Pump Session Duration if Exclusive Pumping?- Ask an LC
Read Time | 4 minutes
"Dear Shondra
I am due next month and have decided that I don't want to breastfeed. If I can, I would like to pump exclusively, but I've heard that it's not as effective as a baby. There's a lot of information on how often to pump, yet I'm still on sure for how long I should pump to make it as good as a baby?"
First, can I say how I LOATHE the misconception that pumping is not as effective as a baby? I know it's a common thing to hear- I hear it from my colleagues and in the support circles of which I am a part.
It grinds my gears!
As far as how long should you pump for, that will depend on a few factors:
Milk storage capacity
How soon your first letdown happens
How many letdowns you need to have till empty
If you're single or double pumping
If you're using an electric pump, handheld pump, or hand expressing
What goal you have: milk storage, increasing supply, etc.
The average pump session lasts 25-40 minutes. This time-span norm is in part due to the notion that more prolonged pumping will damage breast tissue, the fact that some pumps have built-in timers that stop the pump at 30 minutes, and because babies tend to eat for about 30 minutes between both breasts.
Some parents with substantial storage capacities or delays in letdown may need more than 35 minutes, while others with quick succession letdowns or small storage capacities may need less time.
The thing that most determines how long you should pump for is breast emptiness rather than time- pump till empty.
One major thing I see often is that parents don't know how to tell when they have a letdown, or they're unaware that multiple letdowns are supposed to happen during a pump session. This can make pumping stressful because it will take multiple letdowns for your breast to drain well. Just staying hooked up to the pump for 30 minutes or so may not elicit multiple letdowns, so parents get discouraged because they may only get a couple of ounces per pump despite feeling full.
There are strategies you can utilize to speed up the process and elicit multiple letdowns, which I cover in ‘Maximizing Time & Pump Output’ available for free download. These strategies should decrease the amount of time you need to pump to fully drain the breast regardless of how long you decide to pump for.
Over time, you may find that you can decrease the time you're pumping; let's say you make more than your baby consumes in a day, you've got no need to store milk, and you don't plan on donating. In this case, you can pump as you like as long that you continue draining your breasts well enough to get the daily output you need.
Just note that by decreasing the number of complete breast draining sessions, you may have a decrease in output, -both daily and per pump session- especially if you're experiencing frequent breast fullness. Some parents are alarmed by this change in volume, especially if they decrease their supply unknowingly.
If this happens to you, you can check out 4 things you can do today to increase your milk supply FAST which will get you on the fast track to ramping up your production. And as always, seek lactation support if you start to struggle to meet your baby’s daily intake needs.
That was a long way to say there are no rules for how long you should pump! Similarly to how you'd follow your baby were you direct breastfeeding, heed your boobs!
I will leave you with a final gem of information- Exclusive pumping parents should change their valves every 7- 10 days which is roughly every 60-80 pumps. If you power pump, count each power pump session as three pumps.
Using worn valves will increase the time it takes to empty the breast because the valves are a key component in creating suction. Less suction = means less efficient and effective = increased pumping sessions + decrease output.
Happy Pumping!
