Is it necessary to buy a breast pump?

Breast pumps are a popular postpartum product, and many mothers even buy them before giving birth. While breast pumps are very popular, many mothers are very confused about whether breast pumps are necessary. Today, let's talk about when it is appropriate to buy a breast pump.

Benefits of a Breast Pump

1. Help dredge the mammary glands and start breastfeeding as soon as possible; (If the milk comes out early, the baby can eat colostrum in time without having to use milk powder first)

2. The milk you pump out can clearly show the amount of milk you produce, and you can also determine how much milk your baby eats at each meal. You can see how much milk your baby drinks, and avoid choking your baby with too much milk or not enough milk. (Moms who breastfeed directly are always worried about not having enough milk, and they don’t know how to judge whether their baby is full or the extent of their baby’s milk growth. They use a breast pump to pump out the milk, and compare the relationship between the baby’s age and the amount of milk. If it is indeed insufficient, you can supplement with formula milk in time; some mothers have abundant milk, which is easy to choke the baby, and pumping it out with a bottle to feed it can also avoid this.)

3. The baby will not take too long to feed each time, and the sucking will be effective, so the baby will not develop the habit of biting the nipple to sleep; (Direct breastfeeding can easily cause the baby to be nipple-dependent, so that the baby will suck milk for a long time, but the real effective sucking time is not long, which is easy to develop the habit of sleeping with the nipple in the mouth.)

4. Avoid the situation where the baby can only eat foremilk every time he sucks the breast, but not the nutritious hindmilk; (foremilk is generally clearer, while hindmilk is thicker. The nutrient content of foremilk is not as rich as that of hindmilk. The baby generally sucks effectively for only the first few minutes, and what is sucked is foremilk. Many mothers stop letting the baby continue to suck when they see that the baby falls asleep or does not suck much, thus causing the baby to miss the nutritious hindmilk.)

5. Mothers do not need to feed their babies anytime and anywhere, and do not need to maintain the same posture for a long time, which will cause backache and leg pain;

6. You can basically empty your breasts every time, which can reduce the pain caused by milk swelling; (It is easier to judge whether the breasts are empty with a breast pump. Only when the breasts are empty will it not affect milk production.)

7. Babies are less likely to develop milk rash and their clothes will not get wet; (Direct breastfeeding can easily get milk all over the baby's face and neck, causing eczema. Of course, there are other reasons for eczema.)

8. The mother will not have cracked nipples, thus avoiding the pain caused by it; (the baby's sucking may bite the mother's nipples, which may easily cause inflammation and force the mother to stop breastfeeding.)

9. Babies who have been exposed to milk bottles since childhood will not refuse them, which makes it convenient to feed water to babies and also creates conditions for mothers to go out during breastfeeding or go to work in the future; (Many babies are used to their mothers' nipples and refuse to eat the nipples of milk bottles, which makes it more troublesome to add complementary foods or feed water; and mothers who want to go out by themselves are always worried that their children will not have milk to eat. If you use a breast pump, you can suck out the milk before leaving and put it in the refrigerator to heat it up whenever you want to eat it.)

10. It is easier to wean the baby. (The baby will not become dependent on the mother's breast. You can add other foods to the baby appropriately and timely to gradually wean the baby. Some babies refuse to eat other things when weaning, which will be very painful for the mother!)

How to judge the quality of a breast pump

1. Is milking convenient and fast each time?

For breast pumps, there is no doubt that they are quick and convenient when pumping milk. It is relatively good to use them at home. If you are a working mother, then pumping milk at work is particularly important. And there will be no pain when pumping milk quickly.

2. No harm to breasts

For mothers who want to use a breast pump, they should pay special attention to the damage to the breasts. Many breast pumps on the market are not professionally designed, which can cause adverse damage to the breasts and have a great impact on future life. Breasts are the lifeblood of women, so they cannot be taken lightly. Therefore, whether there is damage to the breasts is one of the criteria for judging which breast pump is good to use.

3. Whether the antibacterial measures meet the standards

Due to design flaws in some breast pump brands, breast pumps are easily invaded by bacteria when left in the air. Also, since newborn babies have weak immunity, the infection is very serious for the baby. Therefore, whether the anti-bacteria measures of a good breast pump are strict is also one of the criteria for judging whether it is easy to use.

4. Is sterilization convenient?

After using a breast pump, it must be sterilized and disinfected to facilitate next use. During the sterilization process, due to design problems, it cannot be guaranteed that every part of the breast pump is disinfected. Therefore, whether the sterilization is convenient also reflects whether the breast pump is easy to use.

5. Comfort level during use

Since the breast pump needs to come into contact with the breast, its design should fit the breast as closely as possible, and there should be no sense of rejection when in contact, and there should be no discomfort during use. Therefore, an easy-to-use breast pump will definitely be designed and made of materials that fit the human body and are not rejected. Therefore, the comfort level also reflects whether the breast pump is easy to use.

When is a breast pump necessary?

The main reason for the initial emergence of breast pumps is related to the needs of working women. In most parts of the United States, maternity leave is only 6 weeks or even shorter. Most working women have to return to work within three months after giving birth. Breast pumps help them achieve bottle feeding with breast milk. The mothers around me basically insist on breastfeeding until one year and six or seven months old. However, it is worth noting for new mothers that if they plan to return to work early from the beginning, they need to train their babies to alternate between bottle feeding and feeding themselves in advance. Otherwise, the mother may go to work and the baby may cry with hunger in front of the bottle and refuse to eat.

In addition to the biggest reason of workplace demand, based on my own personal opinions, my husband's sister's opinions, and the opinions of several friends, breast pumps also have the following important functions:

1) Relieve pain – Whether it is the initial milk production, milk swelling or milk knots, a good breast pump has greater power than the baby, and the pumping time can be adjusted according to your needs, and then you can pump more thoroughly. (It is recommended to warm the chest with hot water before each pumping.)

2) Temporarily liberate the mother – feeding with a bottle after pumping milk, which can effectively free up time for the mother to do her own things. For example, although I was in confinement, I still went to the hospital for a B-ultrasound examination (on a weekday) a week after being discharged from the hospital. At this time, the breast pump and bottle really helped a lot.

3) Induce milk production – There is a popular saying here that “the more you drink, the more milk you will have”, so when you feel that you do not have enough milk, you need to use a breast pump to regularly produce milk. Of course, dietary supplements and a happy and relaxed mood are the most important.

4) Maintaining production – It is easy to get sick in the first year after giving birth. Some conditions require antibiotics or medicines that are not suitable for continued breastfeeding. At this time, you need to empty the breast pump and pour out the milk. Or some babies sleep for a long time at night. For example, my baby Doudou only eats twice at night, so the milk is a little swollen when he wakes up the next morning. If the milk volume is not handled over time, the body will not produce so much. So the correct way is to get up and suck once to maintain production even if the baby does not eat at night.

5) Milk storage – Suitable for mothers with sufficient milk production.

6) Scientific feeding – This is controversial because some mothers want to know how much their baby eats each time, so they use a breast pump to observe and control it. In fact, newborn feeding is irregular and irregular, so it is not recommended to do so. However, when the baby is older and has established a daily routine and feeding routine after three or four months, it is necessary to feed according to the amount.