Trouble Pumping

[Plah280]

never had pumping problems til 4 months...NOW HAving Trouble pumping, I self express & find milk..my child in 5 months and eats every 2-3hrs and is healthy & happy....what are some suggestions to help pump?

[crunchymom2b]

Sometimes you just don't respond to a pump. Are you EPing? If not, why are you pumping specifically?

Have you checked over all the parts? If the membranes are old or ripped that can cause the pump not to work well, you should replace them and the valves every few months. Is everything connected properly? Did milk get in the motor? How old is the motor?

[ans7]

I definitely second checking your valves and membranes. I also started getting more milk when I turned the suction down. I thought higher suction equaled more milk, but I had it up too high. Turn the suction up until you feel discomfort and then turn it down a notch from there. Are you nursing and pumping? If you're pumping just for storage you have the most milk first thing in the morning, so you could try pumping then.

[Mamanvert]

I found my breast didn't respond well to a pump until I hand expressed exclusively for a week. Ugh, that was annoying! But after that I had to exclusively pump and its like my breast just got the hang of it. It does take time to get a good amount of milk out. I also found massaging my breast and hand expressing while the pump is on really helps too. It empties them out well.

[Nerissa]

I 3rd checking all your parts to make sure they are correct. Especially them membranes.

I get the best results first thing in the morning. Lunch time and evenings I only get a few ounces.

Make sure you are eating enough, drinking enough. Maybe add some oatmeal to your diet.

[AJHartman]

I had to buy a different sized flange ( I think that's what that part is called) because the one that came with the pump was too big and I couldn't get a let down. But if you didn't have problems before then I'd think its more likely to be a suction problem.

[mylilemma&sofia]

I'm having the same problem. I replaced my flanges with pumpin pals and that helps.