As part of Bottle Week I am featuring this fabulous manual Breast pump to aid all those parents that would like to express milk and use bottles. I was sent a manual breast pump by MAM and I must admit, at first I was really sceptical about using a manual Breast pump. I had heard a lot of stories about people getting sore wrists, arms, hands and it taking a long time to pump any kind of substantial amount out from manual breast pumps. But I gave it a try and I'm very glad I did, this MAM Breast Pump is winner of the Mother and Baby Gold Award, after all.
The MAM manual breast pump maternity pack comes with: 1x Manual Breast Pump, 1x 130ml Anti-Colic bottle, 1x 160ml Anti-Colic bottle, 2x slow flow teats and 2x sealing discs. You can buy it online from the MAM website.
The functional design gives a soft and flexible funnel, which fits comfortably around your breast. It didn't feel tight, it was air tight enough to make the pump work, but it never hurt my breast and to be honest you get used to it and do not notice it after a few minutes. The funnel has 4 soft cushions to help with comfort whilst you are expressing and it rotates 360 degrees so that you can sit in various positions whilst expressing. Which was perfect, as I could sit up, relax on the sofa etc and I didn't feel restricted.
The selector dial is an innovative design and allows you to select the strength of which you want to pump milk and its really easy to change whilst you're expressing, if you would like to make it stronger or weaker at any given point.
When cleaning and sterilising, you unscrew and pull apart all of the pieces of the breast pump, but you do not clean/sterilise the handle of the pump. It says that if you wash this part, it will start to deteriorate and this part of the pump is designed to not come into contact with any milk what so ever, so it does not need cleaning like the other parts – I would just wipe it with a baby wipe after I have used it. So you basically have only 3 parts to wash and sterilise, ready for the next use!
The bottle that collects the milk simply unscrews from the breast pump, you put the bottle lid on and either use the milk or store it in the fridge ready for when you need it. Please speak to a health visitor on the length of time great milk can be stored in a fridge before it becomes unusable.
I would usually get about 4oz in 15/20 minutes, which in comparison to the electric pump I used with Noah is the same amount of time. I never felt it took too long, I never had a sore wrist or hand and I never felt uncomfortable at all. I was actually surprised how quickly it produced so much milk and it was always enough milk for what Isla needed in a feed.
Because the pump was so light and small, it was a perfect size to take on holidays and trips away, so that I could express milk wherever we were. The great benefit of having a manual pump is that you can use it literally ANYWHERE, you do not need electricity or any confinement what so ever.
MummyConstant Pump Summary
Sterilising: After cleaning, the 3 parts that need sterilising are just placed in an electric steriliser, microwave steriliser or you can use sterilising liquid etc. I used a microwave steriliser and would keep it in the container until I needed to use it the the next time, so that it was always sterile. It would take a few minutes to sterilise n there microwave and is ready to assemble straightaway.
Cleaning: Very easy to clean, you just unassemble the parts and put the handle away and wash the 3 other parts of the breast pump. I had a bottle brush to hand, so I used that to clean the pump as I then knew it was getting a good clean. But you could just use a sponge or cloth and hot, soapy water. Washing took very little time and it was something I could incorporate into my washing up routine.
Useage: Extremely easy to use, easy to assembly (you can't get it wrong), easy to apply to your breast and really easy to use the pump. I would recommend this manual breast pump to anyone and everyone.
Things to look out for: Make sure the handle does not get washed and sterilised, just clean it down with a baby wipe if need be. I did not try this pump with non MAM bottles and I would not advise that either.
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