Philips Avent Electric Breast Pump Review
Philips Avent Electric Breast Pump
Reviewed by Nicola Morton-Wright
Philips Avent single handheld electric breast pump “Designed for comfort: Being stressed or in a hurry can make it more difficult to release your milk and can also affect your milk supply. So feeling comfortable and relaxed really helps. Our pump has been designed to increase your comfort when you are pumping.”
The Philips Avent single electric breast pump is advertised as the number one recommended breast pump by mums in the UK. Having used this for some time now with ease, comfort and success, I can see why it is so popular.
When I first got the pump, I had not appreciated that it could be used as a manual pump, through the mains electricity or with a battery pack (using A4 batteries). This versatility meant that I could take it with me (particularly as even with the parts it is extremely compact and easy to assemble). I found it particularly useful when I was away from home for several days or needed to be away from my daughter for a day.
The pump comes with a variety of useful equipment including an instruction booklet and even assembling the pump for the first time proved to be quick and simple.
For mains operated, when assembling the pump you just need to remember to insert the white valve in the main pump and attach the diaphragm in the top compartment. By holding down the blue button on the control handle a light will come on and you can begin pumping. You can set the pump to the right rhythm which works for you and then press the blue button again and the machine will mimic the manual rhythm you have set up. If you want to alter the rhythm then you just need to press the blue button and you can reset it to a preferred rhythm. This means you have total control. There is some noise when the machine is working electronically and by battery but I still felt able to use it on a plane and while my daughter was sleeping without disturbing others.
The pump assembly is the same when using the battery pack except that instead of plugging in a cable from the control handle to a mains plug, you just insert the cable from the battery pack into the control handle and follow the same instructions of pressing the blue button to operate and set the rhythm. Having the battery pack as a back-up when access to mains electricity was not possible really took the stress out of being out and needing to express.
There were occasions when I needed to use the manual pump (for example when I took a flight). This was remarkable easy too and just involved ensuring I took the manual pump handle with me. Although it sounds like a lot of equipment, it is all very compact and lightweight to carry in my baby bag.
Apart from the ease and versatility of use, another major plus and one of the main reasons for recommending this pump (having tried other pumps when I had my previous baby) is that the padding or ‘massage cushion’ which is next to the breast means that expressing is comfortable and results in me expressing quickly and without any discomfort.
Avent is a very well-known baby brand and the fact that my daughter preferred Avent teats meant storage of the expressed milk was particularly convenient and saved me time as I could express directly into Avent bottles.
In summary, I cannot recommend this single electric pump highly enough. It has made my life easier and made the task of expressing in an already busy day simple and comfortable. In my view it provides value for money as I have used it time and again which has enabled me to continue breast feeding my daughter much longer than I did with my first.
Buy from Philips Avent here.