Breastfeeding vs. Pumping: What’s Right for You?

Some benefits of breastfeeding for both baby and mom include:

• Emotional Bonding: Breastfeeding encourages the release of oxytocin, the "love hormone," which strengthens the emotional connection between you and your baby. The close contact between a mother and their baby creates a relaxing experience, helping the two learn one another’s cues and personalities. 
• Nutritional & Immunological Advantages: Breast milk is tailored to your baby’s developmental stage and provides antibodies that help protect against illness. When your baby latches, their saliva interacts with your breast, signaling your body to produce targeted antibodies against the specific bacteria and viruses they’ve been exposed to. 
• Natural Feedback Loop: Breast milk production operates on a simple principle: supply and demand. The more frequently a baby nurses, the more milk the body is signaled to produce. This natural feedback loop helps regulate milk supply based on your baby’s needs, ensuring they get enough nourishment without creating an uncomfortable oversupply. When you feed your baby on demand at the breast, rather than sticking to a rigid pumping schedule, you're supporting this dynamic system.
• Convenience & Affordability: While breastfeeding requires time, energy, and physical effort from the mother, it often comes with no out-of-pocket cost. Compared to the ongoing expense of breast pumps, breastfeeding can offer significant financial savings for many families. Breastfeeding can also be incredibly convenient. There’s no need to prepare bottles, find clean water, or warm up milk. Your baby can feed on demand, anytime and anywhere.

Despite its many benefits, some moms may face breastfeeding challenges, especially in the first few weeks. Our expert staff are here to prepare and support you with our phone and virtual consultations. You may consider a prenatal consultation with your significant other to discuss any of these potential challenges.

• Time Commitment: Breastfeeding is a commitment that centers on feeding your baby on demand. This means you'll nurse your baby when he or she shows signs of hunger. 
• Discomfort & Nipple Pain: As you and your baby are learning the new skill of breastfeeding, there can be breast and nipple soreness. If pain persists or there is skin breakdown, latch support is recommended to assure a pain-free nursing experience.
• Uncertainty About Intake: Although you cannot see the measurements of exactly what your baby is taking in, you can learn to rely on watching your baby's cues, wet and poopy diapers, and weight gain patterns to reassure you.
• Imbalance of Labor: Another challenge can be the uneven distribution of feeding responsibilities. An exclusively breastfeeding mom is solely responsible for feedings in the early weeks after birth. This is an opportunity for communication and sharing other responsibilities with the significant other and family members to allow the new mom time to rest with the baby.
• Lifestyle Challenges: Feeding in public can initially feel intimidating, and the unpredictability of on-demand feeding may overwhelm some breastfeeding mothers. Returning to work can also present logistical and emotional challenges, such as finding time and private space to feed or adjusting to time away from your baby.
• Fatigue & Exhaustion: Breastfeeding is physically and emotionally demanding. It’s important to acknowledge the exhaustion that can come from frequent night feedings and the pressure to meet your baby’s needs around the clock.

At CLS, we understand that breastfeeding is a journey filled with highs and lows, learning curves, and moments of deep connection. Our lactation consultants guide you with compassionate, practical support so you feel confident and empowered in your breastfeeding journey.

Pumping offers several meaningful benefits for both parent and baby.

• Flexibility & Independence: Pumping lets moms provide breast milk while managing work, a busy schedule, or caring for other children. It also supports mothers whose babies may struggle with latching or are in the NICU and unable to nurse directly.
• Shared Feeding Responsibilities: Pumping allows your partner or other caregivers the opportunity to be involved in feedings. For a breastfeeding mom, this is often incorporated after the first month of breastfeeding when the milk production is established and your baby is efficient at latching to the breast.
• Monitoring Milk Supply: For moms concerned about milk supply, pumping provides measurable insight, helping guide feeding decisions or discussions with our lactation consultant.

Some disadvantages of pumping breast milk can include the following.

• Time-Consuming: Pumping typically involves a consistent schedule, often every 2–3 hours for exclusive pumpers, and each session itself can take up to about 20 - 25 minutes. 
• Additional Expense: While breastfeeding is free, pumping requires access to the right equipment, from pumps to bottles to storage bags, which can increase your expenses. At CLS, we provide insurance-covered breast pumps in our online store.
• Logistical Demands: Storing, labeling, and transporting milk safely can be overwhelming, especially for working mothers or those on the go. Cleaning pump parts thoroughly after each use also adds to the daily routine.
• Discomfort or Difficulty with Let-Down: Pumping can sometimes feel uncomfortable or make it harder to trigger a let-down reflex, especially if the flange doesn’t fit properly or the pumping technique isn’t quite right. These issues are common and can often be resolved with the right guidance.
• Emotional Considerations: While some mothers thrive with pumping, others may feel it’s less intimate than breastfeeding and feel emotionally disconnected at times. Your feelings are valid, and finding ways to reconnect, like cuddling during bottle feeds, can help.

Whether you’re pumping out of necessity or choice, our lactation consultants offer nonjudgmental, expert guidance to help you feel supported and informed. From learning how to use your pump effectively to creating a schedule that works for your lifestyle, we ensure you never feel alone during your pumping journey.

Benefits of combination feeding include: 

• Greater Flexibility: Combination feeding allows you to adjust your routine to fit real life, whether handling childcare transitions, managing work commitments, or simply giving yourself space to rest and recover.
• Supporting Milk Supply: Regular stimulation of the breasts, both through nursing and pumping, can help maintain and boost milk production. This is especially helpful in the early weeks when establishing supply is critical.
• Reduced Stress & Pressure: Knowing that you can pivot between nursing and pumping can ease anxiety and give you flexibility to do what’s best for you and your baby at any given moment.