Pros and Cons of a Manual vs Electric Breast Pump

This post shares the pros and cons of a manual vs. electric breast pump. 

Are you in search of a breast pump that will work best for you? If you are breastfeeding and returning to work, you probably want to make sure that you have built up your milk stash using a breast pump.

Breast pumps are THE BEST because they help you recycle your milk so that you can go to work, go on a date, or vacation. They make breastfeeding from a distance possible!

If your baby is born early, breast pumps allow you to pump from home or the hospital and bring in your milk to feed your baby. 

You must be reading this post because it is time for you to pump, and you want to know the pros and cons of a manual vs. electric breast pump.

I have used both types of breast pumps and have had more success with an electric breast pump. However, you can purchase both for different reasons. 

Both types of pumps were helpful at different times, so let’s check out the difference between a manual vs. electric breast pump to help you make the best choice. 

There are different breast pumps on the market that help you save lots of milk before returning to work. 

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Manual vs Electric Breast Pump

Manual Breast Pumps

The manual breast pumps are used with the help of your hands to pump the milk out of your breasts. 

Pros of manual breast pumps:

1. Cheaper than an electric breast pump
2. It comes with fewer parts to put together 
3. You can pump while walking around
4. There are no wires 
5. It is simple to put together 
6. Your milk falls into the bottle you pump, making it easy to store breast milk
7. You can pump quickly to release milk clumped up on your breasts without having to take much time to prepare beforehand 
8. Easy to stop pumping if something important comes up and your hands need to stop pumping 

Cons of manual breast pumps:

1. Can take more time to pump milk
2. Hurts your hands after pumping over and over again
3. You can only pump as quickly as your hand will love, which does not make it efficient when you are on a break at work and trying to pump 4 ounces of milk.
4. Your hands are busy pumping, so even though you can walk and talk, your hands are tied up from texting while you pump 
5. It is a constant “pump and stop” game. 

Manual Breast Pumps You Might Like…

Medela Harmony Hand Breast Pump

Philips Avent Manual Hand Breast Pump

Electric Breast Pumps

The electric breast pumps have a system that pumps the milk out of your breasts for you while you. 

Pros of electric breast pumps:

1. Pumps milk quickly 
2. Does the hard handwork for you
3. Can be pumped into a bottle making it easy to store breast milk
4. You can take it anywhere and pump anywhere with it
5. Makes pumping more efficient for a busy schedule 
6. You can keep your hands busy doing other things such as texting while you pump
7. There are electric breast pumps that are quiet and make it easy to complete various tasks 
8. Can be easy to stop pumping if you purchase a wireless breast pump 

Cons of electric breast pumps:

1. More costly
2. It comes with several different parts, such as cords or wireless parts that fit piece by piece 
3. Some electric breast pumps are stationary and will keep you in one sitting for 10-20 minutes while you pump
4. Different pieces can make it confusing to put together 
5. Not always easy to stop pumping in the middle of something important 

Electric Breast Pumps You Might Like…

Elvie Single Wireless Breast Pump

Willow Double Wireless Breast Pump

Medela Flex Freestyle

Breast pumps for moms are one of the greatest inventions, in my opinion. The manual vs. electric breast pump is to help you find what option works best for you and your needs. 

We had our daughter in college while I worked full time, so I used the electric breast pump on one side and stored the milk in the haakaa on the other side. We didn’t have a lot of money with our first child (Kyla). I was given a freestyle breast pump, bought a haakaa and tried the manual breast pump to see what worked best for me. Personally, I did like that I could pump into the bottle that Kyla tried to use. 

Manual breast pumps were helpful while pumping in the car when I was full or on a date with Lehi, haha. 

However, the electric breast pump came in handy while I was at work and school, needing to quickly pump ounces and ounces of milk to store for Kyla’s feeds. This system helped me save milk with little to no stash built at all! 

For our next baby, I plan to purchase a wireless breast pump so that I can pump while managing two kiddos at home. It is more money, but because I choose to breastfeed my babies, I see it as an investment that allows me to keep my sanity and manage busy babies. 

I hope this helps and you find the right breast pump for you! If you call your insurance, they may offer a free breast pump that is manual or electric! 

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