July 25, 2025 • 19 mins
Breast pumps have evolved dramatically from ancient ceramic vessels to modern wearable technology, with significant changes in accessibility since the 2008 Affordable Care Act required insurance coverage for one pump per pregnancy. This episode explores the history, types, and considerations for choosing the right breast pump for your unique situation.
• Breast pumps date back to the Roman Empire when ceramic vessels with straws were used to express milk
• Electric pumps entered medical use in the 1920s, but portable models weren't available until the 1960s-80s
• The 1990s marked a breakthrough with battery-powered pumps for home use
• Insurance must cover one breast pump per pregnancy under the 2008 Affordable Care Act
• Wearable/hands-free pumps offer mobility but have gentler suction and smaller capacity
• Traditional electric pumps provide stronger suction, better supply maintenance, and cost less
• Consider your lifestyle, milk supply needs, and mobility requirements when choosing
• Some people benefit from having both types of pumps for different situations
• Not everyone needs a pump - consider your specific situation before purchasing
• Consult with an IBCLC for personalized recommendations
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Show Credits
Host: Angie Rosier
Music: Michael Hicks
Photographer: Toni Walker
Episode Artwork: Nick Greenwood
Producer: Gillian Rosier Frampton
Voiceover: Ryan Parker
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast with
Angie Rozier, hosted by BirthLearning, where we help prepare
folks for labor and birth withexpertise coming from 20 years
of experience in a busy doulapractice Helping thousands of
people prepare for labor,providing essential knowledge
(00:34):
and tools for positive andempowering birth experiences.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Hello and welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast.
My name is Angie Rozier.
I'm your host.
I am a longtime birth doula,postpartum doula and kind of
newer to my career.
Life is IBCLC, which is alactation consultant, and I do
private practice work inhospital and enjoy that work a
lot.
It's a nice segue from having ababy to feeding a baby.
(01:09):
It's kind of fun to follow myclients through that whole
entire process.
So today I want to talk a littlebit about breast pumps.
So I want to give a littlehistory about breast pumps and
then talk about maybe a goodbreast pump if you're
considering using one, one thatyou could consider.
So breast pumps, it's kind ofinteresting.
Their history goes way back tothe Roman Empire when their
(01:32):
ceramic vessels were used with agentle vacuum and straws to get
milk out.
And if you think about long agotimes, right like way before
our modern time, breast milk wasessential.
Way before our modern timebreast milk was essential, like
if we couldn't get milk out of amom, or you know, we think of
all the challenges people facetoday with breastfeeding.
You know, 200 years ago, 2000years ago, these were life
(01:56):
threatening challenges.
There wasn't very goodalternatives.
I mean, there was, you know,wet nurses and things.
But we have a lot of things atour disposal today that we
didn't at that time, so long ago.
These devices were, um, theywere striving to save people's
lives.
So in the 16th century, um,there were tools used to correct
inverted nipples, um, which iskind of interesting, and um, and
(02:20):
then later in the 1800s, likethe mid-1800s, the first US
patent was developed or wasissued, which developed a
hand-operated bellows breastpump.
A lot of different versionscame out between the 1850 and
1900s and then in the 1910, 1920, there was a mechanical breast
(02:42):
pump that was designed that wastrying to mimic baby sucking
patterns and a lot of hospitalsstarted adopting this.
Electric breast pumps kind ofentered medical use more
regularly in the 1920s.
But it wasn't until the 1960sto 1980s so much more recent
time that there were portablemodels emerged.
(03:04):
So it used to be like a breastpump was, you know, plugged into
the wall or something you hadto go to it, but more ergonomic
options with disposable partswere made available in the 1960s
, 70s and 80s.
1990s was kind of a big breakingpoint for the breast pump world
when Medela introduced thefirst battery-powered,
(03:26):
vacuum-oper operated electricpump which could be used by
individuals, um, and leave themkind of for home use, um.
So in the 1990s pumps got alittle bit, quite a bit more
available, um, and kind of moreaccess to them with insurance
and things.
So then there was some prettycool innovations, as happens
(03:47):
right um in in our, in ourcapitalistic society, private
things were.
You know, private corporationswere, um, kind of shifting and
and doing some things.
The symphony, uh, medelasymphony pump and smart pumps
became a lot more available andmore effective, more powerful,
and pumps back then were it wasa big, clunky machine with metal
(04:10):
parts and you could see, youknow, gears moving and stuff.
You could hear it a lot.
And then we had in the 19, well, sorry, in the 2010s a lot of
startup companies, like a lot.
If you've heard of WillowFreeMe, lv, there's a lot of
startup companies that createdwearable pumps that were more
discreet and more portable andmuch more quiet.
(04:35):
So pumps became available by law, by insurance, in 2008 with the
Affordable Care Act.
So before then, pumps were notvery available to the general
public and they were only usedin cases of kind of extreme need
.
Maybe that was a NICU stay withpreemies or maybe multiples or
(04:55):
something, and it was very muchlike a hospital equipment.
And then after 2008, when itbecame available to all people,
at that time everyone could geta pump every per pregnancy.
So and that's that law remainsenforced today that by law,
every insurance company has toprovide a pump for each
pregnancy.
So if you have three kids, youhave three pumps available to
(05:17):
you.
Every insurance does that.
So pumps kind of came blastingonto the market not that long
ago you know we're talking 2008and which created a lot of stir,
if you will, in the pumpingworld as things became available
.
So you may be considering whatkind of a pump to get.
And because they're so widelyavailable, what I run into as I
(05:38):
work with people in hospital andout of hospital, even before
birth, my doula clients, likeeverybody, thinks they need a
pump right Cause they can getone, and that may or may not be
the case.
Not long ago, um, they were notreally an option, or not a very
common option.
So we've imposed this piece ofequipment in our lives, but we
(05:59):
might not need it.
So, kind of consider your life,your lifestyle and your goals
and plans.
You may or may not need a pumpto be incorporated in this
adventure of parenting.
In this journey, I want to talkabout the difference between
wearable pumps, which we callhands-free pumps, and electric
breast pumps.
So hands-free sounds and I youknow, as I ask people in the
(06:23):
hospital what pump they have, somany of them are excited to say
they have a hands-free pump.
And while that soundsincredibly convenient and
awesome, I kind of like I'm like, oh, dang it, maybe that wasn't
the best pump for you or yoursituation.
So make sure you kind ofresearch what's available to you
and different people have,depending on your insurance.
(06:44):
Kind of find out through yourinsurance what's available.
Some insurance companies willgive an allotment of whatever
amount of money $200, $300 for apump.
Others will say you know what?
Here's a list of pumps weapprove.
You can get one of these threeor four pumps.
Um.
Some will say, yeah, go getwhatever you want.
Um.
So kind of find out what'savailable to you through your
insurance.
Some of them go through medicalsupply companies, some you just
(07:07):
order off amazon.
There's lots of different waysto do it.
So find out what's available toyou first of all and realize
that ma that the hands-freestuff might not be the very best
pump.
For your situation, maybe atraditional plug-in electric
pump might be better.
Now, right off the top of myhead, if people are saying
what's your favorite pump,what's the best pump to get Most
(07:29):
lactation consultants are goingto say a Spectra.
So, as far as what consumerscan get, a Spectra pump is your
best motor.
So it's your strongest motor,most reliable pump.
But maybe, depending on yourlife, you don't need a crazy
strong motor or super reliablepump if you're not going to be
pumping very much.
So we'll kind of get into thatand talk about the difference
there.
There's some really greatbrands that have been around a
(07:52):
long time, like Spectra, medela,amita, evenflo, lansano.
Those are some companies thathave been doing this for a long
time.
And then we have a lot of newercompanies, like Willow, momcozy
, lv, freemee, that have come upmore recently to provide a
different type of pump and adifferent way of pumping.
(08:15):
Okay, so differences betweenhands-free.
Hands-free are powered bybatteries, of course, and a
plug-in pump.
Plug-in pump is powered byelectricity, obviously it plugs
in, and their plug-in pump isgoing to be your best motor and
can do the most work.
So, depending on your situation, if you are an exclusive pumper
, you're going to need a prettyawesome motor because you're
(08:38):
going to be pumping 8 to 12times a day for a period of time
, however long it is.
You want to provide milk foryour baby.
If you have a baby who's in theNICU, you're going to be
pumping quite a bit, especiallyin the beginning.
We need a good, strong pump tobring the milk in if there's not
a baby available to do that.
But if your lifestyle is suchthat you, you know, are you're
(09:04):
not going to work for quite awhile or you're only going to
breastfeed for a couple ofmonths, some people, you know,
depending on what your goals are, might be able to get away with
a hands-free pump.
Hands-free pumps are good.
I call them sometimes pumps.
If you just need a pump,sometimes hands-free might be a
good pump for you.
But if you're pumping, ifyou're going to need to do a lot
of pumping, that might depend,you know.
(09:25):
That might kind of determinethat you need to get an electric
plug-in pump.
Also, your supply Some people'ssupply is what I call kind of
shy and it needs to be coaxedout quite a bit.
Other people's supply isincredibly extroverted, if you
will, and we have tons of milkeasy to get.
We don't have to coax thatsupply.
So some pumps are not going tohelp with supply where others
(09:48):
will help.
And again, some people don'tneed help.
Some people do with supply.
So let's talk about some of thebenefits of a hands-free pump.
Okay, so hands-free pump ispretty mobile, right, you can
move freely, it goes in the bra,you can multitask to other
things.
Easy to travel with.
You can drive while using it,you can work while using it.
They're pretty quiet.
(10:10):
They kind of go in your bra.
Depending on what shirt you'rewearing, people may not even
know you have a pump in theirsuction efficiency.
It's a gentler suction, um, soit might help maintain supply,
but it might not get a whole tonof milk, um, some.
It is very compact.
It's wireless, right, peoplelike that, we're in a wireless
(10:30):
world these days um.
The cost, however, is prettyhigh.
These pumps are kind ofexpensive and a lot time, a lot
of times less efficient.
So they're anywhere from $400to $800 for your Elvys, your
Willows, mom Cozy's, a littlebit less.
They have small catchers, likesmall containers to catch milk.
(10:50):
There's fewer parts to them,you know, there's not tubing and
flanges kind of go right withthe pumps setting.
All that's a lot.
A lot of that is closertogether and compact, um, but
they don't hold as much either.
Their capacity to hold is notas much.
So let's go through throughthese same features for plug-in
electric pumps.
So, as far as mobility goes,you do have to stay pretty close
(11:13):
to your electric, your sourceof electricity.
So if it's a plug-in pump, yougot got to stay.
You're kind of tied down towherever you can plug it in.
So, and that can be fine, maybethat's a certain chair, certain
spot, little corner.
If you pump at work, hopefullythey have a place for you to
pump.
And, by the way, by law,companies are required to
provide a place, time and aplace for lactating women to
(11:36):
pump during their workday.
And some companies are great atthat, others are not, some have
no idea they need to do that.
Especially companies of acertain size are required to do
that.
So kind of check with youremployer about that.
So these pumps are bulkier, likeyou obviously see it, you can
hear it, um, there are handheldunits, there's some larger units
(11:57):
, but you, you know we'regetting smaller and smaller as
technology develops.
Um, they can be noisiersometimes.
There's a little like uh,rhythm to them a pumping sound
to them.
Their suction, however, is verystrong, right, they have
adjustable settings.
You can do both sides, so thisbuilds supply faster.
So and maintain supply is thesestronger pumps that are plug-in
(12:19):
.
You do need battery.
Sorry, excuse me, you do needelectricity.
Some of them are batterypowered.
I think a great pump is thespectra s1 and it you can have a
plugged in and it the batteryalso charges, so you have a
pretty good battery life.
You want to keep it as chargedas possible, however, so you can
carry it around and pump indifferent places.
(12:40):
The cost is is much lower, soyou can get a really strong,
efficient pump for under $200.
So they're anywhere betweenlike $100 to $300.
Insurance is more likely tocover this kind of pump,
depending on what your insuranceplan is, but oftentimes it's a
better pump for less money.
There are more parts, kind ofto wash.
(13:01):
Oftentimes there's differentvalves and things that you work
with the components of that, butI would generally lean towards
people getting an electric pumpover a hands-free pump.
So because hands-free pump canaffect your output Battery life,
you know, can make the pumpless efficient, but maybe you're
(13:25):
on the go all the time or youhave a couple toddlers at home
or you know another small childand you don't need to get a
whole lot of supply.
Maybe you know a battery-poweredhands-free pump will be great
for you.
All right.
So one thing to consider again.
We have these contraptions nowthat we think we have to use,
but for some people you may wantto consider two pumps.
(13:47):
Maybe you have one of each.
You have a wearable pump forwhen you're on the go or you're
commuting or something, and thenyou have another pump for when
you can't have the time to sitdown and have an electric pump.
But they use at your office orat work or while you're at home
or just to help you build astash.
If you have a baby in the NICU,definitely want to use a really
(14:09):
good pump.
Sometimes at work I see momswho don't have a very good pump
and when they're doing all thepumping for that baby's milk
supply, that can be kind ofchallenging.
So kind of want to set uproutines around your pump.
Set up a nice place for you topump.
Kind of reflect on where youwant to spend some time.
(14:31):
This becomes task orientedincredibly quickly when you're
doing a lot of pumping.
So make just a lovely space foryourself.
Make everything about your pumpsession something look forward
to so that that it makes it aspleasant as possible and you
actually get the most milksupply from that as well.
So kind of like consider yourlifestyle, how much, how
frequent you think you'll needto be pumping, how mobile you'll
need to be when you're pumping.
(14:53):
Think about your supply goals.
I, you know some people want tobuild up a stash so they can
kind of stop lactating and stillhave a couple months of milk.
That's great too.
But what pumps can help youmeet your goals?
There are pumps you can rent.
Sometimes you can rent hospitalgrade pumps at some places.
You can rent a really greatpump if you only need it for a
(15:13):
short period of time.
Maybe you want to borrow a pumpfrom a friend.
I like people to be prettycautious about this, because
most pumps are one.
They're kind of designed forone user.
Some of your really good pumpslike Spectra's, their motor's
good enough to do, you know,multiple users or multiple more
than one baby.
That makes sure you get all newsupplies and parts for that.
(15:34):
And your tubing for pumps thathave tubing your tubing, by the
way.
You never want to get that wet.
So don't wash it, don'tsterilize it.
Milk doesn't go into it andgetting it wet can actually
impact the suction.
But if you are borrowing a pumpfrom someone, make sure you get
all new parts for that andconsider that most insurances
(15:58):
will cover plug in pumps.
So yeah, some people areoverwhelmed by the variety of
pumps available to them.
Do some good research, talk toother people, but then you
consider your situation will bedifferent than anyone else's.
You may not know at this pointwhat your milk supply is going
to be like.
You may not know at this pointhow you're going to like pumping
or how you'll respond to a pump.
Oftentimes people produce moremilk in the same amount of time
(16:20):
when their baby's latched andsucking than they do at the pump
.
Not always, but usually it'sthe case because your body
hormonally responds morefavorably to a cute little baby
that it loves than it does to apump.
Some people that I've workedwith absolutely love pumping
because it's a break.
They can sit down and justfocus on that.
Other people learn to load thatbecause they have to sit down
(16:41):
and focus on that and it becomesa task they don't like.
So before you can, you knowkind of commit to all pumping or
no pumping.
Make sure you kind of feelthings out for your situation
and what's going to work bestfor you and be able to be
flexible in that Maybe you doget one of each, maybe you don't
even need a pump.
Just because they're availabledoesn't mean we need to use them
(17:03):
.
I see a lot of people runninginto that as well.
So do your research.
Yeah, do your research.
Look at some reviews and seewhat pump would be the best for
you.
If you do get a non-hands-freepump like a double electric,
there are bras.
You can get a pumping bra thatwill kind of help hold that pump
(17:24):
on so it can be quote-unquotehands-free.
But you may not be able to walkaround very much with it, but
you will have your handsavailable to do other things.
So lots of options with pumps.
Talk to an IBCLC in your area,meet with them and a lot of
people come to the.
You know they get a pump beforethe baby's born.
Other people get a pump afterthe baby's born.
Both have benefits.
(17:46):
Do a little research ahead oftime and see what it is you need
.
See first of all what yourinsurance covers and then kind
of go from there.
So hopefully this has beenhelpful for you as you consider
what kind of pump would be bestfor your situation and maybe you
don't know your whole situationyet, but know that there's
options out there and differentpumps fit different situations.
So kind of find out what it isthat you need.
(18:06):
I wish you the very best inpumping, whether you do it a
little bit or a lot bit.
Hopefully it goes well and youfind a product that will work
for you.
This is Angie Rozier signing offat the Ordinary Doula podcast
and, as always, you.
This is Angie Rozier signingoff at the Ordinary Doula
podcast and, as always, weencourage you to reach out to
someone today, someone you knowor someone you don't, but make a
human connection in person, bytouch, by eye contact or
(18:28):
digitally or electronically.
Reach out to someone today andmake a difference in their life.
Hope you have a good one andwe'll see you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Thank you for listening to the Ordinary Doula
Podcast with Angie Rozier,hosted by Birth Learning.
Episode credits will be in theshow notes Tune in next time as
we continue to explore the manyaspects of giving birth.
Welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast with
Angie Rozier, hosted by BirthLearning, where we help prepare
folks for labor and birth withexpertise coming from 20 years
of experience in a busy doulapractice Helping thousands of
people prepare for labor,providing essential knowledge
(00:34):
and tools for positive andempowering birth experiences.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Hello and welcome to the Ordinary Doula Podcast.
My name is Angie Rozier.
I'm your host.
I am a longtime birth doula,postpartum doula and kind of
newer to my career.
Life is IBCLC, which is alactation consultant, and I do
private practice work inhospital and enjoy that work a
lot.
It's a nice segue from having ababy to feeding a baby.
(01:09):
It's kind of fun to follow myclients through that whole
entire process.
So today I want to talk a littlebit about breast pumps.
So I want to give a littlehistory about breast pumps and
then talk about maybe a goodbreast pump if you're
considering using one, one thatyou could consider.
So breast pumps, it's kind ofinteresting.
Their history goes way back tothe Roman Empire when their
(01:32):
ceramic vessels were used with agentle vacuum and straws to get
milk out.
And if you think about long agotimes, right like way before
our modern time, breast milk wasessential.
Way before our modern timebreast milk was essential, like
if we couldn't get milk out of amom, or you know, we think of
all the challenges people facetoday with breastfeeding.
You know, 200 years ago, 2000years ago, these were life
(01:56):
threatening challenges.
There wasn't very goodalternatives.
I mean, there was, you know,wet nurses and things.
But we have a lot of things atour disposal today that we
didn't at that time, so long ago.
These devices were, um, theywere striving to save people's
lives.
So in the 16th century, um,there were tools used to correct
inverted nipples, um, which iskind of interesting, and um, and
(02:20):
then later in the 1800s, likethe mid-1800s, the first US
patent was developed or wasissued, which developed a
hand-operated bellows breastpump.
A lot of different versionscame out between the 1850 and
1900s and then in the 1910, 1920, there was a mechanical breast
(02:42):
pump that was designed that wastrying to mimic baby sucking
patterns and a lot of hospitalsstarted adopting this.
Electric breast pumps kind ofentered medical use more
regularly in the 1920s.
But it wasn't until the 1960sto 1980s so much more recent
time that there were portablemodels emerged.
(03:04):
So it used to be like a breastpump was, you know, plugged into
the wall or something you hadto go to it, but more ergonomic
options with disposable partswere made available in the 1960s
, 70s and 80s.
1990s was kind of a big breakingpoint for the breast pump world
when Medela introduced thefirst battery-powered,
(03:26):
vacuum-oper operated electricpump which could be used by
individuals, um, and leave themkind of for home use, um.
So in the 1990s pumps got alittle bit, quite a bit more
available, um, and kind of moreaccess to them with insurance
and things.
So then there was some prettycool innovations, as happens
(03:47):
right um in in our, in ourcapitalistic society, private
things were.
You know, private corporationswere, um, kind of shifting and
and doing some things.
The symphony, uh, medelasymphony pump and smart pumps
became a lot more available andmore effective, more powerful,
and pumps back then were it wasa big, clunky machine with metal
(04:10):
parts and you could see, youknow, gears moving and stuff.
You could hear it a lot.
And then we had in the 19, well, sorry, in the 2010s a lot of
startup companies, like a lot.
If you've heard of WillowFreeMe, lv, there's a lot of
startup companies that createdwearable pumps that were more
discreet and more portable andmuch more quiet.
(04:35):
So pumps became available by law, by insurance, in 2008 with the
Affordable Care Act.
So before then, pumps were notvery available to the general
public and they were only usedin cases of kind of extreme need
.
Maybe that was a NICU stay withpreemies or maybe multiples or
(04:55):
something, and it was very muchlike a hospital equipment.
And then after 2008, when itbecame available to all people,
at that time everyone could geta pump every per pregnancy.
So and that's that law remainsenforced today that by law,
every insurance company has toprovide a pump for each
pregnancy.
So if you have three kids, youhave three pumps available to
(05:17):
you.
Every insurance does that.
So pumps kind of came blastingonto the market not that long
ago you know we're talking 2008and which created a lot of stir,
if you will, in the pumpingworld as things became available
.
So you may be considering whatkind of a pump to get.
And because they're so widelyavailable, what I run into as I
(05:38):
work with people in hospital andout of hospital, even before
birth, my doula clients, likeeverybody, thinks they need a
pump right Cause they can getone, and that may or may not be
the case.
Not long ago, um, they were notreally an option, or not a very
common option.
So we've imposed this piece ofequipment in our lives, but we
(05:59):
might not need it.
So, kind of consider your life,your lifestyle and your goals
and plans.
You may or may not need a pumpto be incorporated in this
adventure of parenting.
In this journey, I want to talkabout the difference between
wearable pumps, which we callhands-free pumps, and electric
breast pumps.
So hands-free sounds and I youknow, as I ask people in the
(06:23):
hospital what pump they have, somany of them are excited to say
they have a hands-free pump.
And while that soundsincredibly convenient and
awesome, I kind of like I'm like, oh, dang it, maybe that wasn't
the best pump for you or yoursituation.
So make sure you kind ofresearch what's available to you
and different people have,depending on your insurance.
(06:44):
Kind of find out through yourinsurance what's available.
Some insurance companies willgive an allotment of whatever
amount of money $200, $300 for apump.
Others will say you know what?
Here's a list of pumps weapprove.
You can get one of these threeor four pumps.
Um.
Some will say, yeah, go getwhatever you want.
Um.
So kind of find out what'savailable to you through your
insurance.
Some of them go through medicalsupply companies, some you just
(07:07):
order off amazon.
There's lots of different waysto do it.
So find out what's available toyou first of all and realize
that ma that the hands-freestuff might not be the very best
pump.
For your situation, maybe atraditional plug-in electric
pump might be better.
Now, right off the top of myhead, if people are saying
what's your favorite pump,what's the best pump to get Most
(07:29):
lactation consultants are goingto say a Spectra.
So, as far as what consumerscan get, a Spectra pump is your
best motor.
So it's your strongest motor,most reliable pump.
But maybe, depending on yourlife, you don't need a crazy
strong motor or super reliablepump if you're not going to be
pumping very much.
So we'll kind of get into thatand talk about the difference
there.
There's some really greatbrands that have been around a
(07:52):
long time, like Spectra, medela,amita, evenflo, lansano.
Those are some companies thathave been doing this for a long
time.
And then we have a lot of newercompanies, like Willow, momcozy
, lv, freemee, that have come upmore recently to provide a
different type of pump and adifferent way of pumping.
(08:15):
Okay, so differences betweenhands-free.
Hands-free are powered bybatteries, of course, and a
plug-in pump.
Plug-in pump is powered byelectricity, obviously it plugs
in, and their plug-in pump isgoing to be your best motor and
can do the most work.
So, depending on your situation, if you are an exclusive pumper
, you're going to need a prettyawesome motor because you're
(08:38):
going to be pumping 8 to 12times a day for a period of time
, however long it is.
You want to provide milk foryour baby.
If you have a baby who's in theNICU, you're going to be
pumping quite a bit, especiallyin the beginning.
We need a good, strong pump tobring the milk in if there's not
a baby available to do that.
But if your lifestyle is suchthat you, you know, are you're
(09:04):
not going to work for quite awhile or you're only going to
breastfeed for a couple ofmonths, some people, you know,
depending on what your goals are, might be able to get away with
a hands-free pump.
Hands-free pumps are good.
I call them sometimes pumps.
If you just need a pump,sometimes hands-free might be a
good pump for you.
But if you're pumping, ifyou're going to need to do a lot
of pumping, that might depend,you know.
(09:25):
That might kind of determinethat you need to get an electric
plug-in pump.
Also, your supply Some people'ssupply is what I call kind of
shy and it needs to be coaxedout quite a bit.
Other people's supply isincredibly extroverted, if you
will, and we have tons of milkeasy to get.
We don't have to coax thatsupply.
So some pumps are not going tohelp with supply where others
(09:48):
will help.
And again, some people don'tneed help.
Some people do with supply.
So let's talk about some of thebenefits of a hands-free pump.
Okay, so hands-free pump ispretty mobile, right, you can
move freely, it goes in the bra,you can multitask to other
things.
Easy to travel with.
You can drive while using it,you can work while using it.
They're pretty quiet.
(10:10):
They kind of go in your bra.
Depending on what shirt you'rewearing, people may not even
know you have a pump in theirsuction efficiency.
It's a gentler suction, um, soit might help maintain supply,
but it might not get a whole tonof milk, um, some.
It is very compact.
It's wireless, right, peoplelike that, we're in a wireless
(10:30):
world these days um.
The cost, however, is prettyhigh.
These pumps are kind ofexpensive and a lot time, a lot
of times less efficient.
So they're anywhere from $400to $800 for your Elvys, your
Willows, mom Cozy's, a littlebit less.
They have small catchers, likesmall containers to catch milk.
(10:50):
There's fewer parts to them,you know, there's not tubing and
flanges kind of go right withthe pumps setting.
All that's a lot.
A lot of that is closertogether and compact, um, but
they don't hold as much either.
Their capacity to hold is notas much.
So let's go through throughthese same features for plug-in
electric pumps.
So, as far as mobility goes,you do have to stay pretty close
(11:13):
to your electric, your sourceof electricity.
So if it's a plug-in pump, yougot got to stay.
You're kind of tied down towherever you can plug it in.
So, and that can be fine, maybethat's a certain chair, certain
spot, little corner.
If you pump at work, hopefullythey have a place for you to
pump.
And, by the way, by law,companies are required to
provide a place, time and aplace for lactating women to
(11:36):
pump during their workday.
And some companies are great atthat, others are not, some have
no idea they need to do that.
Especially companies of acertain size are required to do
that.
So kind of check with youremployer about that.
So these pumps are bulkier, likeyou obviously see it, you can
hear it, um, there are handheldunits, there's some larger units
(11:57):
, but you, you know we'regetting smaller and smaller as
technology develops.
Um, they can be noisiersometimes.
There's a little like uh,rhythm to them a pumping sound
to them.
Their suction, however, is verystrong, right, they have
adjustable settings.
You can do both sides, so thisbuilds supply faster.
So and maintain supply is thesestronger pumps that are plug-in
(12:19):
.
You do need battery.
Sorry, excuse me, you do needelectricity.
Some of them are batterypowered.
I think a great pump is thespectra s1 and it you can have a
plugged in and it the batteryalso charges, so you have a
pretty good battery life.
You want to keep it as chargedas possible, however, so you can
carry it around and pump indifferent places.
(12:40):
The cost is is much lower, soyou can get a really strong,
efficient pump for under $200.
So they're anywhere betweenlike $100 to $300.
Insurance is more likely tocover this kind of pump,
depending on what your insuranceplan is, but oftentimes it's a
better pump for less money.
There are more parts, kind ofto wash.
(13:01):
Oftentimes there's differentvalves and things that you work
with the components of that, butI would generally lean towards
people getting an electric pumpover a hands-free pump.
So because hands-free pump canaffect your output Battery life,
you know, can make the pumpless efficient, but maybe you're
(13:25):
on the go all the time or youhave a couple toddlers at home
or you know another small childand you don't need to get a
whole lot of supply.
Maybe you know a battery-poweredhands-free pump will be great
for you.
All right.
So one thing to consider again.
We have these contraptions nowthat we think we have to use,
but for some people you may wantto consider two pumps.
(13:47):
Maybe you have one of each.
You have a wearable pump forwhen you're on the go or you're
commuting or something, and thenyou have another pump for when
you can't have the time to sitdown and have an electric pump.
But they use at your office orat work or while you're at home
or just to help you build astash.
If you have a baby in the NICU,definitely want to use a really
(14:09):
good pump.
Sometimes at work I see momswho don't have a very good pump
and when they're doing all thepumping for that baby's milk
supply, that can be kind ofchallenging.
So kind of want to set uproutines around your pump.
Set up a nice place for you topump.
Kind of reflect on where youwant to spend some time.
(14:31):
This becomes task orientedincredibly quickly when you're
doing a lot of pumping.
So make just a lovely space foryourself.
Make everything about your pumpsession something look forward
to so that that it makes it aspleasant as possible and you
actually get the most milksupply from that as well.
So kind of like consider yourlifestyle, how much, how
frequent you think you'll needto be pumping, how mobile you'll
need to be when you're pumping.
(14:53):
Think about your supply goals.
I, you know some people want tobuild up a stash so they can
kind of stop lactating and stillhave a couple months of milk.
That's great too.
But what pumps can help youmeet your goals?
There are pumps you can rent.
Sometimes you can rent hospitalgrade pumps at some places.
You can rent a really greatpump if you only need it for a
(15:13):
short period of time.
Maybe you want to borrow a pumpfrom a friend.
I like people to be prettycautious about this, because
most pumps are one.
They're kind of designed forone user.
Some of your really good pumpslike Spectra's, their motor's
good enough to do, you know,multiple users or multiple more
than one baby.
That makes sure you get all newsupplies and parts for that.
(15:34):
And your tubing for pumps thathave tubing your tubing, by the
way.
You never want to get that wet.
So don't wash it, don'tsterilize it.
Milk doesn't go into it andgetting it wet can actually
impact the suction.
But if you are borrowing a pumpfrom someone, make sure you get
all new parts for that andconsider that most insurances
(15:58):
will cover plug in pumps.
So yeah, some people areoverwhelmed by the variety of
pumps available to them.
Do some good research, talk toother people, but then you
consider your situation will bedifferent than anyone else's.
You may not know at this pointwhat your milk supply is going
to be like.
You may not know at this pointhow you're going to like pumping
or how you'll respond to a pump.
Oftentimes people produce moremilk in the same amount of time
(16:20):
when their baby's latched andsucking than they do at the pump
.
Not always, but usually it'sthe case because your body
hormonally responds morefavorably to a cute little baby
that it loves than it does to apump.
Some people that I've workedwith absolutely love pumping
because it's a break.
They can sit down and justfocus on that.
Other people learn to load thatbecause they have to sit down
(16:41):
and focus on that and it becomesa task they don't like.
So before you can, you knowkind of commit to all pumping or
no pumping.
Make sure you kind of feelthings out for your situation
and what's going to work bestfor you and be able to be
flexible in that Maybe you doget one of each, maybe you don't
even need a pump.
Just because they're availabledoesn't mean we need to use them
(17:03):
.
I see a lot of people runninginto that as well.
So do your research.
Yeah, do your research.
Look at some reviews and seewhat pump would be the best for
you.
If you do get a non-hands-freepump like a double electric,
there are bras.
You can get a pumping bra thatwill kind of help hold that pump
(17:24):
on so it can be quote-unquotehands-free.
But you may not be able to walkaround very much with it, but
you will have your handsavailable to do other things.
So lots of options with pumps.
Talk to an IBCLC in your area,meet with them and a lot of
people come to the.
You know they get a pump beforethe baby's born.
Other people get a pump afterthe baby's born.
Both have benefits.
(17:46):
Do a little research ahead oftime and see what it is you need
.
See first of all what yourinsurance covers and then kind
of go from there.
So hopefully this has beenhelpful for you as you consider
what kind of pump would be bestfor your situation and maybe you
don't know your whole situationyet, but know that there's
options out there and differentpumps fit different situations.
So kind of find out what it isthat you need.
(18:06):
I wish you the very best inpumping, whether you do it a
little bit or a lot bit.
Hopefully it goes well and youfind a product that will work
for you.
This is Angie Rozier signing offat the Ordinary Doula podcast
and, as always, you.
This is Angie Rozier signingoff at the Ordinary Doula
podcast and, as always, weencourage you to reach out to
someone today, someone you knowor someone you don't, but make a
human connection in person, bytouch, by eye contact or
(18:28):
digitally or electronically.
Reach out to someone today andmake a difference in their life.
Hope you have a good one andwe'll see you tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Thank you for listening to the Ordinary Doula
Podcast with Angie Rozier,hosted by Birth Learning.
Episode credits will be in theshow notes Tune in next time as
we continue to explore the manyaspects of giving birth.
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