Honorable Mentions
Elvie Pump for $550: The Elvie worked just fine, but it didn’t do anything cool enough to warrant such a high price tag. I saw the same results as I had with cheaper pumps, and it didn’t have as many cool features as the similarly priced Willow 3.0. The timer feature is nice, though, as are the fridge- and freezer-ready bottles attached to the wearable pump.
Medela Pump In Style for $209: This famed pump has great strength and is easy to use, but it’s not portable. We are excited that a new version is coming soon with the wearable collection cups we love from the Medela Freestyle, so it will be easier to wear (but still not portable).
Tommee Tippee Made for Me for $148: This pump has a setup similar to the Elvie, but at a cheaper price point. The app was frustrating to navigate, though, and this one has more parts than other pumps.
Lansinoh Wearable Breast Pump for $200: Lansinoh’s pump comes with a great variety of shield sizes, ranging from 21 mm all the way to 30.5 mm, which is fantastic (most pumps come with only two or three sizes). I didn’t see good results with this one, but it’s worth noting that it was one of the last I tested, and my son had already started weaning.
How I Tested Breast Pumps
I tested all of these pumps during the first year of my son’s life while I was breastfeeding him, most of which was in the latter half of that year, after my milk supply had stabilized.
I used each pump for at least 10 days straight. Over those 10 days I judged how comfortable it was to wear and pump, how successful it was (I already knew how much breast milk I usually pumped in a session), how easy it was to move from the pump to a storage system, and how easy it was to clean and dry. Wearable pumps I tried with a few different bras to judge comfort (such as the Willow Bra, which is made for wearable pumps, and Kindred Braverly’s Sublime Crossover Bra, a nursing bra), while standard pumps I tried with a basic pumping bra from Momcozy.
Do You Need a Breast Pump?
You might be uncertain whether or not you need a breast pump. It’s hard to know in advance whether or not pumping, or even breastfeeding, is going to work for you and your baby. Even if you want to primarily breastfeed and don’t expect to need a pump often, a breast pump can be useful to help build your milk supply in those early weeks; my lactation consultant recommended using a breast pump in the first few weeks after seeing how low my supply was after giving birth. I mainly breastfed until my son went to daycare at nine months old, but I often found myself using the pump to maintain my milk supply, relieve engorgement, or to pump a bottle for my husband to feed the baby with.
Check out our guide on how to buy a breast pump for more information on things like what type of pump you might want, what hospital-grade suction means, which kind of breast pump is best for you, and whether insurance will cover your pump.