Breast Milk Pump: A Look at Modern Innovations and Trends
New mothers have a lot on their plates. From feeding the child, changing his diapers, taking him to the doctor, to just dealing with the overwhelming nature of having a newborn, it can all get very tiring. For breastfeeding mothers, there is another level of responsibility which is to make sure that the baby gets all the nutrients from the breast milk. Thankfully, advances in breast pump design in the past ten years have served to reduce some of the pressure in terms of keeping milk supply up. Promom is here to discuss the current trends and some new inventions found in a breast milk pump that help make pumping and storing breast milk easier for the nursing mommy.
The Rise of Double Electric Pumps
Until recently, the majority of the breast milk pump designed for home use were single-pump devices that only worked on one breast at a time. For lactating women who had to pump milk especially while at work or while they had other busy activities, single pumps were inconvenient because they were time-consuming.
In the last five years, double electric pumps that can express both breasts at the same time have emerged as the standard. Double electric pumps also offer significant time savings compared to manual pumping since it only takes half the amount of time to pump with the double electric pump.
Wearable Pumps Offer Comfort and Ability to Move
A final concern that pumping mothers reported was having to plug themselves into an electrical outlet one or more times per day for pumping. However, with advances in battery life and size reduction of the pump motor, more manufacturers have developed small and portable electric pumps that use rechargeable batteries.
These pumps are usually small and portable and can fit right inside the mother’s bra, which means that there are no restrictions on movement and one can pump whenever needed. This gives moms more control over when to pump since wearable breast pump are discrete and flexible.
Smart Pumps Connect Nursing Mothers
New connected “smart” pumps let the breastfeeding mother do other things during the pumping sessions, manage milk production, and even the inventory of bottles. Some of these pumps interface with apps that capture pumping session data, graphs, and analysis for trend identification, and some even offer real-time, secure video connections to lactation consultants.
Overflow Protection
There are few things more frustrating during pumping than having the bottle overflow because one did not look down at it for some time. It is devastating for mothers, particularly those who have invested time and effort to establish the supply. Fortunately, there are many popular brands of pumps today that come with overflow protection where the suction stops as soon as the breast milk bottles are filled.
Although this may not sound like a large advancement, overflow protection offers moms a sense of security in knowing that one lapse in attention will not lead to a waste of time and effort. This takes a lot of stress off the pumping process and can be very beneficial for people who are busy and have a very hectic lifestyle.
Improvements in Suction Technology
The suction level of a breast pump plays a significant role in the success rate as well as the time required to perform the process. Less suction implies longer durations required to evacuate the breasts to the desired level. There have been enhanced engineering improvements in the breast pump suction to ensure fuller milk expression for the shortest time possible.
It is essential to note that there is a new generation of electric breastfeeding pump that employ new suction patterns that resemble a baby’s rhythm. This facilitates the let-down reflex more often and ensures that suction is maintained throughout the process of emptying the breasts. These changes enable the amount of milk pumped to be increased while at the same time reducing the time required.
Increased Focus on Hygiene
It is important to thoroughly clean and sterilize all breast milk pump parts to avoid bacterial or fungal growth that may be introduced into the expressed milk. Traditionally, cleaning these small parts took a lot of time washing, scrubbing, boiling, or even sterilizing after every use.
A large number of newer pumps today contain dishwasher and microwave-safe parts made from BPA plastics. The ability to wash utensils and sanitize some other parts at the same time means the hygiene task is reduced greatly. Further, there are currently available ready-to-feed milk collection bags so there is no need to clean the bottles.