All Things Breastfeeding 56: New Breast Pumps

New Breast Pumps? What are these new pumps? Jessica and Barbara are going to talk about two types of relatively new pumps that are on the market now. We wanted to make sure that these pumps were reliable before we gave our thoughts. In the pump market that takes 2-3 years! The first few thousand families who buy these pumps are essentially paying for the privilege to be a tester! The Haakaa The Haakaa has been on the market for a few years now and has many copycat products. It is a little hand pump that your put on your breast with a little squeeze and it stays on with suction. Many families have trouble, especially in the beginning, with leaking and this product is great for catching that extra breastmilk. It is low cost and fairly easy to clean and use. We have a survey we created about the Haakaa to find out more about its uses and how people feel about it. Please take it! Parents: https://forms.gle/ZgqTBsDys79GQMTD7 Professionals: https://forms.gle/gno5TUH77hsKXzFs5 Here are some links to videos that show you how to use it: Video 1 Video 2 Hands Free Wearable Pumps The next two new breast pumps that we talk about are the Willow and the Elvie. These two pumps have a lot in common. You tuck them into your nursing bras and turn them on, and track what is happening with your phone. The benefits, literally hands free pumping. We like the Elvie better than the Willow for two reasons. The first is the you have to lean back and let the Willow create suction onto your breast to start and repeat this to finish. Not a big deal but still. It makes us wonder about losing suction while pumping. The second is the Willow used to only use bags not a container. They now have containers but clearly they were not thinking of the environment from the beginning. One flaw for both pumps is that has been reported is that if you have a slow flow or a low breastmilk supply the pump will not shift into the expression mode. Another is the cost. Around $500. Most insurance companies are not covering this as an option. The final problem we see is the breast shield fit size. We have already ranted elsewhere about this movement of shifting to smaller and smaller breast shield sizes (come on 15 mm???) but this pump only goes up to a 27 mm (Willow) or a 28 mm (Elvie) breast shield. If you know you need a bigger shield size, this is most likely not the pump for you. Anyway, take a listen and see what you think of these new breast pumps! Let us know on Facebook or Instagram what you think!   The post All Things Breastfeeding 56: New Breast Pumps appeared first on The Breastfeeding Center of Ann Arbor.