BUYING A BREASTPUMP

A breast pump can be a useful utensil to express your breast milk. You may need to express milk frequently because you return to work or just occasionally for an evening out. This blog will explain what pump is recommended for different situations. Not all types of pumps are available on the Maltese market but can be found easily on-line.

So for starters, what are Hospital Grade Breast Pumps?

This is a large powerful breast pump, available for use within most hospitals. With this pump you can control the speed and the strength of the suction. Double pumping is another feature of this pump, meaning you can express from both breasts at the same time. Double pumping, is both more effective and less time consuming. A Hospital grade pump can be hired privately but is quite expensive. Usually after a few weeks of renting a Hospital Grade Pump, you can cover the the cost of a 'home grade pump' which you get to keep home for future use. Hospital Grade Pumps pumps function on a ‘closed system’ which means no breastmilk will come into contact with the actual pump or air during use. Breast will only flow through the sterile collection kit. This pump is fast and effective but large so it is not practical for the home setting.

So how are Electrical Breast Pumps different to Hospital Grade?

This is a smaller, and a less powerful version of the hospital grade pump and more suitable for home use. Electric pumps take a lot of the effort out of frequent pumping, once in place the pump does the work. Most will feature adjustable speed and suction levels and there are various model choices. Most work from an electric socket but some models can work on batteries too such as the Lansinoh Dual Electric Breast Pump, and more recently pumps are being fitted with USB charging batteries like the Lola&Lykke Portable Electric Breast Pump. This allows the pump to be used anywhere rather than be tied to an electric socket. No pump is completely silent but some can be louder than others which may be a disadvantage if used at night.

• Single Breast Pump - Pumps from one breast at a time. These pumps tend to be lower priced but more time is needed to pump from both breasts

• Double Breast Pump - Pumping both breasts simultaneously decreases the time needed to be spent pumping. The cost of the pump is higher, can be as much as buying 2 singles. Double pumping has been found to increase lactation hormones and so may have a positive effect on milk quantity.

• Wearable Pump - Fits inside your bra, has no wires or attachments so that you can pump whilst continuing your activities. Controlled by a phone app with the more expensive models being able to sense ‘let-down’ and change speeds according to flow.
  
  

Lastly, what are Manual Breast Pumps, and why should anyone opt to also have one?

There is a large variety of hand pumps which produce suction by squeezing a bulb or lever or pulling on a syringe style cylinder.

• Most bulb pumps are difficult and tiring to use. Syringe style pumps need two hands but do allow you to control the strength of the suction which can make it more comfortable to use. Both these types of hand pumps are inexpensive to buy.
• Lever type hand pumps are easier to use and tend to have a more comfortable suction strength. This type of pump, similarly to the Lansinoh Manual Breast Pump is ideal for expressing an occasional bottle, but are tiring to use more than once or twice a day. It can be difficult to establish a pumping rhythm but once you manage this hand pumps can be very effective.

• Silicone Breastmilk collector - This is not an actual pump and does not replace a breast pump. A soft silicone device such as the Lansinoh Breastmilk Collector, creates a gentle suction and only collects drip milk. It is relatively easy to use, can be applied to one breast whilst feeding/pumping from the other, completely silent and can be used discreetly as once applied is hands-free.

There is no need to invest in a breast pump before birth but if you seriously want to breastfeed, a pump can help you initiate breastfeeding if your baby is not feeding, feeding well, or for some unfortunate reason you and your baby are separated for days/weeks (eg. baby needs to be care for at NPICU, or complications arise that you need to stay for a longer period in hospital while baby is discharged and returns home with relatives).

Keep in mind that on regular normal healthy situations, breastfeeding mothers latch their babies every hour or 2, so that means you need to pump as regularly if you and your baby are not together. Only if separated, not pumping your breasts will lead to painful engorgements, which might cause blocked ducts and even mastitis.

For this reason it is recommended for you to go for a manual breast pump, as it is cheaper, is simple to dismantled and sterilized during your hospital stay and is relatively small and easy to carry in your hospital bag without it having taking up too much space.

Using a feeding bottle during the first three weeks can lead to breastfeeding failure so if breastfeeding is going well ideally you would only direct breastfeed during this period. Breast pumps can be complicated to use in the beginning with the need to be assembled correctly for the pump to work effectively.

You are welcome to visit the breastfeeding clinic with your breast pump to be given a demonstration on how to assemble and use it.

The Breastfeeding Clinic Malta, can be found on the first floor of the Outpatients Department, and is open 
Open Sunday to Friday 8:00-13:00 and 15:30-18:00pm
Call +356 25454445 to make an appointment with a midwife for assistance