How Do I Choose a Breast Pump?

artikel ni diambil dari web La Leche League International

How Do I Choose a Breast Pump?

When deciding what kind of pump to use or if one is even necessary, it is helpful to consider what your needs will be for expressed milk. Some women find that they never need to use a pump after seeing how easy it is to take a breastfed baby along. Others who will be away from the baby for specific times will need some way to express milk. Many women find it easy to hand express milk when needed. LLLI offers an information sheet Manual Expression Of Breast Milk which is available in the LLLI Online Store or from your local LLL Leader.

If you find you do need a pump, there are many different kinds of pumps available. Selecting the best pump can be likened to choosing ahandbag--there are many options, and what works for one woman is not necessarily the best option for another. Some considerations when thinking about pumps are cost, portability, noise level, ease of use and efficiency. There are manual (hand operated) pumps ($14-$50) which often are helpful for those who want to pump on an occasional basis to leave milk for baby. Most are easy to operate, are small, and easy to transport. Some require two hands and others operate with only one hand. The "bicycle horn" style manual pump is NOT recommended. There are also small electric pumps ($30-$150) available from different manufacturers. These use batteries or AC adapters to supply the power and are still quite small and portable. Some are quiet and some are not.

When pumping time is limited and larger milk volumes are needed, some women rely on full-size, automatic electric pumps, which have a suck-release cycle that is closer to the pattern of a baby than the continuous suction of the smaller pumps. Many women report they are quite efficient and quiet,although not quite as portable. These are usually rented (although the equipment that attaches the mother to the pump must be purchased) and cost varies. The newer automatic electric pumps designed for mothers who need to regularly pump their milk represent another option. These are quiet to operate, cost over $200 and are listed as single-user pumps by the manufacturers.

These come with an attractive carrying case and all the accessories needed to pump both breasts at the same time, and work well for mothers who work outside the home. However, if a mother needs to pump to increase her milk supply, provide milk for a premature baby or other situations where the baby is not breastfeeding to provide stimulation for the mother’s breasts, the hospital-grade rental pumps are the preferred option.

It can be helpful to ask friends whether or not they needed a pump and if they did what kind they used. Inquire what features were found helpful and what could have been better. Please note that most breast pumps are considered "single-user" products, and because of the risk of contamination (there is a chance that milk can be aspirated into the pump mechanism, which cannot be sterilized), should not be borrowed or shared. Manual pumps that can be autoclaved are an exception.

-------

Apa kriteria yang aku pertimbangkan semasa memilih pam?

(untuk semua jenis pam yang aku pernah guna sahaja ye..)

1. "bicycle horn" style manual pump

owwhh..ini bukan pam yang dipilih aku.. tetapi en.suami yg pegi beli tanpa tanya aku ponn..

tapi ade jugak sahabat di SI yang berjaya dlm penyusuan susuibu secara xklusif walaupun dgn hanya gunakan pam ni.. tapi kene carik yg bila pam, susu terus masuk dlm botol bukan jenis yang kumpul dlm bahagian getah bulat kaler merah tu.. kalau jenis yg simpan dlm getah tu tak sesuai digunakan sebab dikhuatiri susu akan tercemar. sebabnya bhgn getah tu susah nak dicuci kan..so tak selamat.. lagipun dulu2 pam tu di'design' utk halang B engorged sahaja iaitu method 'pump and dump'.. sila lah baca label kat kotak pam dulu yer..sebab memang ade tulis..

2. spectra 3

ni pam letrik pertama yg aku beli (tahun 2007 yer..).. nape aku beli ni? ntah ler.. selepas membuat 'survey', ramai mommies yg bg feedback bagus dgn spectra 3 ni. aku beli kat MLO set extravaganza terus.. tak agak2..mase tu rege die rm5**.**.

pam ni bagus, bunyi pun cam tak bunyi..means agak senyap gak.. even kat opis aku leh pam kat tpt aku je walaupun opismate aku dok belakang aku jer..(lelaki ye r..).. cuma masalah die ni kene ade plug point.. dulu takde jual adapter bagai.. so agak susah aku nak pam kalau kene dok site seharian pasal takde plug point lah..

3. medela harmony

aku paling suka pam manual ni.. ni pam manual yer.. cuma agak penat nak mengepam lah =D. kalau jari jemari anda malas nak mengepam..sila guna letrik sahaja yer =D.. aku beli ni sebab senang nak bawak kemane2.. dengan parts yg sikit, aku leh letak dalam tupperware jer. (tak letak dalam tupperware pon takpe).. masuk dalam handbag jer gi keje..

pam ni parts die pon tak banyak..sangat sikit dan mudah nak pasang.. dan pam pun takde bunyi2 yang kuat/ menimbulkan prasangka orang sekeliling.. die ade 2-phase expression iaitu untuk merangsang let-down reflex & pam secara biase..

aku beli pon tahun 2008 kat. mase tu rege die rm259.**.

4. pump in style (PISA)

pam ni boleh guna letrik, bateri, manual & boleh 'cucuk' kat kereta (but kene beli asing car adapter ni). aku beli bende ni sebab ia bersesuaian ngan keadaan aku dulu sebagai exclusive pumpers.. kire PISA ni tahan lasak la..dan sesuai utk kegunaan jangka panjang.. rege die rm1799, mase tu lah.. sekarang dah murah aku tengok..

pam ni pun ade 2-phase expression dan jenis double pumping... berat leh tahan gak lah..cuma lagi ringan dari spectra3. die skali ngan backpack nye.. bunyi leh tahan bising gak tapi lagi senyap dari mini-E.

so kesimpulannya, nak beli pam..ikutlah atas tujuan ape nak beli tu..

kalau pam skali skala, memadai beli pam manual saje.. kalau bekerja sepenuh masa & nak wat double pumping (boleh jimatkan masa) boleh beli pam letrik & ade fungsi double pumping.. tengok jugak kawasan /tempat kite nak pam tu sesuai tak ngan pam tu nanti.. check kalau perlu ade plug point ke..

sekiannn..

nota: catatan berdasarkan pengalaman penulis sahaja.. tak dapat ape2 faedah dari mane2 pihak pon yer.. saya juga tiada menyokong /tidak menyokong mane2 pengeluar pam.. mekasehhh..