Many future mothers, preparing for the birth of their baby, pre-compose shopping list, trying to take into account all the important little things that in the future will help them in caring for their babies. This list most often includes a breast pump, a special device for expressing breast milk.
Why is a breast pump and not hands, because breasts can also be expressed by hands? Modern breast pumps will help you significantly save time and save your strength.
The choice of these devices today is so wide (the functionality differs from each other by the mechanism of its work, price, properties, convenience, etc.) that a woman simply has her eyes widened. In order not to be tormented by the question, which breast pump is the best, and which one to choose for comfortable pumping of milk, you should know what types of these devices exist.
Types of breast pumps: which one to choose
(Photos are clickable)
Absolutely all breast pumps are divided into two types according to the principle of their action: manual, that is, mechanical, and electric.
Manual breast pumps are not as expensive as their electrical counterparts. They can be divided into:
Pump-action
The simplest of existing appliances. It consists of a nozzle on the chest and a rubber pump (or pear). When expressing milk with such a device, a woman often needs to squeeze the pump to create a certain vacuum around the nipple and cause a rush of milk. Milk comes with every pressure on the chest.
- Plus models - low price. The price of pump-action breast pumps starts at 90 rubles for the simplest models.
- Minuses - due to constant mechanical squeezing of the pump, the hand quickly gets tired, with frequent use there is a chance the appearance of cracks in the nipples. Milk pulls poorly.
There are pump-free breast pumps without a bottle and with an attached bottle.
Syringe Breast Pump
The device consists of two cylinders, where the inner one is applied directly to the nipple itself, and the outer one makes movements forward or backward. This option is the most common and popular: it is easy to clean, easy to use, small in size.
Piston (cylindrical)
This type of breast pump consists of a silicone nozzle on the nipple with a special lever attached to it and a bottle in the kit. For expressing it is enough to press the lever, firmly pressing the nozzle to the chest.
Pros:
- thanks to silicone nozzles, pumping with a piston breast pump resembles natural breastfeeding, which helps to improve lactation;
- rapid decantation. For 10 min, it is decanted up to 150-200 ml. (With manual pumping, this takes up to 40 minutes);
- silent work;
- the ability to sterilize all parts of the breast pump;
- relatively low price and a huge selection of different models.
Minuses:
- fragility of parts. With very frequent use, the lever of the breast pump may break.
- in a woman, when expressing, the arm quickly gets tired.
Philips AVENT manual breast pump - overview – https://kid.htgetrid.com/en/posle-rodov-dlya-mamyi/obzor-ruchnogo-molokootsosa-philips-avent.html
Electric breast pumps
In addition to mechanical models, to facilitate the process of decantation, there are electric ones. Using any model of an electric breast pump for a nursing mother will not be difficult.
The principle of operation of the device is not to manually create a vacuum around the nipple, but using a special motor. A woman just needs to press a button, and the device itself will begin its work!
Pros:
- the ability to memorize the mode of expression;
- there are models with two-phase mode. At first, the device operates in a fast and weak mode, gradually moving to a slow and deep decantation. This mode allows you to maximize the accumulated breast milk;
- there are models that allow expressing simultaneously with both breasts;
- easy to disassemble, parts are washed and sterilized;
- The electric breast pump is suitable for continuous use, as it does not injure the nipple and does not contribute to fatigue.
Despite the undoubted advantages of electric models, they also have certain shortcomings. These include very high cost and noise when used. Such a breast pump can hardly be used next to a sleeping baby.
Electronic
This is a microprocessor-controlled breast pump that fully controls milk production and pumping rhythm. Work from the socket or the accumulator. They are accordingly expensive.
Video: breast pump selection
Having decided on the choice of a breast pump, a woman is faced with questions about how to properly prepare for pumping and how to express breast milk as efficiently as possible.
Rules for pumping a breast pump
During the period of feeding, most mothers have to deal with a situation such as decantation. In order to protect themselves from unnecessary risks, each mother must know how to properly express her breasts with the help of a breast pump so as not to harm herself.
Breast pumping by a breast pump is absolutely not a shame, it does not need to be scared or embarrassed!
The main reasons that cause decantation:
- You have a lot of milk, so to avoid hardening it in your chest, you need to be free of excess;
- Your breast milk is not enough to feed the baby, so pumping you need to stimulate lactation;
- You need to attend an important event where it will be impossible for the child to provide access to the breast or the baby remains at home without you with your grandmother, dad and they need to feed the baby;
- The child refuses to take the breast, but drinks milk from the baby bottle.
There may be plenty of options ...
Express preparation
Before expressing milk with a breast pump, read the recommendations:
- Wash hands with soap and wash your breasts with warm water.
- If possible, drink a glass of warm water or tea to improve the flow of milk.
- Carefully read all the instructions included with your breast pump.
- If you are using a breast pump for the first time, be sure to boil it and let it dry. Then collect all the parts and prepare a sterilized container for collecting milk.
- Before starting the process, select the funnel of the right size, the nipple itself should not lie against the wall of the suction device, otherwise expressing will be slow and painful.The nipple should go back and forth without obstacles, so you need to leave room for its movement.
- For large breasts or large nipples, it is recommended to choose the funnel with the largest diameter.
- To make the breasts fit better on the funnel, moisten your skin with a damp towel.
- Find a place that is most convenient and suitable for such a procedure.
- Start expressing milk at the most convenient speed, even if it is the most powerful. The main thing is not to forget to constantly stimulate a rush of milk.
- With light movements in a circle, the chest can be stimulated before and during the procedure.
The preparation is finished, you can start expressing
If you feel the slightest difficulty in pumping, do not forget that pumping is an artificial process, imitation of feeding. A positive result can be achieved by developing a pumping hormone called oxytocin. To do this, it will be enough to take a warm bath, drink hot tea (preferably with milk), put a warm towel on your chest or just look at the picture of your baby. Already during decantation, the hormone prolactin starts to work, it depends on how much milk you can express.
Video: expressing milk
Board instruction for nursing mothers
Breast pumping takes 10-15 minutes per breast. If expressed faster, do not stop - continue for a few more minutes.
- To facilitate the process, it is better to bend forward a little, but not too much. This situation will allow the lobules to pass milk more easily and it will be much easier for mom to collect it.
- Supporting and slightly raising the breast with one hand, with the other, attach and firmly press the nozzle of the breast pump to the nipple. The nipple should be in the middle of the nozzle. In turn, the funnel should fit snugly against the nipple, otherwise the desired vacuum will not be created, and the pumping process will be difficult.
(Clickable photo)
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- When using a mechanical device - start to press the lever or pump, for expressing with an electric breast pump, just press the button. There is no need to squeeze the chest so as not to injure the nipple. If nevertheless pain takes place, check if the funnel of the breast pump is located correctly and the nipple is exactly in the middle. In a state of severe discomfort, stop expressing and after a while start the process again.
- It should be strained until the chest softens and the seals stop being felt. Before the end of the process, massage the breast again from the axilla to the center, driving the remaining milk from the side lobules. This is the end of the decantation, you can use milk immediately or freeze it.
How to use a breast pump (video number 2)
Why is the breast pump impossible to express?
So, how to choose a breast pump and how best to express a woman already knows, and what to do when it’s impossible to pump a drop of milk with a breast pump? Decantation, although an imitation, is still a natural process, and if there is no milk in your breast, then no breast pump can pump it. Having studied the pumping technique and the rules for handling such a device, we can conclude that you will not be able to drive milk if:
- The tightness between the nipple and the funnel is broken. If air gets in, the breast pump will not work properly.
- Milk stagnation (I also call lactostasis - read about it) If the chest is very dense to the touch, there are painful areas, then it will be difficult to quickly express the milk. In this case, prolonged breast massage (See article how to do breast massage) hands and careful stimulation of the nipples to improve the flow of milk. You can also try to attach a baby to one breast, and bring a breast pump to the other.
- You are not prepared for the procedure itself: oxytocin has not developed.
In general, expressing one breast takes about 15 minutes.Depending on how complex and narrow the milk ducts are, the collection period may be delayed. After any machine pumping, milk will be collected manually. This is necessary for a better and maximum collection.
We also read: TOP-9 modern bottle sterilizers (rating)
Video: How to assemble an Avent breast pump
Where can I buy
Rating TOP 10 breast pumps – https://kid.htgetrid.com/en/posle-rodov-dlya-mamyi/10-luchshih-molokootsosov.html
We read further on the topic of expressing and feeding breast milk:
Problems with pumping occur in many women. For me personally, the breast pump was a real salvation. I recommend to everyone.
At one time, the breast pump helped a lot.
My baby was born by cesarean and there was no milk right away. In the hospital, she fed with a mixture and applied to her breast. Little by little it turned out — it was not enough, on the 4th day milk came, but the baby got used to it in the bottle and categorically refused to take the breast. Having returned home I bought a breast pump, expressed myself in a bottle and so I fed my baby.
I used the most affordable mechanical pump action. I can note that for frequent use it is unlikely to work, it’s sick to cure, and my hands get tired quickly. I expressed them not every time, but only to remove the excess milk, and so the child himself sucked well. If you plan to use every day, then it is probably better to take an electric one.
For me, the baby was the best breast pump. He absorbed the chest when there was minor stagnation; he sucked in as much milk as he needed. Even in the hospital, the doctor advised not to express at all, so as not to earn hyperlactation. And after that, even though I have a breast pump, they managed without it.