Types Of Breast Pumps

Making a right choice is never an easy task especially when it comes to your baby. This page intends to provide an overview regarding known types of breast pumps for mothers who are feeding their babies. Read through and the information might be useful to you while making a rationale decision with some ease in line with their budget.

MANUAL PUMPS
Medela Harmony Breast Pumps
With a short breast shield and a squeeze handle, this manual breast pump offers two basic settings for speed and vacuum strength. One to stimulate let down and other to use after the milk starts flowing. Speed and vacuum strength can be separately adjusted to suit individual preferences.

Gerber Manual Breast Pumps
With a flexible silicon breast funnel, this pump is operated by squeezing a handle. In fact you can get this pump easily at department stores or pharmacy at a reasonably affordable price.

Evenflo ComfortEase Manual Breast Pumps
This squeeze handle pump has adjustable suction and a silicon insert for more comfortable pumping. This pump is also readily available.

BATTERY OPERATED & ELECTRIC PUMPS
First Years double Electric/Battery Breast Pumps
It is a semi-automatic pump with adjustable suction strength. It can be operated with batteries as well as electricity. The double fitting pump may be bit cumbersome to use due to distance between both breasts. However, it can be obtained from pharmacies and select departmental stores. It usually comes packaged in imitation leather container.

Whisper Wear Pump
This innovative beast pump allows mother express milk hands-free without removing her bra. The pump has automatic cycling, variable suction and two speeds. One to stimulate let-down and one for expression. The milk is drained in the collection bags that are designed specifically for this purpose and can be re-ordered as per requirement.

Medela Lactina and Lactina Select Electric Pumps
Since these pumps are near-hospital grade, they are ideal for the working mothers who cant or prefers not to buy her own pump and is pumping no more than 40 hours per week. The Lactina Select has a variable speed control, which many mothers prefer. Both pumps can be used with single or double pump kits. Mothers who are away for 20-40 hours a week are ideal users for this pump. Although the prices tag maybe high, local hospitals may rent it at affordable rate to the feeding mothers.

Ameda Purely Yours Breast Pump
The was the second fully automatic pump developed for purchase by working mothers. With this pump you can control speed up to 60 cycles per minutes along with suction and you can pump either one or both sides of the breast at the same time. When an electric out-let is not available you can operate this pump with alkaline batteries. Usual accessories include extra bottles and re-freezable bottles with the exception of tote optional bag.


Ameda Elite Breast Pump
Intended for rental use, the fully automatic Elite weighs only seven pounds. You can vary both the rate and strength of its suction. In case you are pumping where there is no electricity one model also comes with a built in battery pack. Rentals may vary as per the local hospital policy.

HOSPITAL GRADE PUMPS
These pumps have several advantages over most other pumps:

They are fully automatic
At 48-60 cycles they closely resemble the sucking action of the baby.
They promote complete let-down of milk and thus are gentler and completely drain the breasts.
They have the ability to simultaneously double pump the breast thus reduces the pumping time with greater milk production.

For all these reasons hospital grade pumps are more effective for maintaining milk production when the mother is pumping exclusively or is away for more than 40 hours a week. Examples include Medela Classic Electric Pump, Medela Symphony Breast Pump and Ameda SMB and Lact-E Breast Pumps.