Is My Pump Going Bad?

I don't know why, but my manual avent pump always produced more milk than ANY of the automatic pumps I used. I tried several brands, too.

I had to vary the strength and speed alot... it was harder at work w/distractions... didn't produce as much : (. You can always call the maker... i have a playtex but they had to send me replacements a few times for free.

My guess is that it isn't the pump. It is you...LOL. I think that going back to work has probably added stress to your already stressful life and stress reduces your milk supply. That is what happened to me. I started stressing out b/c I couldn't keep up with my girls' needs which reduced my supply even more. :( TRY (haha) to relax especially when you pump and hopefully that will help! Good luck!

I rented a professional hospital grade pump from my pharmacy and that seemed to work better. My daughter is 9 months and I pump about 4 - 6 ounces totaleach time. Try pumping longer and both breast at the same time. In addition, sometimes I only nurse from one breast and pump the other. It is very stressful because we worry will we have enough.

Do you feel like it's giving you good suction? Can you see it pulling? Do you ahve it all the way cranked up to it's maximum setting?

If it is sucking hard, the pump is probably working ok but you may not be used to it. I know when I first started using an electric pump at work (I had an Ameda PY) it just felt really different from my Avent hand pump. It took me a while to get used to it. The whole pumping thing is sort of weird - you have to trick your body into letting down anyway, which is somewhat of a conditioned reflex. Lots of things affect it.

Have you tried pulling the sillicone liner out of the nipple shield in the Avent pump and using it in your PIS? I have done this with my Ameda and it can help it feel more like you're used to. (Madela may even make ones for their pump that you can purchase). Also, the electric pumps feel "mechanical" to me, if that makes any sense. You will get used to it but it may take a little while if this is the issue. Also could very well be stress. Being back at work sucks, esp. with an 8-week old baby. Also, just being in an unfamilliar environment (ie not home) will slow your flow. Plus, being too cold (bring a cardigan to wear backwards while you pump) or uncomfortable can help.

Medela's are one of the best pumps. I doubt that the pump would be bad after such a short time. Check and make sure the membranes are in tightly. I had that problem ALL the time! (I had a manual Medela) Also make sure everything is secured properly. Sometimes the tubes and stuff can come loose. Happy Pumping! :)

Hi C.,
I have a medela pump in style that is about 7 years old, about 4 years ago, mine was doing the same thing and I got a new cord and it worked perfectly again.

The other thing I did was I got a cord for the car (cigarette lighter . . .what do they call them now that there are no actual "lighters" in the cars?). Anyway, I got amazing suction when I pumped in the car. Weird, I know, but that's the best place I could pump.

When I worked, I would go to my car for breaks and for lunch and pump and got stellar results.

I hope your pump isn't dying.
B.

Are you sure the membranes are on tightly? That would happen to me sometimes....

I'm not sure about your hospital situation up there, but here at community, you can take the pump to breastfeeding support groups and the LCs will check it out for you. Check in to what your hospital offers for support.

Hi, I've been pumping for 6 months (I went back to work when my son was 6 weeks old and was able to keep him on breastmilk exclusively until he turned 6 months) and I found that my production varied quite a bit. The minute I didn't eat enough or drink enough my production went down. I was anxious to get the baby weight off but it was affecting my production so I just kept eating and my production stayed high. Also, I drink 2-3 liters of water a day and I think that helps as well. Also, I found there was a psychological aspect to pumping as well. At work, I originally tried to pump and read email or do something else at the same time, and nothing would come out. I eventually started getting baby magazines or even just looking at photos of my son, and that helped. Lastly, I finally decided that the adaptor wasn't as strong as the battery pack on my Pump in Style. After pumping for months, my breasts became somewhat "numb" to the pump, so I had to up the intensity. I was finally on the highest setting and still it wasn't strong enough. I switched to the battery pack and things worked great after that. Good luck!

Hi. The same thing happened to me... I realized that the batteries were dying, changed them, and it made a huge difference! Maybe the batteries are your problems?

I also had a Medela Pump in Style and it lost suction twice, and I was not able to express any milk. Both times I called Medella and they were able to troubleshoot with me. One of the times I was easily able to fix the problem with their help, the other time after they had me check various things, they determined that probably a part was cracked or dislodged and the suction did not work. So they sent me a brand new pump!

From the other posts, I do agree that it is worth spending a minute or two before you start to pump to trick your body into letdown - look at a picture of your baby, imagine their cry, etc.

Good luck!