I keep on hearing how the baby is much more efficient extracting milk from the breast than the pump. Does anyone know how much more? So if I pumped for 20 min and got only 3 ozs, does that mean had I nursed, the baby would be getting a lot more than 3 ozs?
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I wonder about this ALL the time!
Bump
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Yeah it's s good question, I'm wondering too...so bump again! I did hear though it's not uncommon to have to pump a couple of times to get enough for one feeding.
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I don't think it's possible to answer this because we all respond differently to pumping and babies and pumps and babies are different!
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@mamajaja: I assume yes that your baby would have gotten more than 3 oz. Everything that I've read says that the baby is better and will get more than the pump can. I know that whenever I have a clog--I could pump 3x at work and it won't come out, but I get home to my LO and she takes care of it.
I'm not sure if it would be a lot more or if there's even a way to measure how much more baby would be getting unless you had a scale at home.
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Good question. I should have tested this when I had our baby scale and was weighing her after each feeding. I am going to see if I still have my notes when I was weighing her after feedings and compare them to what I was expressing... I'm afraid I may not have those paper notes anymore though.
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It's not apples to apples. Babies are more efficient at EMPTYING the breast. But 20 minutes pumping isn't the same as 20 minutes nursing since baby has to break to swallow and breath but the pump is constant.
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I've heard babies can get an oz more than a pump, no idea if that's true though!
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@MamaMoose: this. I don't think there is any real way to equate one to the other. I just had to remind myself that she will naturally eat until she is full and then stop. Sometimes she may eat more, sometimes less (just like me).
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8 comments