How Long Should I Pump For?

Pump until you're well-drained. When you stop seeing milk coming out, you're finished pumping. How long it takes will depend on how much milk you have at the time.

You are supposed to pump until you are empty. I work in a neonatal ICU and the this is what the lactation consultants tell all the moms

Hi A.,

Well, I have the Medela Pump in Style and I pump every 3hrs, and it takes about 10-15minutes, sometimes longer in the morning as there is more supply. I usually go that long as I sometimes have a second let-down too.

A.

Hello A.,

Well it all depends on your body. If you just started to pump you might have to give your body some time to adjust to that and my have to do it for a long time. After a while you will probably be able to be on it for a shorter time. When I pumped I had to do it near 30 mins. Later, once my body was used to it, I was able to pump for only 15 mins. I was told to pump until you don't get anymore breast milk. I would pump for about 12 mins. and then it would stop. I waited for a about a 1 min. and then I would get a second surge of milk. Make sure you just check your time to see what works for you.

Good Luck,

Hi A.
I've been pumping for almost a year now. My daughter will be 1 in a few weeks and wouldn't take the breast since the beginning. I have to pump and feed it to her in a bottle.
I always pump until the milk is all gone, you don't see anymore milk coming out... It usually takes about 5 minutes.
It might depend on breast pump too. I have Medela, which pumps both breasts at the same time and it's very fast and effective.
I used to have a EvenFlo when my son was a baby and it wasn't as effective, took much longer and it was 1-sided.
If you're planning on pumping for a long time and don't have a top quality pump, I recommend Medela, then it won't take that much time to pump.

10 minutes on whichever side you are on, switching each time

Hi A.,

I pumped while at work as well. I started with a manual pump and realized it was taking too much time. I lugged my electric one to work on Monday's and brought it home on Friday's for the weekend. It's true the more water you drink, the more you will produce. As for how long, I just pumped until I was empty. Sometimes it was quick and sometimes filled more than one 5 oz bottle per side. I pumped around 7 a.m., 9:30, 12 then at 2 before I left for home.

Good luck.

I had a Medela Pump in Style and I pumped for roughly 15 minutes. I would always go through one let down and sometimes I could have two let downs. Remember that as they get older you will probably pump less and less. But I agree with the previous post on pumping a few minutes longer after the milk stops flowing. This will help with supply since a pump is not as effective as actually nursing.

I always pumped about 15-20 min, or until I was empty. And I did it about every 3 hours while I was at work. If you're worried about whether you've got enough milk you can always add an extra pumping session (pump 3x/day at work instead of 2, for example) - I always found that 2 10-minute pumps 2 hours apart gave me more milk than 1 20-minute pump 4 hours apart... If you find that you're not keeping up with your son you can always increase your time/frequency. Good luck! Going back to work is hard :( If you breastfeed exclusively when you're home and on the weekends your system won't have any problems adjusting to his feeding demands.

Hi A.!
I went back to work when my son was 9 weeks old. I pumped milk twice daily at work until he was 15 months. Each "session" was about 35 minutes with set up, pumping, breakdown and rinsing some machine parts. Pumping was probably around 15 - 20 minutes. I used the Medela double pump which was quite the work horse. I would average around 8 to 10 ounces per pumping. I was pumping 3 times at home for a total of 5x per day.
Hope that helps! Good luck. It was one of the hardest things I've ever done but the best thing for my son.
S.
Lisle, Illinois

My doc told me 15 minutes, but when you are more full (like after work or first thing in the morning, then 20 minutes.

i am a neonatal intensive care nurse.... we tell our moms to pump for 15-20 minutes on each side every 2-3 hours.

I pump for 15-20 minutes unless it slows down or stops sooner.

Hi A.!
I pumped every two to three hours at work for about 15 minutes.If you have a single pump you need to pump each side for 15 minutes. make sure to drink tons of water to keep your supply up,and you'll do great!! Best of luck!

Hi Aime,
I pump until there is no more milk coming out and then pump for 3-4 more minutes. This normally would be 10-15 minutes, but everyone is different, some people can "empty" in less than five minutes with a good pump (just because it takes longer doesn't mean that you have a bad pump). I use the pump in style by medela.

I know most people may say to just stop when the milk stops coming, but I found to have better success with going a few minutes after the milk stopped.

I pumped for 14 months with my first son, so I feel like I "became one" with my pump. We were very good friends! :-)
B.

My lactation consultant says 5-10 mins after you feel your last letdown b/c you may have one more. The length depends on each mother and what kind of pump they are using and all kinds of other variables, so the best way is to look at your letdown.

Hi A.--when I pumped, it was recommended from the Lactatio Consultants to pump for 20 minutes. After you have been pumping for a few weeks, you will know when you are "done." Sometimes I could pump all I needed in 10 minutes, but that was after 2 months or more of pumping. And I pumped about every 3 hrs.
Hope this helped--
R.

A.:

sorry to answer a question with questions BUT....

what type of pump are you using? single or double pumping? why are you pumping? pumping for occasional milk? for work? for a baby not feeding well?

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

I always pumped until I was empty. That way you keep the demand up and if you have extra you can alway freeze it.