKSmarttShoppingBabyyAccessories&gclid=Cj0KCQjw7KqZBhCBARIsAI-fTKLVn47r2jYyPsZG4CE0cx9dlMwbpKndBzPIXAnzBlLPMHkgAWOaq-8aAm52EALwwcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[DaisyChain16]

Liked the tommee tippee manual pump. Hated their electric one. Really wanted elvie but couldn't justify the price so bought one of these instead and think it was fab -

Momcozy Breast Pump,Wearable Hands-Free Electric Breast Pump, Strong Pumping, Leak-Proof Milk, Ultra-Quiet, No Pain with 2 Mode & 5 Levels-24MM (Gray) amzn.eu/d/b6Igdbz?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

used it when I went back to work and it worked a treat, used to be able to pump at my desk no problem.

If you're wanting to pump more than actually breastfeed I'd look at a hospital grade pump though.

[scott2609]

The Medela double flex is amazing, worth every penny. I would pump maybe 30-40ml altogether at most with a manual pump but I get about 100ml from each breast with the Medela in around 15 minutes.

I have a portable Elvie too and really don’t rate it. I don’t find that it really sits that well in my bra, it frequently leaks, and my milk output is usually pretty low though it is handy being able to express relatively easily when out and about.

[ZellyFitzgerald]

I used the Medela Swing when exclusively pumping for my daughter and it was brilliant.

[ChildrenOfTheQuorn]

I thought the momcozy was crap, personally. Just not a strong enough pump. I prefer the Lansinoh - I did plug it in though and followed a hack with my nursing bra to make it hands free.

[Noix]

Spectra Dual Compact. Portable, hospital grade and just does the job, not only getting milk out but you can use it to increase milk supply too. I also have an Elvie but found it more of a gimmick compared to the spectra.

[Goingtogoinsane]

spectra, medela or ardo pumps

[fyn]

Absolutely don’t get a tommee tippee one, one of the most important things about pumps is getting the right flange size for your nipple. If you don’t it can cause painful damage and you won’t get as much milk. Tommee tippee only come in one flange size.

I’d recommend something hospital grade for maximum output. I’ve found spectra to be the best by far having tried quite a few when exclusively pumping.

[Stationsofthecross]

Madela was an absolute life saver.

[Jericha]

I used a medela swing which was great.

[haveyourcakeandeatit]

Medela Swing has been great, nowadays i hardly use it as still BF DD 16m but if my ducts get plugged or mastitis occurs it's a life saver.

[Preemiemummy2]

i rented a Medela symphony as I was exclusively pumping for months. It was brilliant - both breasts at same time and builds supply.

[ADayAlwaysHasToEnd]

I have a spectra s1 which I love. I get about 6 ounces in 10 minutes. I also have the momcozy s12 but I don't find the suction that great it takes me like 30 minutes to get like 2 ounces

[lemonyfox]

The Spectra pump, I had the S1 model which is the portable rechargeable battery one. I found the strength and output, and ability to increase supply, on the same level as the (very expensive) hospital grade Medela Symphony.

[teezletangler]

Spectra pumps are fantastic

[cantseeme]

It depends a bit how you will use the pump. If you end up exclusively pumping (I did because DS was premature and never learned to BF), you need a hospital-grade pump because it's very hard to keep up supply, and you also need advice (there are good Facebook groups) about pumping strategies. If you are breastfeeding also, you can be more flexible. I used an Ameda Finesse and it worked well for me. I've also heard many fans of Medela Swing, but it's not suitable for exclusive pumping (some other Medela pumps are). However, what works for one person might not work for another.

[longtimelurkerfirsttimeposter]

Medela swing was fantastic and lasted for both my children, first bf for 20 months and second 9 months and used it frequently.

Hated the elvie, way overrated in my opinion and caused myself and friend painful mastitis

[YorkshireTeaCup]

@Preemiemummy2

i rented a Medela symphony as I was exclusively pumping for months. It was brilliant - both breasts at same time and builds supply.

I also rented this pump as i had low supply and was triple feeding (baby on the breast, then pumping, then formula at each feed). It was about £45 a month i think.

I would really advise not buying a pump before baby is born. If you have a NICU baby or a preemie baby for example, the hospital will usually loan you a hospital grade pump.

Then once you get home and suss out what your supply is like, you can work out if a high street one will be fine, or if you want to go down the hospital grade / more powerful pump.

If you have a straightforward birth etc, then you can just order one once you are home. Your milk will take a few days to come in and in the early days, putting baby to the breast is the best way to stimulate supply anyway.

[YorkshireTeaCup]

To add, i had bought the medela swing before having DC and it was rubbish for me. A complete waste of £200 or whatever.

[frangipani13]

I’d also recommend not purchasing until the baby arrives. I bought a cheap Medela swing and it was useless. I used a hospital grade Medela double pump with a pumping bra to make it hands free, and then hired it once at home. You never know you might have a brilliant supply and be able to feed directly. La Leche League are awesome if you come up against any feeding issues.

[MaybeIWillFuckOffThen]

Pipetta hands free pump is amazing! Hands free is really important, it's just not sensible to be sitting down to pump for half an hour at a time when you've got kids.

[Housenoob]

Not really a pump but I swore by the Haakaa (well, the Aldi equivalent). You attach it to one breast while breastfeeding your baby from the other and it applies gentle suction to catch/gently squeeze out the letdown. So no milk gets wasted.

I guess this would mainly work well for someone with plentiful supply or in my case oversupply (at my peak supply I could collect around 100ml in 10-15 mins 😳), also it's obviously not suitable if you're intending to exclusively pump. I only really pumped so I could get my little one used to a bottle and have a stash frozen for emergencies/the odd day or evening out.

[tealandteal]

I wanted the Elvie but couldn’t justify the price so I bought the Fraupow, was very impressed and the hands free was very important for me as well. I am mix feeding so perhaps for exclusively pumping you need something more powerful, although I only used it on the first setting anyway.

[Octopuscrazy]

I used Medela swing.
It was good. Can't imagine going manual.
Would recommend getting extra connections in case you want to pump again but haven't washed and sterilised the one connection it comes with.
If I went back I would get the double pump and do both breasts at the same time. Pumping for me was soul destroying and double pumping might have been more efficient.

[TheDogAndTrumpet]

I had to exclusively pump for one of mine and I had a Medela freestyle for that and a very fetching bra thing for hands free! It was great and I lasted till dc was just about to turn one year old.