Comments on: Medela Pump In Style Original Breast Pump Review

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:23:17 +0000

This is actually a review for the Medela Freestyle which wasn’t an option but which some people might want to read about. It is also an electric double pump. It works okay but I wish it had the option of changing the pumping speed. I also sometimes have to unassemble and reassemble its pieces to get it to pump correctly. Finally, the replacement Freestyle parts are more difficult to find than the Pump-in-Style. If I could go back, I’d buy a closed-system one (not Medela brand) with variable pumping speed instead of the Freestyle. Also I bought it because the hands-free option was appealing, but in reality I have never used the hands-free option in my first month of pumping. The kit they give for creating it hands-free looks way too complicated; I’d use a hands-free bra instead anyway. But I do wonder if it is more mobile than others since it has the battery powered option.

By: Penny

Penny — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:27:12 +0000

I love this pump! I bought mine six years ago when my daughter was born. I created a nice freezer stash when I was home on maternity leave, and I went back to work when she was just over 3-months-old. I pumped until she was 13-months-old, and she never got a drop of formula. We even got thrush when she was 9-months-old, and we were able to work through it.
After the pump being in our basement for the last five years, I had to drag it out again when my son was born 4.5 months ago. It worked perfectly! I bought new bottles and tubing, just because, but other than that it was perfect!
Once again I created a 100+ ounce freezer stash, and so far so good with him as well.
I would definitely recommend this pump to anyone!!!

By: Lila W.

Lila W. — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:21:52 +0000

This pump is okay for an electric double pump, but I wouldn’t rate it as the best or anything. The breast flanges are designed in a way that requires you hunch over while pumping. If you don’t then your milk may leak out of the shield or into the tubing. So you end up getting a sore back or you lose milk (and have a lot of extra cleaning to do).

In addition to hunching over, I always have to play around with the speed and suction settings in order to letdown, which makes it nearly impossible for me to use this pump a double. In my opinion, this pump is not worth the hefty price tag that comes with it.

By: Tammi

Tammi — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:21:06 +0000

I bought this pump after a hospital-grade electric pump the Medela Classic. I thought that since it was from Medela as well that it would provide comparable performance, but it does not. The pump itself was not nearly as powerful as I had expected it to be especially after paying more than $250 for it. I did however like the tote bag and other accessories that came with it.

It would take forever to stimulate a let-down and then I still had trouble emptying my breasts with this pump. Even when I cranked it up all the way it would still take me twice as long to pump as I did with the rental.

I also found this pump to be quite noisy. Keep in mind that I had already used the rental so I did expect to hear some noise, but this thing made more noise and it always sounded squeaky like it was going to die out or something.

It’s frustrating that I spent so much money on a pump that was so disappointing, and I can’t even return it.

By: Mary S.

Mary S. — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:19:59 +0000

Bottom line: Don’t bother getting this pump. For moms who have to pump regularly, go rent a hospital-grade pump. The cost comes out to be the same, and you get a better quality pump that you don’t have to be stuck with forever.

I bought this item after trying out a hospital-grade electric pump (a Medela Classic on rental), thinking that this was a comparable substitute. IT IS NOT. While the bag and all the accessories that come with it are handy, the pump itself — the item you’re supposedly paying $250+ for — was not very powerful. It took forever to stimulate let-down, and even then it couldn’t get all my milk out, let alone draw out hindmilk. I’ve had better results with a manual pump.

Even at maximum power, it took twice as long to pump the same amount of milk that I was able to express in less than 5 minutes with the rental pump. I am pumping at work, and the less time it takes to express milk, the better. Trying to get the pump to work well only added to the stress that I was already feeling, and that made it even harder for let down.

Plus, the pump was noisy. I expected some noise, like air in a piston, but this sounded like a squeaky hinge on a vault door. Sometimes it sounded like a voice — creepy.

It’s frustrating that I spent so much money on something that was so disappointing, and I can’t return it.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 15:19:15 +0000

Didn’t work for me

My nipples became very sore after pumping with the Medela Pump in Style and my supply started to diminish. Each time I had to pump I became more frustrated, and I eventually had to supplement my daughter’s feedings with formula. I was not satisfied with my PIS. For me this pump definitely wasn’t worth the price.