Impact of a Modified Breast Pump Suction Pattern on Milk Yield During the Initiation of Lactation: A pilot study.
T M Nicole Manshanden, Danielle K Prime, Fedde Scheele and 1 others
PMID 41276904WHAT IT FOUND
For postpartum patients pumping with a clinical indication, adding 5 minutes of slower suction after 15 minutes increased median total milk yield from 4.69 mL to 7.59 mL.
The increase was seen overall and on days 3 and 4, not days 1 or 2.
Key findings
01Median total milk volume was 7.59 mL after 20 minutes, compared with 4.69 mL after 15 minutes, and the paper reports a significant improvement (P < .001).
02The additional 5 minutes of MAINTAIN expression yielded a median 2.34 mL of colostrum/milk.
03The increase was statistically significant on postpartum Days 3 and 4, but not on Days 1 or 2.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was a pilot with 39 participants analysed, and only 4 were included on Day 1. There was no separate control group, so the extra time and the changed suction pattern cannot be separated. The session lasted 20 minutes and participants were followed only for the first 4 days postpartum. The safety and tolerability of repeated use of the modified pattern were not tested. Participants were women who were both breastfeeding and pumping, so it does not address those who pump exclusively.
Declared interests
The study was conducted with support of Medela, the pump manufacturer; the paper states that no financial funding was received by the study site.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that the slower suction pattern alone caused the extra milk or that all postpartum patients should pump longer. The study added time and changed pattern together, had no control group, and was a small single-session pilot.