LactConnect Breastfeeding Blog

Moms often ask - "Of the pumps that are offered free with my insurance plan, which pump is my best choice?"  This is a great question because there are several factors to consider when choosing a breast pump.

Most importantly, hygiene needs to be considered when choosing a breast pump.  Is this a pump that won't contaminate my breast milk?  The answer is in whether it has an open or closed system.  Closed system pumps protect your milk from having dust or bacteria blown into the bottles while you are pumping.  The biggest offender in this area are the Medela pumps.  They do not offer a closed system and the Medela company does not comply with the codes set up by the World Health Organization so it is easy to rule this brand out.

The next consideration is the function.  Is it a double electric auto-cycling breast pump with at least 250mmHG which is milligrams of mercury, a measurement commonly used in measuring strength of suction. Most commonly infants do 220mmHG when th…

Moms often ask, how much water should I be drinking while breastfeeding?  What they are really asking is how much water do I need to make more milk.  The answer:  water does not make milk.  Breastmilk is made from blood and while your body does not function well at any task if dehydrated, drinking too much water can have several negative effects on breastfeeding.


The first was over-hydration can negatively effect breastfeeding is actually reducing milk supply.  Not only is there no data to support the assumption that increasing water intake significantly increases milk supply, there are actually studies showing the opposite. One significant study by Illingworth and Kilpatrick tested 210 postpartum mothers.  Half of which drank an average of 69 oz daily and the other half exceeded 100 oz daily.  The mothers forced to drink beyond normal amounts produced less milk and their babies gained less weight.  
Another disadvantage to too much water while breastfeeding is the increased elasticity …

Are your bags packed for the hospital?  Moms tend to read extensively about what they need for labor and delivery, but let's not forget about after the birth.  Breastfeeding can be easier if you have a few essentials to help a mama out.  So what should you take to the hospital for breastfeeding?

1.  Breast Pump  It is not an uncommon occurrence for moms to want or need to pump in the hospital.  Perhaps you have an exceptionally sleepy baby, are separated from your baby for health reasons, or have noticed you have flat or inverted nipples and need a little assistance.  Taking your breast pump to the hospital is a great way to ensure you have one if you need one.  There are limited "floor pumps" and since insurance may not cover the extras, you won't be billed for a personal collection kit if you have your own pump at hand.  Make sure you choose a good quality pump such as the Spectra S2 Breast Pump, Ameda Finesse or the Hygeia EnJoye Breast Pump.
2.  Nursing Bras You ar…

Although we love Pumpin' Pal Super Shields, some brands were just not working well with them.  The reason is that when you have a one piece breast shield that does not come apart, you had to insert the Super Shield into the primary breast shield to get the angled comfort of the Pumpin Pal breast shields.

Not any more!  Pumpin' Pal now makes an adapter for Spectra so that you can use this system with your current Spectra parts avoiding any reduction of the suction on your breast pump when using the Pumpin' Pal Spectra Super Shields.


These Pumpin' Pal Spectra Super Shields are offered a wide variety of sizes from x-small 15-22mm to x-large 35-40mm.  So now you can have the size that fits perfectly to properly compress the milk sinuses in a comfortable angled breast shield that allows you to sit back and pump instead of leaning forward which can cause back pain and fatigue.  The proper compression of the areola in this angle offers better milk transfer which in turn helps…

For moms who are a  C, D or even DD cup, nursing bras are relatively easy to find; but if you are a larger cup size and in need of a DDD, F, G or H cup nursing bra things can get a little more complicated.  It is especially difficult if you never had to find larger bras or if you were wearing an incorrect bra size previously and did not not know that you needed a big nursing bra.

The first step is to make sure you are getting the size you need.  If you have been measured for a nursing bra, did the bra fitter take three measurements or just two?  If she did a measurement under the bust, over the bust and the fullest part of the bust you can presume you got a correct size or at least a good size to start your search as brands can differ.  If you only got two measurements, those measurements are meant to fit you for brands that don't normally come in F, G and H cup sizes so you may want to try again to get fitted for your size. You can do this at home as well if you follow these nurs…

August 1-7 is traditionally World Breastfeeding Week (#wbw2018), while the whole month of August National Breastfeeding Month (#nbm18) bringing awareness to breastfeeding benefits and to encourage breastfeeding in our nation and worldwide.


I love the above Support Breastfeeding banner and it's tag line:  Whenever.  Wherever.  However.  Breastfeeding should be celebrated whether done via supplemental lactation aid feeding tube, in tandem with multiples or siblings, with a single baby, through pumping breast milk at work or exclusinvely pumping and bottle feeding.

Not only should breastfeeding be encouraged however moms choose or are able to accomplish it, but we need to be educated about the benefits of long term breastfeeding.  Check out the Breastmilk Changes infographic below to see how breastmilk benefits infants and toddlers alike as it changes to meet the needs of your growing child.



Lactation Connection has been encouraging and supporting moms for 25 years which means some o…