Philips AVENT Comfort electric breast pump feedback thread

[AnnMumsnet]

This thread is for the 20 Mumsnetters who are trying out the Philips AVENT Comfort electric breast pump (RRP £115) with their baby/ LO. This pump will be sold via Mothercare from January before becoming available at a wider selection of retailers later on.

Philips would love to know your breastfeeding or expressing story as well as your feedback on the pump, and whether it helped you express in a more reclined and comfortable way.

Please also add your review to the breast pump reviews section of Mumsnet.

Please let us know the following:

~ The age of your baby/ child
~ Whether you'd used a pump before and your general opinions of breast feeding and expressing
~ Your overall first impressions of the Comfort electric breast pump
~ How it was to use - first times and subsequent uses.
~ How would you rate the feeling of the pump on your skin? Would you say it felt "warm and natural on the breast"?
~ How did the pump help with the flow of milk? How long did it take to use?
~ Where did you use the pump? What sort of occasions did you use it (or express for?). Did the pump make this easy/easier?
~ How did you find the four settings - stimulation, low, medium, high suction?
~ The pump will hit the shops (firstly in Mothercare) in January - is this a product you could recommend to other mums who want to express breastmilk?
~ The RRP is £115 - do you think this represents value for money?

Any other comments about the pump or about how breast feeding in general - all comments welcome - questions etc also welcome from non testers.

Thanks
MNHQ

~ The age of your baby/ child

DS3 is 6 weeks old.

~ Whether you'd used a pump before and your general opinions of breast feeding and expressing

I have used both a manual pump that I couldn't get any milk from at all so gave up pretty quickly, DS has spent a week in hospital last week and I was using their electric pump which was fab, I am pro breastfeeding and expressing as long as it is making Mum happy, if breastfeeding isn't working and expressing is allowing a baby to continue to get breast milk then that is also great.

~ Your overall first impressions of the Comfort electric breast pump

The look of the pump is nice, I prefer the separation from the pump and the electric unit, it is also small and compact which allows for easy storage.

~ How it was to use ? first times and subsequent uses.

It was very simple to use, no real hardship to just pop on and start pumping, It has a nice long lead and can take batteries so you can pump pretty much anywhere, it is light and very user friendly, it doesn't need programming or setting up, very much turn on an go.

~ How would you rate the feeling of the pump on your skin? Would you say it felt "warm and natural on the breast"?

It was comfortable, and felt fairly natural and warm.

~ How did the pump help with the flow of milk? How long did it take to use?

It took a few minutes to get a flow of milk which isn't unusual for me, once the milk was flowing it was quick to get a good few ounces for DS.

~ Where did you use the pump? What sort of occasions did you use it (or express for?). Did the pump make this easy/easier?

I am using the pump to express whenever I can, DS has been unwell and is only just off tube feeding, I also have other poorly children so I find it a help to be able to share the feeding with DP so expressing and having bottles with breastmilk in ready to go is a real help at the moment.
I have expressed in hospital and at home.

~ How did you find the four settings - stimulation, low, medium, high suction?

I thought the stimulation setting could have possibly been slightly higher suction but that combined with high suction mode was everything i needed to express easily and comfortably.

~ The pump will hit the shops (firstly in Mothercare) in January ? is this a product you could recommend to other mums who want to express breastmilk?

Yes it is certainly something I would recommend to other mums who want to express frequently.

~ The RRP is £115 ? do you think this represents value for money?

It's a good product, it works efficiently and doesn't cost the earth, I think its a good price to pay if it will help you personally feed your baby breast milk for longer if that's what you wish to do.

What's the main differences between this and previous Philips Avent electric pumps?
Is there a demand for lower suck settings?

My Avent pump was a total godsend - my son wouldn't have had breastmilk for more than three weeks without (managed over a year in the end), and possibly same for my daughter though I'd probably have struggled through lots of pain before getting it to work OK. Though given the price of the pump, breastfeeding probably didn't save me any money over formula!

Firstly thank you for the pump

My dd2 is 19 weeks old, she has been ebf from birth. She has been offered ebm in a bottle on occasion, mostly by me but I have managed to have a night out when dh fed her. I express both to make her baby rice up with,or to add to purees to thin them out (we started weaning 2 weeks ago and she's really enjoying her food ); and to freeze ready for when I go back to work (not until May, but dd1 was a very reluctant formula drinker so I'm thinking ahead in case she's the same). Dd1 was bf until 11 months when she went on a nursing strike and bit me hard repeatedly (with teeth!). I used a hand pump initially for her but it was such hard work that I bought a Medela portable electric pump. I think that it cost around £80 and I used in for several months for dd1 and then up until now for dd2 - I was glad to throw it away to be honest - it was noisy, painful on even the lowest setting and the bottle that fitted it wasn't a wide neck one so I couldn't attach my usual bottles (Mam) to it. I have also used a hospital grade pump as I work on SCBU and expressed at work for dd1. I can't say that I found that pump particularly comfortable either, and have a lot of respect for the mums on the unit that express up to 12 times a day for months.

My first impression was that the massage shell felt very soft, but that there were a lot of parts compared to my previous pump, but in actual fact it is very easy to put together - the pump itself that is - in fact my main criticism of the product is with the bottle not the pump - the screw top being in two parts means that I have to touch the inside of the top to put it together; not only is this fiddly but it doesn't feel 'clean' after I've taken the trouble to sterilise everything. A one piece screw top would be better in my opinion and not that difficult to change. The pump itself is neat and I like the lavender!

On first use I would say that yes, it felt warm and natural. I love how quiet it is. With the massage shell in place though I do sometimes find it hard to get a good seal - I obtain better suction if I don't use it and therefore use a lower setting, but it is far more comfortable with it in place. When I use the pulse setting it takes a good minute or two to obtain any milk - my old pump was quicker but I would take comfort over speed to be honest. I then switch to the strongest setting and it takes about 10 minutes to get around 100mls.

I have only used it at home. It is very comfortable to use, and I have both sat up and reclined and found both positions 'work'. As I said above, stimulation is slow but nicer than a sudden suction like my old pump. I then need to switch to high to get a good result, but this still feels comfortable.

I would recommend the pump. But to be honest I'm not a fan of Mothercare, when will it be available in clean, tidy shops with helpful, knowledgeable staff and more than one till open elsewhere? £115 is expensive though, I would probably only recommend it to someone who had expressed before and knew that it worked for her; and to be honest I would struggle to have bought something so expensive myself.

Thank you again, overall I am very happy with the pump and I will continue to use it for as long as dd2 wants breastmilk.

Ann I've just tried to find the pump in the reviews section and it isn't there - should I just click on 'add review' and start my own category? If so, do I call it the Philips Avent Comfort Electric Breastpump?

Amandine..yes please!

Notcitrus..I have asked Philips for you

Notcitrus - Philips say "Thank you for your question. Following extensive feedback from mums, our new Comfort pump aims to make the whole experience more relaxing (not having to lean forward) and an easier experience generally. By removing the motor unit from the pump funnel we've made it less tiring for mum to hold and less likely to tip over spilling any precious milk. It?s also easy to put together and clean whilst providing 3 suction modes (low, medium and high)".

Hi Ann
Could you ask if there are different sizes of funnel please?
I'm struggling to get a good seal at the moment. Will hold the feedback for now as might be a quick fix

Marking my place but initial response is that it's pretty fab!

Also marking my place as have only used it once so far and will come back to say more later but first reactions were: comfortable, easy to put together but the noise is really offputting compared to the Avent pump I was using before. I do appreciate being able to relax more and think that helps the flow but the pump was noisy, and it took a while for the letdown to happen.

Marking my place to start feedback tomorrow (app keeps crashing and I'm worried about losing a review)

~ The age of your baby/ child
DS2 is a year old, and feeds between 3-6 times a day, including a night feed.

~ Whether you'd used a pump before and your general opinions of breast feeding and expressing
Yes, I've tried the tommee tippee manual and electric, and never had much success with either. I have real problems with my supply, and often have to boost using domperidone under GP guidance. Regular expressing (successfully) would help me boost my supply naturally, as well as helping DS to become more interested in drinking from a cup.

~ Your overall first impressions of the Comfort electric breast pump
I thought it looked lovely. It wasn't overpackaged, there weren't a million instructions, and it looked like it would be easy to put together.

~ How it was to use ? first times and subsequent uses.
The pump was really easy to put together. I was pleased by how comfortable the pump felt (not too artificial) and it was quiet compared to the tommee tippee electric. The lower settings didn't really get me anywhere, so I had to use the higher suction - this actually triggered a let down reflex (which I haven't felt for months!)

~ How would you rate the feeling of the pump on your skin? Would you say it felt "warm and natural on the breast"?
The pump was really comfortable, a good fit, and yes, it definitely felt more natural. I did have a "warm" sensation for 10-15 minutes after using the pump, but that's also likely to be due to using the high setting for long amount of time!

~ How did the pump help with the flow of milk? How long did it take to use?
I managed to get around 1.5oz of milk in 10 minutes - which is an absolute record for me. DS only feeds for a maximum of 5 minutes now, so I was really surprised. I got a decent flow on the high setting. I liked the fact that when I removed the pump, milk didn't spill over me as it hadn't collected in the pump - everything was taken down into the bottle.

~ Where did you use the pump? What sort of occasions did you use it (or express for?). Did the pump make this easy/easier?
I used the pump at home, on the settee - it meant I could relax, rather than keeping a rigid posture which I feel like I have to with other pumps. I was able to read my kindle on one occasion, and deliver hugs to DS on another, as he was very jealous of the intruder taking his milk!

~ How did you find the four settings - stimulation, low, medium, high suction?
With low and medium I didn't really get anywhere, though once the flow of milk started I was able to switch down to medium again. The high setting was good, but it did leave me feeling very warm and tingly afterwards. A definite improvement on competitors though, the TT ones leave me feeling quite sore.

~ The pump will hit the shops (firstly in Mothercare) in January ? is this a product you could recommend to other mums who want to express breastmilk?
Yes, definitely - it worked, was comfortable and wasn't a burden to use.

~ The RRP is £115 ? do you think this represents value for money?
Yes - because it works! I think if I had used it from DS being small we would both have really benefitted.

Firstly, thank you so much for the pump - it's absolutely fantastic!

Let me answer the questions:

~ The age of your baby/ child

Dd is 13 weeks.

~ Whether you'd used a pump before and your general opinions of breast feeding and expressing

Dd has been exclusively breastfed since birth. It's gone really well, she's put on lots of weight. I need to be able to express milk for her when I go back to work in March.

I hadn't used a pump before but I have hand expressed. If I express several times a day I'd manage to get 20 or 30ml in total, and I'd be sore afterwards.

~ Your overall first impressions of the Comfort electric breast pump

It looked good quality, with some useful features like being able to lean back while pumping.

The instructions were comprehensive. Initially it looked rather complicated to use but after putting it together for the first time it was actually very easy.

~ How it was to use ? first times and subsequent uses.

I was a bit nervous turning it on the first time! But the stimulation mode was quite gentle, and soon got my milk flowing. And the amount I got! I pumped for 10 minutes and got about 120ml from one breast, and there was still milk flowing. I couldn't believe how much better it was than hand expressing!

~How would you rate the feeling of the pump on your skin? Would you say it felt "warm and natural on the breast"?

I'm not sure it felt warm, but it certainly felt comfortable and natural.

~ How did the pump help with the flow of milk? How long did it take to use?

I think the stimulation mode really helped to get the milk flowing. As I said above, I got over 100ml in 10 minutes from one breast.

~ Where did you use the pump? What sort of occasions did you use it (or express for?). Did the pump make this easy/easier?

I used it in an armchair at home, but I am intending to use it at work. It is going to make my life so much easier!

~ How did you find the four settings - stimulation, low, medium, high suction?

Stimulation was good to get things going. I think low is the best setting for me. Medium felt like I was being pulled a bit too much, so I haven't tried high.

~ The pump will hit the shops (firstly in Mothercare) in January ? is this a product you could recommend to other mums who want to express breastmilk?

I would absolutely recommend it. It is a very high quality product.

~ The RRP is £115 ? do you think this represents value for money?

I think it is value for money. Would I pay this much for it? Probably not, but we are fairly short of money at the moment and I don't think I could justify it though. It is something I might ask for as a present. I'd certainly be very sad to have to give it back!

Other comments: I hadn't realised it would come with a bottle, so that was good. It's a bit small (125ml) for expressing from both breasts, but it is compatible with the other Philips bottles.

Now all I need is for dd to actually drink from a bottle! She doesn't seem to know what one is - well she has 3 months to learn!

The age of your baby/ child

my baby is 7 months old

~ Whether you'd used a pump before and your general opinions of breast feeding and expressing

yes she is my 6th baby and i've expressed with all of them, and also with her for the past 3 months or so. with this baby (dd4) I went back to work early and have been expressing at work - she is the first one I have actually tried to express at work for, although for my last baby, I also expressed while I was at work (although he was older when i went back).

For all of my babies I expressed so that they only had breast milk for the first 6 months.

I have had a variety of pumps. This time I have used an event hand pump at work - it was crap as the valve broke/keeps slipping out. However I used one of these with my first baby and found it was fantastic. I have an ameda lactaline at home.

~ Your overall first impressions of the Comfort electric breast pump

Good it was easy to assemble (wonder whether this is because it is very similar to the hand pump.

~ How it was to use ? first times and subsequent uses.

It was fine. I've only used it once so far - I'll come back and post more when I get a chance from my non-sleeping, constantly feeding baby to pump again.

~ How would you rate the feeling of the pump on your skin? Would you say it felt "warm and natural on the breast"?

Yes. I don't think this is a big selling feature for me though!

~ How did the pump help with the flow of milk? How long did it take to use?

I did like the stimulation setting! I find often with my other pumps that letdown is quite slow. It didn't seem to be with this one, but I'll see if it's the same next time. I did think the other settings seemed a bit gentle for me (perhaps I'm used to more force with my baby/the other pumps?). However it wasn't any slower than the other pumps I've used.

~ Where did you use the pump? What sort of occasions did you use it (or express for?). Did the pump make this easy/easier?

On my sofa this time. I want to take it into work though and may go in for one day next week. I want something fairly quiet as I am in an office environment - I think this is quieter than my ameda one.

~ How did you find the four settings - stimulation, low, medium, high suction?

I liked the stimulation one! I'm not sure I'll ever use the lower settings.

~ The pump will hit the shops (firstly in Mothercare) in January ? is this a product you could recommend to other mums who want to express breast milk?

Maybe. I think I would prefer the double one (and I'm very willing to test this one out if you would like me to???) as it would be better for expressing while you are at work. But this is a good pump if you are doing it less frequently I think.

~ The RRP is £115 ? do you think this represents value for money?

Not sure. It depends what you are expressing for. If it's just for occasional nights out, then maybe not - the hand ones are fine. But if it's to produce more milk then maybe. As I mentioned above, I think a double one would be better if you are doing it while you are at work.

mnhq - do you know whether there is a double one of these pumps and if so, what it's going to retail for?

ScaredySquirrel and DoingTheSwanThing - I have asked for you and fingers crossed Philips are still around....

Hiya just wanted to say pump had arrived, thank you :)

I'm struggling a little with DD2s evenings at the moment, lots of crying and cluster feeding, but hopefully just a passing phase and will be back with the feedback as soon as she allows me time enough to start using it properly. Will make every effort to ensure that it's soon!

Thank you very much for the pump

~ The age of your baby/ child - DD is 7 months old
~ Whether you'd used a pump before and your general opinions of breast feeding and expressing - I've used a manual pump but I found it very hard to get much milk. It would take me around half an hour to express an ounce; I could get more milk by hand expressing. I find BF very easy but I wanted to express because I had to go back to work 3 weeks later; I've had to mix feed until now.
~ Your overall first impressions of the Comfort electric breast pump - It looked easy to use and felt light. Extremely easy to put together.
~ How it was to use ? first times and subsequent uses. - It's light and fits well on my breast.
~ How would you rate the feeling of the pump on your skin? Would you say it felt "warm and natural on the breast"? - Yes, it does feel warm and it's very comfortable.
~ How did the pump help with the flow of milk? How long did it take to use? - I went straight for the high suction setting. It took a few minutes to really start my flow but the bottle filled quite quickly after that.
~ Where did you use the pump? What sort of occasions did you use it (or express for?). Did the pump make this easy/easier? - I've used the pump at home and at work, mainly to express for bottles but also to relieve engorgement when it's not possible to bf or if my daughter's not hungry.
~ How did you find the four settings - stimulation, low, medium, high suction? - I found the high suction setting best. I have tried the other settings but the stronger action works for me.
~ The pump will hit the shops (firstly in Mothercare) in January ? is this a product you could recommend to other mums who want to express breastmilk? Yes, definitely. It's easy to use and helps express milk quickly and comfortably.
~ The RRP is £115 ? do you think this represents value for money? - Absolutely! The pump is great value, especially when compared to other pumps.

~ The age of your baby/ child

DS is 11 weeks old

~ Whether you'd used a pump before and your general opinions of breast feeding and expressing

I've used a Medela Swing before which I find a bit ouchy but is very effective at expressing milk quickly. However it does give me backache as I hunch forward in order to avoid milk flooding back down the tubing so I was very excited to use this. I feed directly from the breast 99% of the time but pump regularly both to build up a stash of frozen milk in case I need to be away from baby and also to make up purees with when we eventually come to weaning.#

~ Your overall first impressions of the Comfort electric breast pump

Nice looking machine, light and compact though there did seem to be lots of bits.

~ How it was to use ? first times and subsequent uses.

Unfortunately I didn't get on with it - it took ages to get a let down and then I got very little milk. My first use ws very unsuccessful so I immediately used my old Medela Swing and managed to get a long more milk - I used the highest suction but I do wonder if I'm doing something wrong or don't have the pump assembled properly. However it did feel very comfortable

~ How would you rate the feeling of the pump on your skin? Would you say it felt "warm and natural on the breast"?

Soft and comfortable, not at all pinchy.

~ How did the pump help with the flow of milk? How long did it take to use?

I used the pump for about 20 minutes on each breast and literally only managed to get drops. I will try again a few more times in case I am doing something wrong.

~ Where did you use the pump? What sort of occasions did you use it (or express for?). Did the pump make this easy/easier?

I have only used this pump at home so far but would bring it to an event such as a wedding in order to pump as it is very portable.

~ How did you find the four settings - stimulation, low, medium, high suction?

Not very strong - perhaps I didn't properly create a seal?

~ The pump will hit the shops (firstly in Mothercare) in January ? is this a product you could recommend to other mums who want to express breastmilk?

Not yet but I will try again - I've used it twice so far without much success so I'll ask DH to see if he can spot what I may be doing wrong.

~ The RRP is £115 ? do you think this represents value for money?
Yes I would pay this amount for a comfortable electric pump

I tried to pump again this morning when I knew my supply was lower, and this time I did find that it was more difficult to get any milk at all, on any of the settings.

I'm not sure the suction is strong enough either to be honest. Also, the second time I used it (this morning), I did have to fiddle around to get the pump properly sealed on!

The age of your baby/child

My baby is 5 weeks old

Whether you'd used a pump before and your general opinions of breast feeding and expressing

I used a Medela swing with my firstborn for nine months. I found expressing quite difficult the first time around. I had gestational diabetes and DS1 was born with low blood sugar which meant the hospital insisted on feeding formula supplements which in turn affected my milk supply. I expressed religiously after every feed to try to up my supply and I could never get more than about 10ml a session. I used the highest setting on the medela and found it uncomfortable after a long expressing session. I want to express to allow my partner to feed DS2 and allow me to go out alone occasionally.

~ Your overall first impressions of the Comfort electric breast pump

I liked the design which looked less clinical and scary than other pumps I've used. It was easy to put together.

~ How it was to use ? first times and subsequent uses.

It was comfortable to use and I liked how quiet it was compared to the medela swing. I had thrush in my nipples and was quite sore the first time I used it so was expecting it to hurt, it was actually fairly gentle on the lower settings, hurt less than breastfeeding.

I am now using the higher setting which is much more effective to me

~ How would you rate the feeling of the pump on your skin? Would you say it felt "warm and natural on the breast"?

Yes, it's much softer and more comfortable than other pumps I've used.

~ How did the pump help with the flow of milk? How long did it take to use?

The stimulation setting helped but it takes a while for my milk to start flowing. Having said that I can get up to 50ml in the same time it took me to pump 10ml with my last baby, not sure if this is the pump or my supply as I have not used any other pump for this baby.

~ Where did you use the pump? What sort of occasions did you use it (or express for?). Did the pump make this easy/easier?

I have used it at home and have taken it with me to travel to see family over xmas. It was easy to pack up and take with me and I like that it's nice and quiet for pumping on the go and in relatives homes.

~ How did you find the four settings - stimulation, low, medium, high suction?

The stimulation setting helps me get used to the sensation of being milked (which I stil find odd!) but I need to use the higher settings for effective pumping.

~ The pump will hit the shops (firstly in Mothercare) in January ? is this a product you could recommend to other mums who want to express breastmilk?

Absolutely. I am very pleased with it and it's been a more comfortable and efficient expereince for me than my last pump

~ The RRP is £115 ? do you think this represents value for money?

Yes I think this is a reasonable price.

~ The age of your baby/ child
My DD2 is 10 weeks
~ Whether you'd used a pump before and your general opinions of breast feeding and expressing
DD2 has a cleft palate and had a few respiratory problems at birth meaning we spent 10 days in NICU after a nice calm home birth getting feeding established. In that time I had to use the hospial grade pumps 8-12 times a day to try and bring in my milk. I exclusively breast fed my other two children until 6 months and fed both to about 9 months so it was a real challenge to contemplate not being able to do the same for my third child. I am so grateful that pumps were available although the level of instruction was minimal and uses a double pump basically means you can?t do anything but sit there hunched over.
~ Your overall first impressions of the Comfort electric breast pump
Very stylish looking pump light and small
~ How it was to use ? first times and subsequent uses.
I pump 6-8 times a day. On my first pump after figuring out how to put together the various pieces I found I did get a reduced amount of milk. However with more use the amount of milk increased to my usual amount.
~ How would you rate the feeling of the pump on your skin? Would you say it felt "warm and natural on the breast"?
Very warm feeling pump not at all pinchy more comfatble than other pumps I have used
~ How did the pump help with the flow of milk? How long did it take to use?
It took about 20 minutes to completely empty each breast which is a little faster than my comparable pump. On the basis of this I would be interested in the double pump

~ Where did you use the pump? What sort of occasions did you use it (or express for?). Did the pump make this easy/easier?
I used the pump at home at a friend?s house and while for the weekend. The pieces are pretty small so fit easily into the sterilizer
~ How did you find the four settings - stimulation, low, medium, high suction?
The settings were sufficient, however i would have preferred a few more suction settings as there was a bit of a jump between medum and high and I would have prefered a setting between these two.
~ The pump will hit the shops (firstly in Mothercare) in January ? is this a product you could recommend to other mums who want to express breast milk?
Absolutely! It is quiet, simple and effective. I would recommend the double pump to anyone who was pumping more than once or twice a day.
~ The RRP is £115 ? do you think this represents value for money?
All the pumps are expensive so this one is comparable to others currently on the market

I've been pumping more than usual to see if there's an improvement to my supply. Regular pumping is definitely working, but I'm still only finding the highest suction to be really effective.

I've added my review but I have an issue with the pump. When I first started using it I found it hard to get a seal with the massage shell in place; I thought I'd got this sorted until this morning. I was quite 'full' shall we say because dd hadn't woken as usual at 10pm and then slept through until 7, when she was too distracted to feed properly and only wanted one side, so my right breast was really full. I tried to pump but it was extremely hard to get a seal - I ended up having to twist it to the side slightly, once that initial fullness had gone the milk started to flow and I quickly filled the bottle but it was a frustrating 5 minutes!