Although not every breastfeeding mother uses a breast pump, some do. As you will discover in this article, a simple breast pump has a number of excellent benefits, making life for both mom and dad easier, more convenient. Considering that a newborn will feed about every two to four hours, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you need all the assistance you can get.
When shopping for a breast pump, you will find two primary options – manual and electric. The manual pump is easy to use, which is hand-operated. The electric breast pump plugs into a normal outlet, doing all the pumping for you. While the price for an electric breast pump is a little more than the manual option, for many mothers the extra money spent is worth it.
One of the greatest benefits to using a breast pump is releasing too much milk. When the breasts are overly full, they become “engorged”, which can be uncomfortable and sometimes, painful. By secreting the pressure, the pain goes away. Therefore, a breast pump could be used to help with engorgement, making the breastfeeding process more enjoyable.
In addition, some women naturally produce an abundance of milk. In fact, sometimes the milk will just start squirting out, which can be messy and embarrassing. Trying to breastfeed a small baby with a constant flow of milk can actually cause him or her to choke in that the flow should be produced by the sucking motion. Therefore, expressing the overflow first provides your baby with a more enjoyable and safe feeding.
Finally, a breast pump can be a mother (and father’s) greatest convenience. For instance, breast milk can be stored in sterile plastic bags and frozen. This way, if you are simply too exhausted to feed during a scheduled meal, if you are not feeling well, or if you and your husband want to go on a “date night” without the baby, someone else can feed the baby. While he or she would be fed from a bottle, the milk would be 100% breast milk.
A breast pump is a great way to help other mothers. Some babies need the nutrients found in breast milk. Take a premature baby for example, that baby has the best chances of healthy growth and development through mother’s milk. However, if the mother of that baby did not have her milk come in because of the early delivery, and if you had an abundance of milk, you could contact a local milk bank and donate excess milk.
The milk bank would provide you with sterilized bags. From there, people from the milk bank would come by and deliver another baby fresh milk. With this, you have the opportunity to breastfeed your own baby and use the breast pump to help another.