Most mothers face pumping milk with a breast pump at some point during their breastfeeding journey. Whether you are going out for a few hours or going back to work and want to leave milk for your baby, here are some tricks to pumping more milk with a breast pump.

It’s always good to know some of the following tricks, and even more so if these get you to pump more milk. Here are some hints for getting more milk with a breast pump:

1. Choose a good breast pump

As with other products like cars or household appliances, many brands of breast pumps are available to buy and have different characteristics. There are indeed mothers who pump milk very easily and can get out a good amount even with the worst breast pump on the market. But some brands take more care of their breast pump offerings and imitate the sucking motion of the baby better through the reproduction of the sucking cycles and the power of pumping. On the other hand, the less effective breast pumps only perform a continuous vacuum by repeatedly pulling on the nipple, which can cause pain. So, assessing and comparing some brands is really advised, whenever possible. You can also read our article on how to choose a breast pump here.

2. Size does matter

Related to the previous point, the most effective breast pumps have different funnel sizes. Women do not have a standard nipple size: there are women with small, large, and very large nipples. For each individual type you need to choose the right funnel size. An inadequate funnel can hinder the extraction and damage your nipple. To know which size is right for you, measure the diameter of the front of the nipple when resting and then add 2mm.

3. The ideal environment

It is not always possible to be in the same location for pumping, although it may help to get a little more milk. Creating a routine will help your body to get used to pumping.

4. Multitask

When babies are small, you can make the most of your time and help the pumping process if you breastfeed your baby on one side, while using the breast pump on the other side.

The milk ejection reflex (or milk let down) that is obtained when the baby suckles from one breast facilitates the extraction with the opposite breast pump. This technique stops working when babies get older because they get distracted by the breast pump and the noise it makes, and it will be impossible to do both at the same time.

If your baby is less than three months old, you can use the time you are breastfeeding to pump milk from the opposite breast. In this way, the let-down reflex of the milk that is produced by your baby when suckling, affects both breasts and allows you pumping more milk quickly.

5. One hour later

About an hour after the baby has breastfed, it may be easier for the mother to pump milk. The breast is a factory and works tirelessly so whenever your baby asks for milk, there is milk. Babies can express milk much more effectively than a breast pump, even though it might be the best on the market, because what is complicated for any breast pump is to produce a milk ejection reflex (milk let down). If you let a while pass after breastfeeding to do the pumping, then you can get a little more milk.

6. Preparation

It is best to perform a good massage on the breasts before starting the pumping session. A good previous massage stimulates the ejection reflex (let-down) of the milk before beginning the pumping, making it easier to collect milk.

7. Repeat, repeat, repeat

To pump more milk, it is better to pump several times a day than once a day for longer. This way, if you pump for 5-7 minutes throughout the day, every hour or every two hours, you will get more milk than pumping one hour in a row one time a day. You can read more about power pumping here.

8. Smell, see, touch

The milk ejection reflex (let-down) is not only produced by the suckling of the baby. Oxytocin is activated by all senses; therefore, touching, smelling, and seeing the baby’s things should make it easier to pump more breast milk.

9. Closeness

For mothers who have premature babies in the hospital, it will be much easier to get milk if they have their babies next to them.

9. The process

It has been shown that a very useful way to get more milk is to do all of these:

• Start with a good breast massage
• Continue breast pump extraction
• Performing the breast compression technique while using the breast pump
• Finish with manual milk removal
• Resist the urge to check and maybe listen to some good music instead

Looking at the amount of milk that comes out during pumping does not help you relax. So it’s best, if possible, to be distracted during the pumping process: watch TV, listen to music or read. For some women, the noise of the breast pump makes them nervous as well. If it’s annoying, it’s best to avoid it. So put on your headphones and listen to your favorite music, it will make the process more relaxed and easier.

If you have more tricks, we would love to hear them and share them.

Our free app, LactApp, for iPhone or Android, provides more information about breastfeeding.