Breast-pump Reviews

(Breast-pumps review made by member, Angie. Inputs collected from MyMomsBest members. MyMomsBest does not endorse any products.)

1. Ameda Lactaline
Double pump, electric

Review

…Pros: I like it because it's quite gentle, you can adjust the vacuum and the pump cycle. Production is quite good, get a bit more than the Avent Isis and in half the time because it is a double pump…
…Cons: Expensive, but don’t’ know exactly how much. A bit messy, need a bit of acrobatics to manage both pumps at the same time……(Su-Yin, Joel E. Tjoa [19/09/03]'s number one fan)

2. Avent ISIS - manual
Price: RM199 (a set that consists of breast pump petal massage cushion, travel cover & stand, two 125ml milk storage bottles, two newborn teats, sterile teat travel pack, sealing disc, spare parts & instruction leaflets)

Review

....i suppose the Avent ISIS just doesn't work on me. We spoke, ros, yek nee and myself while we met at the UMMC and ros uses the Avent ISIS...works on her like magic....6 - 7 oz, not a problem. And she can even express from one breast while her baby nurses on the other side…. (natasya, mom to baby brennan)

…pros : Easy to use, (I can feed baby on one side and pump the other) gentle (me never had blisters or whatnot), silent and not so conspicuous at the office…
…cons : lots of parts, something like 12 individual parts (specially when you need to wash and sterilize) , manual - the pump is easy to press but you end up more prone to Carpal tunnel syndrome anyway because of the repetitive movement…(Su-Yin, Joel E. Tjoa [19/09/03]'s number one fan)

…The Avent manual operation is as easy as with the battery operated Tommee Tippee and I find it copies baby sucking quite well. I also get a much better flow of EBM going and like the fact that you can control the suction strength very easily. The other reason for going for this is that I am about to return to work and did not want a noisy pump whilst hiding in the female toilets or my hotel room to express. Besides I can now quietly watch TV whilst pumping as well. Whilst more expensive I find it worth the money…(Patricia, mom to Tia 28/09/2003)

…I've tried Avent (manual and battery-operated) and they only worked when breast were really full, first thing in the morning…(Karen, mum to Nicodemus [2/1998] and Ethan [6/2002])

…When I first used Avent manual pump, my nipples were a little sore but not too bad, I thought coz they were not being pulled & sucked in such way before, so it’s just a matter of getting accustomed to it. After that, this manual pump works well. Not only that your hand won’t get tired of pumping manually, in fact, because it’s manually control, you can hold on to each squeeze until the milk finishes before you release & pull the pump handle to squeeze again!...
…After breastfeeding for 6 months, I now got lazy of stimulating let down by myself, I pump on one & let my baby sucks at the other at the same time. So everything is brisk & efficient. But of course as Nicholas would grab everything he sees now, I have to fight with him to maintain the pump at the right place!...(angie, mcboobies to Nicholas since 20/8/2003)

3. Freedom
Price at about RM30

Review

…I did not like it, very hard work, but it did proof to me that the suction method is
copying baby sucking better than Tommee Tippee……(Patricia, mom to Tia 28/09/2003)

4. Hand Expressed

Review
… I express with my bare hands…
…The plus points - no money involve, no parts to sterilize, no pump to cart around, can do it anywhere, can feel how much the McB has (swear, I can tell by just the touch how many ozs I am getting), can massage for 3 let downs in each session, used to get the max of 12 ozs per expressing session, gentle on the nipple as the nipple wasn't even touched…
…I got between 6-12 ozs per expressing. But usually, the McB seems to make 1 oz per hour and max 24 ozs per day. Sort of enough for baby consumption of the day. Using the bare hands, I think the McB got stimulated and thus it fills up, great flow and fills up. Anyway, I am on see-saw of wanting to stop lactating and sometimes, after 3 days absence, with nothing to do, I press-press, perah-perah susu and still got 2-3 ozs…
… The negative points - primitive eh?, neck do get tired from looking down all the while, palm and thumb too get tired, need both hands, one to express, one to hold the bottle, need a little time to get accustom the technique, can get skin burn (feel raw) if use wrong technique, even get blue-black if over enthusiastic!...(Lilian is proud mom to 5 boys, from teen to teeny baby)

…I must have done wrong as it had little output and got really sore breasts…(Patricia, mom to Tia 28/09/2003)

…I did much better with manual expression....after learning how to get a letdown…don't just squeeze and squash your breasts. U won't get much milk and you'll end up with sore breasts. I have this article from Christine and it's called the Marmet Technique. It's quite good and u can find the same stuff online by googling……(Karen, mum to Nicodemus [2/1998] and Ethan [6/2002])

5. Medela – Electric
Medela double pump

Review

…coupled with a double pump system…
....fabulous...lots of let down and absolutely efficient. can finish the job in 15 minutes - both side. am still pumping away - 5 times a day. and my stock ....30 over bottles of at least 4 oz each in the freezer!!... (natasya, mom to baby brennan)

…Double pump is fast but when I expressed, I have to sit straight, otherwise, there will be a gap between the funnel and my breasts and there will be no full suction. And another inconvenient thing with pump is have to wash & sterilize many things lar...the funnels, the bottles.. (Maria - mother of twin girls: Isabelle & Annabelle, born 25th Nov 2002)

…tried medela minielectric (friend lent me) and fell in love with it…(Mei Shi - mum to min lynn 1/8/2003)

6. Medela – Manual

Review

…it functions the same as the minielectric but more tiring cause need to use the your arm… (Mei Shi - mum to min lynn 1/8/2003)

7. Pigeon Brand Pump

Review

…bad experience with it cause I find it hurts my areola (the suction pressure is too high) and moreover i need to press the release button. So imagine you need to squeeze-press, squeeze-press for ages... so mahuan thus chuck it aside after 3 times…(Mei Shi - mum to min lynn 1/8/2003)

8. Tollyjoy, battery operated

Review
…Comes with nipple stimulator (took it out cause of the sore nipples), there are about three-four parts…
…it was about RM60 or so from what I remember. It worked great for me whenever I did pump, maybe 5-7oz per boob per sitting (in about 10mins) when was at my "peak" of breastfeeding…
…Pros: Small, compact and great suction, managed to get a lot from them. And it's lasted!!...
…Cons: You had to jiggle it after a while for it to work, batteries don’t last long so I used an ac/dc adapter… (Lia, mum to twin toddler terrors Jamie n Josh)

9. Tommee Tippee battery operated

Review

…It works OK in terms of getting EBM but I found it quite painful even after operating it many times. An advantage is that it has 2 sizes of nipple stimulators. I felt that there would be something better out there though as the suction does not copy baby sucking at all (even though it is advertised as such)… (Patricia, mom to Tia 28/09/2003)