Pregnancy can be an awesome time filled with plenty of ups and downs, but one of the worst parts can be figuring out exactly what you’ll need. Do you need a diaper genie? Will a wipes warmer be a waste of money? Who knows!
(If you’d like to read about ALL the baby products 6,000 moms did (and didn’t) recommend over my six months of research, you can read my essentials-only baby registry checklist article here!)
When I found out I was pregnant with my oldest child in 2018, I immediately signed up to receive a breast pump through my insurance, just because I knew it would be free. I’m a mom all about the freebies, after all. (It’s probably why I spend time researching things like the best baby registries for free stuff and write articles about them.)
But what if you can’t get a free pump through your insurance? Or what if the pump you want will cost extra? Is it still worth getting a breast pump?
To answer that question, I polled over 400 moms on social media, asking for their opinions, experiences, and reasoning. Here’s what they said.
Do you need a breast pump?
95% of moms recommended that every mom-to-be get a breast pump. Obviously, women have breastfed without pumps for centuries. But the moms polled offered reasons like creating a freezer stash and dealing with engorgement for why they were still worth getting.
Let’s look at a few of the most commonly cited reasons from these moms.
1. Going back to work
The most obvious reason for getting a breast pump is if you’re going to be a working mom. If you’re spending hours a day away from your baby, they’ll still need to eat without you. Therefore, your options are to formula feed or express breastmilk with a pump and store that for later.
2. Ease the “fullness” ache
Many women struggle with the feeling of fullness and engorgement, especially when their milk first comes in. This is most prominent in the first week after baby is born, but can last long after for women who are ‘overproducers.’ Many moms in my poll cited this as their #1 reason (or ONLY reason) for bothering to get a breast pump.
The amazing breastfeeding info site KellyMom has an article all about engorgement and tips for reducing discomfort. They mention using manual hand pumps or electric pumps (set to low settings) can be a good strategy for dealing with these feelings of fullness, especially if breastfeeding alone isn’t solving the problem.
One mom, Leeanne, said “I didn’t need to keep a big stash or anything but for me the pump (just a small manual one) was necessary for me to ease the engorgement.”
3. Create a freezer stash
Many moms shared that they wanted to have a freezer stash, or backup supply of breastmilk on hand. This could be for a number of reasons.
First, in case of a future drop in supply (though we’ll talk more about emergencies in a moment).
Next, the most commonly cited reason for creating a freezer stash was so others could have milk on hand to bottle-feed baby. Depending on your future feeding goals (whether you want to exclusively breastfeed for an extended time, for example), this might actually be a bad strategy. However, if you plan on going back to work soon, you want to be able to your baby for a few hours at a time, or you just want your baby used to a bottle, having a stash of frozen milk will support those goals.
Finally, some moms mentioned using extra milk from a freezer stash as part of homemade ‘cure-all’ recipes. Breast milk has antimicrobial properties, so it’s a common first treatment for things like baby acne and eczema according to Healthline. Monica, one of the moms from my survey, mentioned that she likes to keep a freezer stash on hand “for any rashes or for milk baths.”
4. Have for emergencies
I left this reason until last to avoid discouraging anyone, but hiccups can happen in a breastfeeding journey. Six of the moms who commented on my survey mentioned that even though they had every intention of exclusively breastfeeding, something happened. From tongue ties to problems latching, some mom/baby pairs just struggle more than others. And this problem is worse if there’s not much access to good, affordable lactation consultation help.
Even for myself, I remember the first week after my first child was born. I just couldn’t get her to latch! I was grateful for the free pump I’d ordered months before, because it helped me feed my baby a few times before I found better strategies. Especially when I was dealing with so many other hormones and anxieties postpartum, having the pump as an “emergency backup” option made sure I wasn’t also worrying that my daughter was going to starve.
What kind of pump should you get?
Breast pumps come in two different kinds: electric and manual (also called a ‘hand pump’). From there you can go further down the rabbit hole of wearable electric (or battery-operated), continuous suction vs hand pumping, etc.
Based on their comments in my survey, most moms valued SOME kind of pump over any particular brand or even style. So if you qualify for a free breast pump (even if it’s just a rental), definitely start there. Though every insurance is supposed to cover breastfeeding equipment at no cost to mothers, the levels of support vary.
You can check the WIC Breastfeeding Support site for help determining what you qualify for and a list of questions to ask your insurance. If you KNOW your insurance covers a free pump, Aeroflow will do all the paperwork for you and let you pick a pump through their site. If you have an HSA, they can also help cover the costs of even manual hand pumps, and Amazon will clearly mark those eligible products on its site.
If you don’t get a free pump, many moms suggested at least having a manual pump ready for when your baby arrives. The Haakaa brand has one of the most affordable and easy-to-use options out there, and was the only brand suggested by moms in my survey.
The basic haakaa breast pump is currently about $13 on Amazon, and I can personally say that for me, they were as amazing as all the reviews claim. You can get additional accessories to help avoid spilled milk like a suction cup base or a cute flower plug, but the above is really all you need.
Beyond that, you can check out the slightly more expensive (at around $30) hand pumps where you need to manually create suction. Madela has popular hand pumps, or you can look at the very similar models by Lansinoh, Dr. Brown’s, or Philips Advent. However, since neither I nor (apparently) any of the moms in this survey had any direct experience with any of those brands, I’ll avoid recommending any just for an affiliate commission. 🙂
There you are! I hope you have a better sense of whether you should bother getting a breast pump. If you’d like to see other articles in my “Do I really need a…” baby gear series, you can check out one of the following:
- Do You Need a Diaper Pail? [Survey Results + Alternatives]
- Real Moms Explain Why You Probably Need a High Chair
- The ONLY Times You Need a Bassinet [Survey Results + Alternatives]
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