I have said before, and I’ll say it again, I really, really admire moms that turn to pumping when breastfeeding doesn’t work for them. I know several women who have pumped to exclusively breastfeed their child for months on end and I have to say, I don’t know how they did it.
I have to say too that this really isn’t a blog for moms who turn to pumping out of desperation when breastfeeding isn’t working out for some reason. It’s not a blog for women whose babies are in the NICU and pumping is the only way their little miracles will get breast milk.
But rather this is to address a comment I’m hearing more and more from mothers who want the breastfeeding without the breast. “It’s much better to pump your milk and put it in a bottle for the baby. They don’t get as attached to just you. You are free to go out. Your husband can bond with the baby. It’s more hygienic and not as gross.” These are all comments that came out of a recent mom’s group I was in.
The comments in and of themselves are full of misconceptions but I’ll address those later. The fact of the matter is, pumping is not as good a substitute as actual breastfeeding (where possible.) There are scientific and biological reasons for this.
Pumping is really hard work. Ask any mom who has been successful at it. On top of that, you still have to feed the baby. I would venture to say that during the newborn stage pumping is twice as time consuming as is just plain old breastfeeding.
One key factor in maintaining supply is that the milk is efficiently removed from your breast. Guess which is better at removing milk from your breast–a pump or a hungry baby? If you guessed hungry baby you’re right on the money. The relationship is compatible and the baby responds to your body as does your body respond to your baby. Pumps are not known to do that.
A very typical cycle in a mom that decides to pump instead of breastfeed as described above is IF she’s able to establish enough of a supply she becomes so exhausted she cannot produce enough, which in turn makes her pump more, which in turn makes her more exhausted. The typical breastfeeding relationship of a mom who pumps breast milk exclusively is decidedly shorter than just plain breastfeeding.
If it is possible, it’s far better to just breastfeed and avoid some of the issues associated with pumping.