Breast pump: advice and practical guide by the midwife
Introduction
When a mother decides to breastfeed, there are many questions that crowd her mind.
Many of these concern the breast pump .
If you are here, it means that you are most likely wondering how to use a breast pump and when.
In this article, I will try to answer you.
As you can see, I have accompanied the content with an index, to give you the opportunity, by clicking on the individual paragraphs, to delve deeper into the topics that interest you most.
To further delve into the wonderful universe of breastfeeding, you can discover the video course “Al Profumo di Latte”, curated by Dr. Maria Chiara Alvisi, midwife.
If, instead, you are looking for content and updates to accompany your baby's development, I'll wait for you on Instagram on the profile @drsilva.com_official .
Breast Pumps: Brief History and Types
Designed by OH Needham and first patented in 1864 , the breast pump is a device that allows the extraction of breast milk from the breast of a nursing woman.
After the first patent, another important turning point in its history came in 1921, with the invention of the first mechanical breast pump by Edward Lasker, an internationally renowned engineer and chess player.
In general, the breast pump can be manual or electric .
In the latter case, you can choose between battery-powered models and breast pumps that connect to the electrical network.
We can also talk about a single or double breast pump.
When discussing manual breast pumps , there are two other sub-types to consider. Here are what they are:
- Syringe models;
- pump models.
In the first of the two cases mentioned, the breast pump is characterized by a shape that resembles that of a syringe, with the substantial difference in size.
At the end, you can find the cup, which should be placed on the nipple.
Starting the suction process is very simple: just take the aforementioned moving part and pull it outwards , just like you do with a syringe, until you notice that the milk is starting to come out.
The pump breast pump , the most common type, works by operating a lever located on the piston pump system once the cup is placed on the nipple .
All types of breast pumps have a collection container.
The manual models available today are characterized by the presence of a vacuum regulation system.
The speed, however, can only be adjusted through manual movement.
