Efficacy of breast milk expression using an electric breast pump.
The authors compared breastfeeding and expression characteristics in 30 mothers of exclusively breastfeeding, healthy term infants. Mean (+/- SD) volume per breastfeed from one breast was 71.8 +/- 26.3 mL, and mean duration per breastfeed for one breast was 16.6 +/- 10.5 minutes. Mean volume of milk expressed in 5 minutes from one breast was 60.6 +/- 39.0 mL and corresponded to the expression of 99.4 +/- 82.6% of the milk stored in the breast. The rate of milk expression differed greatly between mothers (P = .0001) but remained constant for the first 2.5 minutes before decreasing with time (P = .0001). These results show the mean breastfeed volume was similar to the volume of milk expressed in a 5-minute period. Furthermore, this study is the first to establish protocols that allow for the objective determination of breast pump efficacy.
Mitoulas
Leon R
LR
University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia.
Lai
Ching Tat
CT
Gurrin
Lyle C
LC
Larsson
Michael
M
Hartmann
Peter E
PE
D000328:Adult; D001940:Breast / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D001942:Breast Feeding; D004867:Equipment Design / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007774:Lactation; D008893:Milk Ejection / Q000502:physiology*; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D013396:Suction / Q000295:instrumentation; D013997:Time Factors