Anyone experience issues breast pumping?

[Miekevh]

I'm asking this question on behalf of my daughter in law. She has a 6 week old baby boy and has been breast feeding all this time but she's ready to start pumping so she can have some more freedom when going out and about.

She has an electric breast pump which she tried out but she wasn't getting the necessary suction so it wasn't a success to say the least.

Anyone experience this and anyone have any tips?

[2princes1princess]

Im in a similar situ except I have no issues pumping its getting my son to take a bottle. Only tips I can give is make sure the suction cup is in right position and try doing it in the morning when breasts are fuller. Also maybe try expressing whilst feeding her baby see if that makes a difference. Shes done brill feeding for 6 weeks

[dons88]

Hi,

A couple of things worth trying; it might be that her "let down" reflex isn't letting her milk go as freely with the pump as with baby which is really common so she could try hand expressing a few drops before firing up the pump, or her boobs might be more giving if she's got baby close to her - perhaps holding him or even pumping from one boob while she's feeding directly from the other (a bit fiddly!)

I'm sure you've all checked it over but it might be worth double checking that the pump is put together properly and definitely not faulty. I tried an electric pump and also didn't get on with it - I found I had much more control over the sort of suction with a manual one and got on really well with it (I only really expressed when we were going out, or when I was after a lie-in so daddy could feed him, if your daughter-in-law is planning on expressing lots if feeds I think a good electric is probably faster).

If none of the above help, the nct breast feeding helpline is brilliant - I phoned them twice when I was feeding and they were really lovely and didn't make me feel daft which is what I was worried about - I'm sure they'd have some good tips.

Wish her luck and give her a big well done for sticking at it!

[tigernoodles]

Check the pump works! I had to exchange mine as it wasn't getting the necessary suction.

Please reassure her that she's a wonderful mum and this doesn't mean baby isn't getting whether needs from her. I pretty much freaked out and almost put my son on formula when my pump couldn't get anything out of me. When midwife couldn't make it work either, we returned it for another pump and I've not looked back since!

[2andcounting]

Am I allowed to mention brand names on here? I had a similar problem with a particular brand of electric pump, all the different sections had to align to make it work, which it never seemed too.. After a particularly frustrating morning, my partner took it back and came back with a different one after a reccomendation from another customer. I can highly reccomend the one in the yellow and white box! I've breast fed both mine to a year with that as back up support!

[MadCatLady465]

I always used a manual pump, did it in the morning and always looked at a picture of my baby, and thought about her and it used to make the let-down reflex "kick-in" - sounds a bit strange (especially when I see it in writing.....) but it worked for me...............