Breast Pumps; manual vs electric

[Warley]

Hi Mums

Please help I need some advice on breast pumps. My best friend decided to give up wuth her breast pump becasue it was a manual one. Are they really so awful? Just trying to keep costs down!

Thanks

 

[erin]

Well, I was surprised to find out that my second-hand avent manual pump, which a friend of mine gave me in case I needed it, was WAY much better than the professional double electric pump the breastfeeding expert lent me when she visited me re my breastfeeding issues.

Sure, double pumping saves time but not all people can do it and my manual pump is more comfortable than the electric one. Oh, and it's not as strenuous an exercise as I thought it would be b4 trying it.

However, people are different and you may find that it doesn't work for you. I can get more milk in less time using my manual breast pump.

If you want to keep costs down then why don't you borrow your friend's manual pump (since she doesn't want it any more - you would only need to sterilise it), see how you get on with it and then decide whether you would buy an electric or manual one.

 

[andreag]

I found the manual pump fine (Avent ISIS) and pumped when Charlotte was having her first feed every morning. I was going to trial an electric one (you can hire from the NCT) but never found it necessary in the end.
I also bought both of mine (one for home, one for work!) from ebay, so you could always look for bargains on there.

 

[leckershell]

I have never tried an electric one - I use the Avent Manual one and have found it fine. Got it on ebay for £14

 

[elaine22]

I have never tried an electric one either, but the Avent manual one seems perfectly adequate. It takes some practice but you can pump a decent amount of milk fairly quickly, plus they are so much cheaper than electric ones.

 

[Babylicious]

I've bought the avent one too, so hoping I get on fine with it

 

[paradysso]

ive tried both ... avent manual and a medula electric, i found the electric easier but bloody nosiey!!!!!!

i did suffer with really bad carpel tunnel and found the manual one made it worse so stuck with the noisey one, but tbh my carpel tunnel seems to be healed so ive only got a manual one

 

[Squiglet]

I prefered the manual one because I could regulate it better.. the electric one felt like it was trying to suck my eyeballs out through my nipples.