Review: Whittlestone Manual Breast Pump
~by Bekah Sealey
Purchasing a breast pump is made all the more difficult for the fact that they are almost always a nonreturnable item. A good pump is not inexpensive, either. After doing a little internet searching, I stumbled upon a model of breast pump I’d not heard of before–the Whittlestone (there is also a Dr. Brown’s pump that looks virtually identical, except for the shape of the collection bottle). It looks very similar to the Isis which is a good, though not great, pump. It appeared to have remedied many of the qualities I found inferior about the Isis, namely lots of separate pieces making assembly and cleaning a chore, also increasing possibilities for cracking and breakage because of repeated assembly and disassembly. My biggest complaint with the Isis, though, is that I’ve never been able to achieve a let down while pumping with it. Also, with the shape/size of my nipples, I’ve incurred damage due to too much suction. While I am not an avid pumper, after six years of ownership, I’ve certainly had enough time with the device. At some points, I’ve even preferred manually expressing my breast, since the Isis wasn’t relieving the engorgement I was suffering having been away from tandem nursers through more than one feed. The trouble with expressing, however, is that I can be a little too harsh on my breast through a combination of impatience and efficiency.
The Whittlestone claims, like many pumps, to more closely imitate the suckling action of a nursing child. Unlike other pumps, this pump has minimal suction, and a adjustable dial to control even what little suction it offers. It’s main method of operation is the shape of the silicone inserted into the plastic flange.
