Just like many other decisions, most parents face, how to effectively feed the baby is yet another tricky one to make.
Most doctors and even baby formula companies advice and recommend breast milk for babies up to two years of age. However exclusive breastfeeding is not the only option for all moms.
Some mothers are sorting to pumping as an alternative to exclusive breastfeeding.
Brief background on pumping breastmilk
The fascination on breast milk pumping can be traced back to 1854 by Orwell H. Needham’s first patent in history with the goal of easing discomfort of using the conventional pumps through mimicking the sensation of a nursing baby.
Years and years later the old bulky pump models have evolved through the efforts of several inventors as the demand grows on usability, comfort, and style.
There are three basic types of pumps: the manual, the battery-powered and the electric pumps with two different pumping types: single and double. Most manual and battery-powered pumps are single pumps while most electric ones are double pumps.
Why Use Breast Pump
Breast milk pumping was primarily aimed to allow mothers to return to work or school without having to stop feeding breast milk to their children.
Other significant reasons include: to help stimulate lactation for mothers with little to no milk supply, to help in latching difficulties, to relieve breast engorgement, and to aid the challenge of feeding multiples.
Is Breast milk pumping for every mom?
The Pros
The advantages of breast milk pumping are numerous as it of direct breastfeeding.
- It takes less time and can involve other family members in feeding the baby as the mom can get extra time to rest and care for herself.
- It is a great option for working or schooling moms too, as they can just store milk stash in the refrigerator and leave the feeding to babysitters until they come home.
- Moreover, it is also an effective way of knowing the exact amount the baby is eating at each feed.
- In addition, if a mom is running low on milk supply, pumping is a great support as it provides stimulation to increase milk production.
- Pumping helps drain the breasts and encourages faster milk production.
The Cons
- While breast milk pumping offers a wider array of healthier benefits than formula, it also has its drawback compared to direct breastfeeding.
- A 2013 clinical study showed that direct breastfeeding provides customized food for the baby as the saliva interacts with the milk and that interaction provides a signal to the mother’s brain about what the baby exactly needs.
- Contrary to pumping, wherein there’s no communication exchange between the baby and the breast milk thus the maximum benefit for the baby’s immune system is not fully met.
- Direct or exclusive breastfeeding is free, while breast milk pumping requires extra expenses on equipment such as a good quality breast pump, milk storage bags, breast milk cooler bags, bottles, and bottle warmer.
- Moreover, you’ll have additional cleaning and maintaining to do with your pumping equipment. Not to mention the inconvenience of not having a proper place to pump in private especially at work or school.
- Meanwhile, in most cases, storing pumped breast milk can also be tricky and should be practiced with extreme caution. Knowing the proper way to store milk is vital as it can pose risk to the baby since milk can expire even when it is frozen.
The verdict
Whether you decide to pump as support to breastfeeding or to exclusively pump, it is your call. As a mother, you know what’s best for you and your baby. Whatever fits your baby’s needs without sacrificing your well-being or vice versa, is totally your choice. As long as you and your baby are both healthy and happy, there shouldn’t be a problem.
It is also helpful to note that a supportive, positive community play a big role in getting the maximum benefit from whatever choice you make for you and your beloved little one.
Some takeaway
– It is proven and best to pump in the morning.
– Pump at least 30 minutes before and after nursing
– Keep pumping if milk is still flowing. Try “power pumping” technique.
– Pump at least 8 times a day on a regular daily schedule
– Make sure to research and study proper milk storage guidelines to ensure the safety of your baby.
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I’m very sure many women are not aware of this fact and they ought to know, infact I will tell my wife to start following to get more updates from you. Many women use breast pump exclusively but the fact that if the baby is happy and healthy then no problem. Thanks for sharing this information.
Thank you.
For some mothers the decision to pump is not in their power. As most women are now working class and it would be difficult to do an exclusive for your baby if you do not pump. I admire mothers that go through this stress to ensure the baby when natural breastfeeding is not available. I think it’s more preferable than using processed baby food.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Have a good day!
Thank you for making this informative article. My sister and I are close and she recently had a baby. She suggest that I take the pump when it is my turn to have a baby. She had the choice to be stay at home mom and breast feed her baby without a pump, but she had a nipple infection because the way the baby latch on to her gave her a cut. I’ll for sure feed my baby with my milk and use the pump. Thanks for suggesting the pump genie, it looks very affordable
kudos for writing about this and bringing it to the knowledge of moms yet to know about the various options they have other than exclusive breast feeding. personally, pumping seems very logical for every mom considering the need for her to be active very quickly, However considering the cons it is adviseable to act with caution considering mother and baby body traits and patterns.
I must say that this article is very helpful and informative and I need to show this to my wife. We are young parents and we both go to school but my wife is somehow afraid of doing milk pumping. We always talk about that as she often doesn’t have time to feed our little boy. I really hope that this article will motivate her to do that, thank you a lot for sharing!
You are welcome! Glad you find this post useful. Just in case you have missed, I have provided a link to proper milk storage https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/recommendations/handling_breastmilk.htm.
Hope you’ll subscribe and God bless your family!
I believe that breast pumping is a very good way to relieve the mother of consistent breastfeeding. But what most people fail to understand is that one of the reasons why it’s advisable to breastfeed is that when the baby sucks, there’s this close connection that occurs between both of them.
When my little sister was born, back in 1996 Thailand, my step mother suffered from producing enough milk for her. My baby sister, Prim was allergic to all cow’s products based formula so we could only feed her the soy based formula. I remembered that breastfeeding directly sometimes the milk flow isn’t just as food as the pumps. What my step mother did was pumping some and freezes them and rotating between the soy based formula and her breast milk. Prim now is a pain the butt 23 year old who knows it all lol joking. Wish this experience can help other moms as well. Great post.
Hello!
Most days can be hard for new moms and I’m glad to learn something from your shared stories as well. Thanks for dropping by and say my ‘hi’ to Prim! 😀
Don’t forget to share and subscribe for more updates.
Hi; Although I am a mom, I had not known about Breast Pump until a few months ago. For many reasons; Breast Pump can prove beneficial to many mothers.
Reason number one: A mother can be unable to breastfeed due to severe tenderness in the breast as well as mastitis.
And countless other reasons. The question is, however, how safe is the breastmilk after pumping if not fed to the baby immediately after pumping?
DorcasW
Hello there!
That’s really a good question and since I am not an expert, I’d better refer you to this post as you might find the best answer https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/recommendations/handling_breastmilk.htm
Have a great day!
Beautiful piece! Pumping of breast milk can be a right choice for some nursing mothers, especially moms that need to get back to work. Wow! I have learnt about one of the pioneers in breast milk pumping. Like you rightly said, breast milk pumping has so many advantages, however the greatest challenge is being able to preserve the milk. Again, if baby doesn’t happen to finish the milk within 24 hours of storage, (I may be wrong though) it becomes a waste. I remember doing exclusive for my first child, I didn’t do much pumping because I was a stay at home Mom, however some occasions that warrant staying out for close to 4 hours often make me to pump.
Hi Gracen!
I am glad that you find this post useful. This is a reminder to myself too, as I’ll be going back to work soon and like you said with exclusive breastfeeding, the switch or the adjustment can be a bit tricky. I highly advise reading info on proper milk storage to minimize waste and best if there’s no waste at all.
Hey Mai,
I loved this post. It’s very informative. I really enjoyed how you break it up with a couple funny movie clips about breast feeding. I like your sense of humor!