The Best Manual and Electric Breast Pumps for Every Mom

When you’re looking for a breast pump to use on your breastfeeding journey, it’s crucial to understand the different types of breast pumps available and choose one that will fit your lifestyle and help you reach your breastfeeding and pumping goals. To help you find the best breast pump for your needs, we’ve highlighted important factors to consider and the Medela breast pump that best meets these unique needs.

Best Breast Pumps for Frequent Use

Most breast pumps are made for moms who are both nursing and pumping throughout their typical day. To succeed, it’s essential that you choose a breast pump designed for this level of use, which will likely be a double electric breast pump.

Exclusively pumping puts added stress on your equipment, as it is required to meet greater demand. Even among our own products, the only breast pump we recommend for an exclusively pumping mom is our Symphony^® Breast Pump, which has been clinically proven to initiate, build, and maintain breast milk supply for the mom and baby who are unable to breastfeed.

You can rent our Symphony PLUS^® Breast Pump to easily get the same great technology you’ve been using in the hospital delivered to the comfort of your home. For more details or to rent online today, visit www.RentMedela.com. 

Best Breast Pumps for Occasional Use

If your goal is to exclusively nurse your baby with just a bit of pumping on the side, a double electric breast pump will save you time. A manual breast pump like our Harmony^® is another great portable option when you’re on the go!

Best Portable Breast Pump

If you want the ease of portability so you can pump whenever you’re out and about, you’ll need a versatile, trusted breast pump like the Pump in Style^® with MaxFlow™ or the Swing Maxi™. Both are high-quality double-electric pumps that come with a convenient bag for storing all your pump parts and accessories, like storage bags, extra nursing pads, or cleaning supplies.

Our Pump in Style with MaxFlow features a modified tubing adaptor to ensure there is no cross-compatibility with incorrect parts and making it even easier to know that you are using the right spare or secondary parts for your pump:

Best Quiet Electric Breast Pump

For moms who want extra discretion while pumping, consider a super quiet and efficient pump, like the Sonata^®, that won’t disturb your baby or nearby co-workers while operating.

Best Hands-Free Breast Pump

For convenient, hands-free pumping, choose a lightweight, portable pump such as the Freestyle Hands-free Double Electric Breast Pump, and pair it with the hands-free bustier that allows you to use it hands-free while giving you the freedom to multitask around your home.

Other Factors to Consider When Choosing a Breast Pump

• Keep in mind the power options of the types of breast pumps you’re considering. Knowing whether you'll need to be near an outlet or have other options like battery power, a USB charger, or a car adaptor can make a big difference when planning ahead for where and how you'll be pumping.

• If you want to easily log all your baby's feeding and growth activity, consider a smart, connected breast pump or using a tracking app that keeps all the vital information at your fingertips. Keeping track through the app of your pumping sessions, baby’s feedings, diaper output, and growth stats will be helpful to you and your pediatrician.

• Only Medela breast pumps utilize our patented 2-Phase Expression^® technology, which more closely mimics a baby’s breastfeeding behavior (starting off with a quick, light suction pattern to stimulate milk flow, and then moving to a slower, deeper suction pattern to bring out more milk faster). What this research-based performance in our breast pumps means for you is a more efficient pumping session that will maximize your time and help you keep your breast milk supply going strong.

• Before you head online or to the store to purchase, remember to check with your insurance company on the level of coverage they offer for breast pump reimbursement!

Open Vs. Closed System Breast Pumps

You may have heard about open and closed system breast pumps, which refers to the built-in protection—usually in the form of a membrane—that prevents breast milk from entering the pump's tubing and/or motor. All Medela breast pumps provide this protective barrier with a flexible membrane that prevents milk from entering other areas of your breast pump, but it's important to ensure you're using the correct parts designed for your pump. For example, the PersonalFit Flex connector should be the only connector used with our Pump in Style with MaxFlow, Freestyle, Swing Maxi, and Solo breast pumps to ensure continued protection of your pump's closed system and that the integrity of your pump is maintained!

Have more questions on an open vs. closed system breast pump? Check out this video to learn more or visit www.MedelaDifference.com.

Choosing the Ideal Breast Pump

A breast pump that is reliable and helps you reach your breastfeeding goals is an integral part of providing your liquid gold to your baby for as long as you choose. As you’re determining breast pump options to fit your needs, always keep in mind that no matter how long you use a breast pump or how short or long your breastfeeding journey may be, every drop counts!

Still unsure which breast pump is right for you? To take the guesswork out of the process, you can take our easy product selector quiz to find your ideal breast pump.