Disadvantages of Manual Breast-pumps
New mothers are usually in a flurry with tons of advice coming from all directions about what they should do. They are not sure exactly what is expected from them when authoritative elders are dictating their activities. The initial months of motherhood are very exhausting for the young mother as well as physically challenging. Even experienced mothers tend to forget the ordeal and the feeling of sleep deprivation that they went through when giving advice to juniors.
Most mothers opt for using breast pumps to help them with feeding the baby especially when they need to rest. Some mothers tend to become dependent on the breast pump as an easier way to feed the baby as they find the process of breast feeding quite cumbersome. This is especially true in the case of babies who do not feed well and like to play around and take their time feeding. The idea of using a breast pump is to complement breast feeding when the mother is in dire need of rest and using it as an alternative method of feeding should be avoided.
There are however a few disadvantages to using the manual breast pump that mothers need to be aware of:
· Decease in the flow of breast milk with breast pump: Over a period of time when using the breast pump, mothers have noticed that the flow of milk reduces. The breast tends to generate less milk as mothers resort to using the breast pump more often as against actually feeing the infant directly from the breast.
· Does not empty out as effectively as with an electric pump: Mothers who use the manual breast pump find that their breast does not empty out as effectively as when they use an electric breast pump.
· The process of using a manual breast pump is tiring: Some mothers find that when they are expressing using a manual breast pump they tend to get tired and sometimes stop even though they still have milk.
· The child’s milk intake is limited with a breast pump: When mothers express milk and feed their new born babies from storage bottles it limits the milk intake of a baby to the storage bottle capacity. When a baby feeds naturally from the breast the stimulation caused by sucking helps the breast to generate milk in accordance to the babies feeding requirement.
· Does not stimulate the breast: The stimulation caused by the suction cup of a manual breast pump is very mild as compared to that of a baby’s suckle. The stimulation of the breast by a baby when it is nursing is said to help provide protection from cancer to the mother. The use of breast pumps reduces this level of protection.
Naturally breast feeding a baby is highly recommended to all mothers who are able to do and producing sufficient milk.
P3A Medical
Level — 12, Building №8,Tower-C, DLF Cyber City Phase II, Gurgaon –
122002 Haryana, India