Wearable Breast Pump: A Guide to Comfortable Pumping

Although it can be a little tricky to get used to at first, expressing and pumping breast milk shouldn’t hurt, feel uncomfortable or cause breast tenderness.

If you’re just getting started and have run into some issues or are feeling unsure, it’s a good idea to…

• Measure your nipples to make sure you’re using the correct horn size.
• Check that your bra fits well, and that your wearable pump fits comfortably inside.
• Experiment with your pump’s settings to choose the right ones for you.

Using the correct horn size

To know that you’re using the right horn size, you can take the COMFY test…

• Centre of your nipple moves freely without pain.
• Only a little bit of your areola is pulled into the horn’s tunnel.
• Motion of your breast is gentle and rhythmic.
• Feels comfortable.
• Yields well-drained breasts and your boobs feel noticeably softer and lighter after.

If you’re still having trouble with your pump, you can use our measuring guide to make sure you’re using the correct horn size.

Feeling comfortable in your bra while pumping

After having a baby, your boobs will no doubt have changed a little – both in shape and size – and it’s a good idea to get your bra size remeasured so you can get a few new comfortable nursing bras that fit well and offer you the best support possible.

Our wearable pump fits easily and securely inside your nursing bra and feel comfortable to use – no matter which style you choose. You can also use our wearable pump inside your regular bras, but it may feel a little less secure.

The key is to make sure the bra you’re wearing holds the pump upright and level against your breast, even when you’re on the move.

If you’re finding your pump is squeezing your boob too much, you can try adding a bra adjuster clip (included with your pump) to the strap of your nursing bra to give your boobs and the pump a little more room.

If you lean forward, you’ll notice the pump will automatically stop working until you’re standing or sitting upright again.

Choosing the right settings

The key here is to remember that every mum is different, every day is different, and every pumping session is different!

Using a breast pump feels different for every mum, and the settings that work well for you one day, can feel less comfortable the next, but it’s key to remember that pumping should never be painful.

• Massage mode: To get started, you can select the ‘massage mode’, this uses a higher frequency and lower intensity to encourage hormone release to get you started. This setting should help with your letdown, a reflex that releases the milk in your milk ducts and allows the milk to start flowing. Some women feel it as a tingling or warm sensation, others don’t feel anything but notice their milk starts to flow more freely. You can switch to massage mode at any point during your session as and when you need.
• Expression mode: Expression mode is designed to mimic a baby’s sucking pattern, with a typically lower frequency and higher intensity compared to massage mode. Our wearable pump has eight expression settings, each with a higher intensity than the last. Start on level one and increase approximately every 30 seconds until you find a setting that feels comfortable but also produces a good level of output. If it doesn’t feel right or hurts, just drop back down a setting until it feels more comfortable.

ConstantComfort™ technology

Our ConstantComfort™ technology can make our wearable breast pump’s suction feel a little different to other pumps because it’s designed to feel and behave more like a baby.

It feels like a continuous low-level vacuum around your nipple with small waves of pressure to draw the breast milk out. This vacuum is like a baby latching on using their mouth, and the pressure waves feel like them using their tongue to draw milk from the nipple.

Other pumps tend to have more of a high-to-low pressure pattern, but our wearable pump feels gentler, and the continuous vacuum keeps it in place and stops it from slipping during your expressing session so you can get on with your day while you pump.