has anyone used a breast pump 2 express ur milk?

Question

i dont really want 2 breastfeed but want 2 give baby my milk,i told midwife and she said it would be a waste of time,any experiences with a pump?

Answer 1

For me, the manual pumb, where you had to pull a plunger was horrible. But the electric model worked great. My sister in law got an electric one that could do both breast at the same time and she loved it.

http://www.breast-pumps.org/

she got the one in the middle...ameda

Answer 2

No midwife worth her salt should be saying that what you want to do is a waste of time. What matters here is the breast milk - the method of delivery is completely irrelevant.

Unfortunately, my own experience with a breast pump was a bad one. It just didn't work. Nor have any of my friends who've tried with a pump had any success. Unfortunately, it seems that for a lot of women, manipulating a piece of plastic simply doesn't apply the correct physiological and emotional 'pressure' required for the let-down of milk.

I'm told that electric pumps get better results than manual ones, and the only time I've ever seen a pump work is an electric one being used by a lady on the same mat ward as me.

Manual breast pumps are cheap enough. If you're determined to pump rather than feeding your baby directly, the only way to tell if it will work is to buy one and find out. If it doesn't work, see if your maternity ward has an electric pump available that you can try.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I breastfed and used a pump as my breasts would gorge.

I think that I was one of the lucky ones as I had no probs with my son latching on, feeding or expressing.

Expressing does take a while to get going, but once you have done it a couple of times and are relaxed you won't have a problem.

If you are worried about breastfeeding in public, don't. If you breastfeed at home, and then express and feed from the bottle whilst you are out you have the best of both worlds. This also means that you can involve your partner with the feeding. My fella missed out on the closeness that I had with my son.

One thing that I would add, if you are going to breast and bottle feed, you may find you have a few problems as your baby may be confused with the change from nipple to teat.

Speak to your healthvisitor or doctor and I would report the midwife for saying that it is a waste of time. It isn't.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Breast milk is the best start you can give your child. If your going to express you could try breast feeding first. Its an amazing experience once you both know what your doing! It gives the baby and you a chance to really bond. I breast feed both mine, the first for just 3 months the second for 7 months. I expressed as well so someone else could do a feed if i wasn't around. It can hurt. Pumps are quite expensive. Electric ones are much better than manual ones. Good luck !

Answer 5

My daughter and I had trouble with breast feeding so I turned to the Avent breast pump, it was a god send, I used it for 6 weeks before turning fully to formula. It doesn't hurt at all, if anything it was a relief to pump some milk off.

She took to the bottle quickly too as she used them from very early on. I also liked the reasurrance of seeing how much she was getting for each feed.

I also like the idea that I could express and dad could feed her and it was easy to store. It's great for when your out and about too, express some milk and pack it up to take out.

I think that for a midwife to say that is terriable, companies wouldn't produce these things if people weren't buying them!! and at the end of the day it's your choice and your body. Don't listen to her and do what feels best, I say go for the pump.

Good luck

Answer 6

I have had 4 children and used a breast pump for the last two children that i had personaly i found expressing milk alot more difficult than actualy breast feeding and i breast fed all 4 of my children untill they were at least 9 months and started to get teeth. The only definite advice that i can give you is do not express milk if you do not intend on brest feeding using a breast pump or feeding strait from the breast it self as this can cause mastitis (i think that is how you spell it) Good luck and hope all goes well x

Answer 7

i used avent pump which was very good, i didn't find the electric ones very good i'd suggest a hand pump.
the only thing is it is very hand to only pump the milk rather than breast and pump especially when dealing with the demands of a newborn and trying to rest to regain some energy.
i breast feed for the first 2wks but then became very sure so went onto solely pumping and there just wasn't really enough time to do everything as well as that because newborns do need alot of milk and espacially as that get abit older and have growth sprits which tends to happen at about 2wks first and then every few wks/months. and at these times they demand more milk. i couldn't keep up with it all and ended up falling for the trap of going onto formula.
i would suggest you try feeding at least for the first few days so they can get the most important bit and then decide.
the other advantage of feeding direct from the breast is that you got less bottles to wash and sterlise and you won't need to wash and sterilise the pump as often and you'll get the one to one contact with your baby which is great for bonding.
as well from the breast the baby stops when its had enough whereas with a bottle they can only have what you give it which may not be enough. and when breasfeeding there is foremilk for thirst and hindmilk for hunger and there isn't really anyway of knowing that the baby has recieved this when given from a bottle

Answer 8

If you are going to pump exclusively you need to make sure you have a good electric pump. I know someone who did that successfully for 6 months. I don't know why your midwife said it is a waste of time - either she doesn't support breastfeeding at all or she supports natural bfing over the pump.
I used a hand pump for occasional pumping for about two months and I hated it. My son didn't cause pain when he sucked but the pump did. I don't know if that stops after a while or if it is the difference between manual or electric that did it.
Good luck - but why don't you give breastfeeding a try? You could always switch to the pump if you don't like it.

Answer 9

i love my breast pump but if you get one get an electric the manual ones suck when i went back to work after i had my first little girl i worked 8 hour shifts at a resturant and by the time i got off work my boobs hurt so bad and the front of my shirt was soaked so i would go home and either feed her or i would end up pumping 8 ounces of milk from each breast. the good thing about pumping is you know how much you are feeding your little one! when i strictly fed my daugther from the breast she pretty much lived on me all day long because she would always fall asleep and i would never know if she got enough. pumping hurts at first but so does breast feeding! you will feel a major relief of pressure if you pump sometimes and you can even store the milk for when you have to run errands or go on a trip you don't have to stop what youre doing and feed your little on you can just heat up a bottle!

Answer 10

tbh when you first have your baby it's much easier to breastfeed, especially just after the birth. after a couple of months i have started to use a pump but i express once a day and all the sterilising is a hassle even then, i'm soo used to just feeding him!
i have the avent isis hand pump and it's ok but my nipples get a bit sore after a while because they are stretched more than when my baby feeds.
also if u're in the uk avent has stopped doing the freezing bags and the via cups work out very expensive and they leak! i haven't found any other system that does freezer bags either?
i eventually had to buy the freezer bags off ebay!
if u're determined to give baby your milkthen i'm sure you'll find a way that suits you. i don't know why you don't want to breastfeed as such but if you want to e-mail me then feel free and i'll be happy to answer any questions. i personally find breastfeeding a real bonding experience, and i feel relaxed doing it, cause if they're hungry you don't have to wait to warm a bottle!

Answer 11

I used an electric pump. I would definitely do it if you are looking for an alternative for breastfeeding. I am dissappointed that your midwife would say it was a waste of time. It does take some time to use it and get use to it but you are giving your baby your natural milk which is better than any formula out there and what's more important than that. Good luck