Pump It Up: The Quick & Easy Guide to Choosing a Breast Pump

While many mothers enjoy breastfeeding, few have the energy and emotional stamina to be with their nursling for every single feeding. Whether you are working outside the home or just want to sneak away for a few hours, it’s relatively easy to provide your baby with expressed milk. Enter the breast pump. Though breast-pumping devices have been around since as early as the 16^th century, it wasn’t until 1956 that the first mechanical device was developed. The 16 pound behemoth was developed by the Swedish company Medela, and was used primarily in hospitals for mothers whose babies were too sick to nurse at the breast.

Today, a wide variety of pumps are available and it can be a little confusing figuring out which pump is best for you. While there are many different features there are basically only 3 different kinds of pumps:

Manual:

Manual pumps are great for the occasional pumper or stay-at-home mom who wants to get away once in a while. Pumps express milk from one or both breasts and are operated either by hand compression, or foot compression. Manual pumps are, of course, the greenest option as they use no electricity, but won’t work for most working moms.

Price range: $20 - 60

Single Electric:

Single electric pumps are also useful for occasional pumping, but good if you want to take the manual labor out of milk expression.

Price range: $50 - 200

Double Electric:

Available in a few different power levels, double electric pumps are considered a must-have for pumping moms who work away from their babies or for babies who are unable to nurse directly at the breast.

Price range: $150 - 1,500

Choose A Pump

I want to:

Spend under $30 and pump for the occasional outing away from baby: Avent Isis Single Manual This pump is consistently mentioned as a favorite on message boards and has great reviews at amazon.com. Noted for being exceptionally comfortable to use.
Spend under $75 and pump electrically for the occasional outing away from baby: Medela Single Deluxe Electric Breast Pump Medela is one of the brands most recommended by lactation consultants. They have a good reputation for quality products.
Spend around $200 and pump both breasts electrically 2-3 times per week: Ameda Purely Yours Double Electric Breast Pump While the Pump In Style is by far the most popular double electric breast pump, Ameda’s more affordable Purely Yours consistently receives praise on message boards and in online reviews.
Work outside of the home and pump multiple times daily: Medela Pump In Style Advanced Double Electric Breast Pump The Pump In Style Advanced is the most popular breast pump for working mothers . This is the pump I used and I was pleased with its performance and durability. The dual-phase let-down is an innovative feature that more accurately mimics the sucking patterns of nursing babies.