Despite the home office being a reality in the pandemic scenario, many mothers continue to have to leave their babies to return to work. And the solution found to not interrupt breastfeeding is the extraction of breast milk with a breast pump at work.
Breastfeeding is a complete education. It takes learning, constancy, support, and dedication. Each day is a little bit understood by the mother and the baby of this very fundamental stage of child development. But when the lessons seem learned, a new phase appears at the end of maternity leave.
A Little Note for Mothers Before Using Breast Pump at Work
The process requires time for adjustment and understanding by all involved. After all, the mother needs to learn how to milk and store, the baby sitter needs to understand how to defrost and offer food correctly and the baby needs to get used to the new reality, without the free demand of the mother's breast.
In the modern world, many devices have been invented that help take care of mom and baby, making life more comfortable and helping to save time when doing daily activities. One such invention is the breast pump at work.
What is a breast pump?
A breast pump is a device that helps express breast milk. The device allows the mother to have free time, helps her keep milk for a longer period, and takes good care of her health. Since the invention of the breast pump, a lot of attention has been paid to the convenience of its operation, transportation, maintenance, or maximum adaptation to the lactation process.
Today, there are mechanical breast pumps and electric/battery-powered breast pumps on the market. Each of them has its advantages and disadvantages, but depending on the needs of the family - the frequency of use, the need for transportation - and its financial capabilities, the disadvantages of one device can become advantages and vice versa.
Why do mothers need breast pumps at work?
A breast pump at work is important, and in some cases, an extremely necessary thing in the first months after childbirth. It happens that milk begins to arrive in the chest even before the baby is born, then the question of whether it is worth buying it or taking it to the maternity hospital disappears by itself.
If the above situation is not about you, then you should not rush to buy a breast pump at work. But it is necessary to consider the models in advance and decide on the one that is acceptable to you. In the first week of a baby’s life, it will already be clear whether there is a need to buy a device, but then it will be more difficult for you to allocate time to analyze the characteristics of product models or leave to buy it.
When do you need a breast pump?
Physiological features of the body:
- More milk than the baby eats, which requires additional pumping;
- The baby is weak or lazy to eat, and you do not want to give up the most useful food for him;
- There is little milk, lactation is weak and additional stimulation will not hurt;
- At night, the baby sleeps soundly and does not wake up to eat, and milk arrives;
- Sunken or very sensitive nipples;
- Cracks in the nipples, pain during feeding;
- The inability of the baby to lactate or temporary refusal of the breast.
Life situations:
- The mother works all day or part-time (expressing milk will help maintain lactation and breastfeed the baby in her absence);
- Mom needs to go away for a short time - to the hospital, salon, cinema, on a date with dad or to meet friends;
- The mother taking antibiotics or other drugs that can get to the baby with milk (a breast pump will help provide the baby with milk for a day or two and keep it during the treatment period);
- Hospitalization of the child and as a result - ex-communication from the mother.
How to properly choose a breast pump at work?
When choosing a model that will suit you, you need to take into account the following aspects:
- Frequency of use
- Comfort of operation
- Compactness of storage
- Device equipment
- Convenience for transportation
- Ease of maintenance
- Work volume
- Price.
What are the different types of breast pumps?
Manual Breast Pumps
A mechanical breast pump can be a piston or pump. The undeniable advantages of these models are that they are significantly cheaper than their electrical counterparts, operate without noise, do not require recharging or replacing batteries, and are compact and equipped with everything you need.
The obvious disadvantages of the manual model are that each time the process takes 20-30 minutes, pumping takes place alternately - from one breast, then from the other, the hands are constantly busy, and the process is laborious and tiring for the hands.
Such models are a budget option for those who will rarely use, in the same room with the baby, and leave him infrequently.
Electric Breast Pumps
Electric breast pumps are mains operated or battery powered. They are electronic, which allows you to remember your pumping mode and use it constantly. This is without a doubt a plus of such models as:
- The function of two-phase pumping, makes it possible to first select a slow speed and focus on massaging the chest, and then make the process faster
- Two funnels that allow you to express milk from two breasts at once
- Free hands, which allows you to do something else
- The pumping time interval is several times less than that of mechanical counterparts
- Some operate silently.
The disadvantages of electric breast pumps include their cost, dependence on electricity or batteries, and, as a rule, the noise of operation.
Try Momcozy S12 Wearable Electric Breast Pump
This is one of the finest quality electric wearable breast pumps available at Momcozy which carries a lot of awesome features like it has a wearable pump, easy to clean, and BPA-free. Similarly, the bottle capacity is 120 ml, operations are quite silent, and mothers can use it for up to 70-90 minutes.
Which breast pump is better: manual or electric?
Packing a bag to the hospital or making a list of must-haves for childbirth, more and more women consider the presence of a breast pump a must. And this is not surprising, since a breast pump at work, which is quite simple, but which has become simply an indispensable assistant for young mothers, allows you to:
- Provide the most suitable food for your child
- Faster lactation
- Increase the amount of milk
- Prevent the development of lactostasis and, accordingly, mastitis.
But before buying, the question immediately arises, which is better: manual or electronic breast pump at work? Here it is impossible to answer unambiguously because every woman pursues her own goal in buying.
We will try to understand the main advantages and disadvantages of these two types, and then make a conclusion, in which case a manual model is suitable, and for whom an electric one.
Manual Breast Pump
It is a special nozzle that is attached to a jar. Comprises:
- Bell - body with a cone-shaped protrusion (for the chest)
- Massage nozzle
- The membrane on which the handle is attached
- A lid can also be included in the kit, which will close the cone-shaped protrusion, thereby protecting the breast pump from small particles, dust, and debris getting inside.
The principle of operation is simple - by pressing the handle, which is attached to the membrane, a vacuum is created in the chest area, located in a cone-shaped protrusion, and pumping occurs.
Advantages
- Low cost. Compared to electrical appliances, this type of breast pump costs three to four times less;
- Non-volatile. For work, only the efforts of a young mother are required, so there is no need for additional costs for the purchase of autonomous batteries;
- Compact. You can take it with you to work, walk, etc. As a rule, the dimensions, together with a 60 ml bottle, do not exceed a 6-inch smartphone. The weight is almost not noticeable, since all structural elements are made of safe plastic - polypropylene and do not contain bisphenol-A;
- The possibility of sterilization of the entire structure. Thanks to the simplest assembly scheme, the breast pump is quickly disassembled and easily washed out even in the most closed places;
Electric Breast Pump at Work
It is a design of a manual breast pump, but without a handle, with a special motor and a power switch, which will pump air through the tube between the membrane and the nozzle, creating a vacuum in the device itself and pumping effectively.
Comprises:
- Cases with a cone-shaped protrusion for the chest - a bell;
- Massage nozzle and in some models of the cover;
- membranes;
- A tubular module that attaches the tube to the membrane;
- The tube itself for the passage of air;
- Electric programmable pump in a plastic case with a choice of modes.
The principle of operation is similar to the manual model, only in this form the vacuum is created using an electronic pump, and it is possible to select not only the vacuum force but also the frequency.
Advantages of Electric Breast Pump
Doesn't require any effort: For pumping, a woman only needs to prepare the parts of the breast pump and assemble them. Depending on the model, provide a power source - battery, take a comfortable place on the bed and start the device, then you just need to make sure that the massage nozzle is in its place and turn off the device in time when the milk is no longer expressed;
Elements in contact with milk are sterilized: Just like in a manual breast pump, everything is easily removed, washed, and processed. You cannot wash only the body with the pump. If for some reason it becomes dirty, unplug the device from the mains or free it from the batteries and wipe the outside with a barely damp sponge. Then let it dry completely and turn it back on;
Double models: Almost all manufacturers producing electronic breast pumps offer single-phase and two-phase modifications;
Fast. Expression takes two or even three times less time;
Several modes of power and operation: In modern models, the breast pump not only performs the function of suction at different levels but also allows, with the help of an increased frequency at low power, to prepare the breast for pumping.
Some modes complete the entire process, which allows you to empty the gland, thereby increasing the flow of milk to the next feeding. As a rule, pumping is rarely performed at the highest power, especially by the owners of sizes 1 and 2, as it may seem painful. But this is not a disadvantage, since it is always possible to adjust this function as comfortably as possible for a woman.
Disadvantages
- Takes up more space than manual due to the presence of the pump housing itself;
- Noise. At the time of operation, the pump pumps air, which produces a small monotonous sound, which depends on the selected power mode.
Which breast pump at work is better to choose?
For those who have read all the advantages and disadvantages of these two types, they have already partially decided which is more suitable for them. Of course, electronic models are more convenient and even allow mom to relax while pumping, but at the same time, they require more careful care, the presence of a network or well-charged batteries, and are also not as mobile as their manual counterparts.
