Most people don’t know much about breast pumps before having a baby.
Having wires attached to your boobs as they suction off milk into little bottles is just not something you really think of, much like the prospect of tracking poo colour in an app or buying a syringe to suck out someone else’s snot.
So figuring out which one to buy can be confusing. Although after a few weeks you can easily pump away while watching TV at 3am, the first few times are guaranteed to make you think about cows.
They can be intimidating, with the potential risks of using them wrongly rather unpleasant and ranging from chapped nipples to mastitis – when your breast becomes swollen, hot and painful.
But they can also be brilliant. Whether you’re exclusively pumping, combo feeding with formula, or need a stash for someone else to give baby a bottle, they are a crucial piece of kit for many mums.
Two of the biggest brands on the market are Elvie and Medela, each with several models available, so we had a look to see which of their electric pumps is best for what.
In a nutshell, both offer a good and often similar experience – but if you want something subtle and high-tech, then Elvie Pump is quiet and easy. If you want something more heavy duty for exclusive pumping, Medela is ideal.
What’s best for what?
Building supply Medela Symphony
High-tech pumping Elvie Pump
Hands free at home Medela Freestyle
Pumping on the go Elvie Stride/Elvie Pump
Medela Symphony
This was my introduction to the world of breast pumping when it was wheeled to me in hospital. The industrial-looking contraption was around the size of a 1990s boom box and, hanging from a waist high metal bar with two large bottles connected to it by plastic tubes.
It was very effective, with a special programme designed to initiate supply in the first days. It built and maintained my supply despite the fact I couldn’t breastfeed at all for the first six weeks.
The ‘flanges’ (funnel type shapes on top of the bottles to collect the milk) only covered the nipple and a small area of the breast making it easy to massage them the same time, which encourages milk to flow – especially crucial if you get a blocked duct or mastitis, which is common early on in breastfeeding.
But it soon became unrealistic to spend hours on the sofa holding bottles to my chest with the pump plugged in at the wall, while also trying to look after a baby. (You can buy special nursing bars to make this slightly easier).
The Symphony pump is also so expensive that you can’t buy it from Medela directly, only rent it for £49 a month.
So after your supply regulates, you’ll likely want something more lightweight.
Medela Freestyle and Elvie Stride
Using these after the Symphony felt like being set free. Suddenly, I could sit at the table and pump while having breakfast, completely hands free as the cups sat inside my bra and did the work for me.
The pumps, which both retail at £299 for a double, are similar, using a rechargeable motor linked to the cups by wires so you can carry it around with you rather than having to stay plugged in. Both pumps have similar sized cups, while the Elvie’s motor is slightly smaller.
Both also offer Bluetooth connection to your phone to record how long each pumping session is on an app, although neither monitor milk flow in real time.
As you still need to enter the amount of milk pumped manually at the end of the session, I didn’t find this feature aspect especially useful as I preferred to add pumping duration and amount to the baby app I was already using to track things like sleep and feeds, and have everything in one place.
They can both be used as single or double pumps, although only the Elvie Stride is sold as a single too which could be helpful if you only need an occasional pump, as this is cheaper at just £169. Going from double to single can be confusing at first, but works if you remember you need to create a vacuum by looping the lead not in use back in.
Of the two, I found Medela Freestyle Flex more effective and easier to use. I was able to get more milk – even more than with the Symphony, as I could leave it working for longer without having to switch it off to do other things. It also had fewer parts to wash, with only three components to each cup compared to five for the Elvie – important if you are pumping regularly and need to wash the cups over and over again.
The Elvie Stride is advertised as hospital grade due to its powerful suction while the Medela Freestyle Hands Free is not, but the brands seem to have different definitions of hospital grade as they are both designed for a single user only.
Medela says that of their pumps, only the Symphony is hospital grade as it is the only one which can be used safely by multiple people – for example, in a hospital setting.
With a maximum suction strength of 245mmHg, the Freestyle is almost as powerful as the Symphony which is 250mmHg, so this was powerful enough for me even though the Elvie Stride boasts a stronger headline figure of 300mmHg.
In terms of how obvious the pumps are the, the Elvie Stride is quieter than the Freestyle. It does make a noise, but more of a rhythmic humming sound, so I would be more likely to use the Stride in company.
With both pumps, I didn’t find it that easy to see how much milk I had collected without removing the pump, because the mechanism and the milk were all in the same place. It was easier to measure the amount using the unit marks on the Elvie, which could be helpful if you need to pump a specific amount for a feed.
Elvie Pump
This is the quietest pump I tried, making barely any sound except for a low volume clicking.
It is also really cool and even fun to use, as it is the only one of the pumps I tried to monitor milk collection in real time, making it feel like a truly ‘smart’ breast pump.
This comes at a price, as it is also more expensive than its rivals, coming in at £499 for a double pump and £269 for a single.
But it is a great product, and is the only electric pump I tried which did not have any wires at all. It can be popped into your bra and left there, and although it is bulkier than the other cups, it will stay there (and if it starts to fall down, it comes with a special bra clip to secure it). This means it can easily be used on one side while you feed your baby on the other, without risk of them kicking the wire and yanking out the cup sending milk everywhere.
If you’re trying to pump completely incognito, your main giveaway would be looking like you’ve stuffed your bra, rather than the noise. It isn’t a tiny piece of equipment, but is still small enough to be hands free.
One big benefit is that it is very easy to see how much milk you have pumped, as it collects the milk in a wide bottle underneath the cup.
It also connects to your phone and gives you an estimate of real time milk flow in the app, so if you’re pumping in public you can get an idea of how much you have pumped without having to pull down your top and take a peek (which is pretty much impossible to do with any level of subtlety).
I found the measurement was more accurate after I finished pumping and could put it down on a flat surface, but I still got a general idea while it was working. The sensor will detect when the bottle is full, in any case, so you don’t need to worry about it overflowing.
The Elvie Pump has a maximum suction strength of 220mmHg which is the lowest of those I tried, so if you are planning on exclusive pumping with no breastfeeding or use of a different pump in addition, you might want find a more heavy duty one to make sure your breasts are fully emptied and you’re not risking blocked ducts.
But I found that it was quick and effective at emptying milk and would definitely recommend it. It is unobtrusive and a world away from my first pumping experience hooked up in a hospital bed.
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