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My reviews, are based on the effectiveness at expressing, as well as cost, portability, and reliability. As a woman that has and is inducing rather than lactating naturally, milk expression is important.
Medela Classic
This pump is by far the most effective for expressing milk. It was and still is the best pump for women that have low supply, delivered preterm, or are inducing for whatever reason. Unfortunately, the Medela Classic is not portable, it is also out of budget for many people at about 150.00 to 200.00. I bought my Classic about 4 years ago, the motor is a workhorse that just might outlive me. It was discontinued years ago so it’s not readily available, they come up for sale on E-bay though. An added drawback are the accessories needed, pump requires a filter membrane or slight modification if you’re using without the filter. I have found that it is more effective at expressing without the filter membrane installed. However, I caution against using the pump without the filter until you’re familiar with the pump. Just 5 minutes of use without the filter can cause uncomfortable swelling. As great as the Classic is, I still hand express after pumping typically getting a few sprays and many drops, no pump will ever be as effective as a hand or mouth. Hand expressing after pumping is important since your breasts work based on supply and demand after induction.
The other pumps that I have used are listed in order of favorability, and the reason for its ranking.
Medela Lactina
This is the second pump I used for inducing lactation. I bought it on E-bay for about 50.00 It is not exactly portable, a portable power supply can be used, but they are hard to come by and it’s just an overall bulky pump. I didn’t mind the lack of portability when I bought it, it was in the early days of covid and couldn’t go anywhere anyway. Using this pump with domperidone I was able to get to about 2 ounces per breast every 2 to 3 hours. The time frame from the start of induction to peak supply was about 2 months.
Spectra S1
Purchased used for about 15.00 dollars 3.5 years ago. It has a built in rechargeable battery, the battery will get you through about 4 pumping sessions before needing to be recharged. In the early days I was using this pump in my car during breaks and lunch, it did the job, just not as effectively as the Classic or Lactina. It’s advertised as having all kinds of settings but it only has 2, the standard slowish suction and the faster let down suction, and then you can adjust suction strength.
Medela Freestyle
This is the first pump I used for inducing lactation in late 2019/early 2020. I successfully induced without domperidone or herbs using this pump alone. I purchased it on Facebook marketplace for 5.00. It has a rechargeable battery built in, it’s relatively small and fairly quiet. In terms of effectiveness and cost it was a good bargain. I do recommend this pump for women that might not be committed to inducing and do not want to spend a lot of money on a pump.
Limerick Pj’s comfort – Joy
I bought this pump brand new on E-bay for about 55.00. I wanted to try out the ComforTouch silicone breast flanges, the flanges alone cost about what I paid for the whole kit, so I bought the kit. This pump has bad reviews from breastfeeding women. See my disclaimer about pumps at the top of this post. I have not produced a measurable amount of breast milk since my initial purchase, so I cannot speak for how effective it is for expressing breast milk. I can say that it is useful in bringing milk down from the ducts and makes hand expressing a little easier. The silicone flanges are very comfortable, and they are the best that I have found as mimicking the suckling of a mouth. If you have flat or inverted nipples I do not think these flanges are a good option. The flanges are advertised as being one size fits all, I don’t think that is accurate since some women need a 27 mm flange and some women have flat or inverted nipples.
Medela Pump in Style.
I ended up with several of these, they were grouped with accessories that I wanted. At one point I had so many I gave several away for free on this site and another site. Anyway, functionality is very similar to the Freestyle. But it is considerably louder than the Freestyle, a bit of a disappointment since it’s touted as better than the Freestyle. It does not come with a rechargeable battery, so that’s another drawback. With an adapter it will run on 4 AA batteries but the batteries drain so fast it’s not economical. With the cost of rechargeable batteries and a charger you’re still better off buying a pump with a rechargeable battery built in.
Hygeia Enjoye
What can I say, I enjoyed this pump, it’s a bit more of a sex toy than a pump. If you can contain yourself it is a good option lol. Seriously, it wasn’t all that useful for extracting milk, but it was excellent at breast and nipple stimulation. I bought it used on E-bay for about 15.00. There are two options out there, one does not come with a battery. If portability is important make sure you’re buying the pump with the built in battery. Because it does provide very pleasurable stimulation I decided to keep it.
Amedea Purely Yours
Sort of free, it was in a bundle with some special flanges that I wanted. It’s not a bad pump, but it’s not a great pump either. It did express milk, but it’s not battery powered, if you’re going to be tied to the wall you’re better off going with a high quality pump such as the Classic or Lactina.
Elvie Stride
When it comes to expressing milk, it expressed a little. When I say a little I mean it, I was producing about 2 ounces per breast every 2 to 3 hours and this pump only expressed 1 teaspoon per breast, I had to do the rest by hand. Considering I spent about 100 on a used unit and how much they sell for brand new I expected better. It was effective in inducing, but if you’re trying to avoid hand expressing as much as possible choose a different pump. As far as being discreet, the noise level is low. The wearable cups added about 3 cup sizes to me, not discreet at all. It will also stretch your bras out destroying them permanently. I suggest buying a sports bra if you’re going to use this pump. I am able to use it while cleaning, when I am doing independent work, driving, and other activities. If you do manage to express milk with this pump you cannot bend over wearing it, you will have a milky mess.
Bellababy
I bought this pump brand new on amazon for about 40.00ish. I only used it a handful of times before it quit working, maybe 30 times in total. In the end I had a 40 dollar paper weight. It was decent at expressing milk, and it was relatively quiet. I was able to place it in an insulated lunch bag and use it in the women’s restroom at work without anyone knowing what I was doing. It has a built in rechargeable battery and it could be used cord free or if the battery was low you could use it while plugged in. Unfortunately, it just quit working one day just past the warranty expiration, it would not power on, would not charge, it didn’t even light up when plugged in. Thankfully I did not waste a bunch of money on it.
Manual pumps
I have tried several, but again we go back to the intended purpose, stimulating letdown. They suck, in a bad way, Your hand will be sore fatigued quickly, and you’re not going to express any measurable amount of milk. Good for natural lactation, useless for inducing.
Hi Elizabeth, Thank you so much for your in-depth pump reviews. If you could have any pump on the market today as a gift, which one (or two) would you select and why? Is there one available today that’s as good as the Medela Classic?
I own all of these pumps, and they are all currently on the market. There is nothing on the market that I would want, even if it were free. These are not reviews I have compiled from various sources. There is no pump better than or equivalent to the Medela Classic.
Have you ever tried the Spectra S1 Plus electric pump or the S2 Plus? Only difference is the S2 Plus does not have a battery.
The S1 Plus has been the top pick of Caitlin Giddings, The NY Times “Wirecutter” Breast pump reviewer since 2018.
I read everything you wrote. Forgive me if I didn’t notice any comments you made on the Spectra pumps.
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