Breast Pump - Reasons For Use

Reasons For Use

Women use breast pumps for many reasons. Many women use breast pumps to continue breastfeeding after they return to work. They use the pump to express breast milk, which is later bottle fed to their child by a caregiver. A breast pump may also be used to stimulate lactation for women with a low milk supply or those who have not just given birth. A breast pump may be used to relieve engorgement, a painful condition whereby the breasts are overfull, possibly preventing a proper latch by the infant. If an infant does not latch properly for direct breastfeeding and the mother still desires the benefits of breast milk, she may choose to pump exclusively. If the mother needs to take medication that affects the breast milk and may be harmful to the infant, the mother may "pump and dump" the breast milk to keep up her milk supply during the time period that she is on the medication and may resume nursing after the course of medication is completed. Finally, pumping may be desirable to continue lactation and its associated hormones to aid in recovery from pregnancy even if the pumped milk is not used.