Avent vs. Medela breast pump

G

Gracey

Registered User
I bought a single electric Avent breast pump from Bumps to Babes and it broke after 2 uses. (Suction doesn't work).

When I went back to Bs to Bs, they came me the address of the repair center.

Unfortunately, they gave me Medela's address instead! Since I was there already, I noticed that they had a similar product, but better priced, and also better customer service. Their offices are right in Central and the staff were great, considering that I went in with their competitor's product. ;)

Meanwhile, Avent's customer service was a bit grumpy on the phone. The line was terrible. And you have to go all the way to some place in Tsuen Wan if you want to get anything fixed.

If I could do it again, I'd have bought Medela.
 
I bought a Medela pump in 2007 when my son was born and used it continuously (I mostly pumped and fed with a bottle...not breastfed--so sometimes, 10 times/day) for 6 months with him. I've been using it pretty continuously for 4 months (beginning with 3 times/day and now 1 time/day) with my daughter and it's working great. Medela replacement parts are quite affordable and I've noticed they have more outlet stores/representative stores around HK now. We even have one near us out here in the New Territories so one day when I needed a part, my husband could run in quickly, pay the $30 HKD and have it back to me within an hour or so. They also back up their products. I had to have some repairs done on mine when my son was little and they got me what I needed in a reasonable amount of time. Medela is also one of the pumps of choice used in NICUs in the US. If you watch the TV show about the Duggars (19 Kids and Counting) when their youngest daughter was born prematurely you can see Michelle Duggar using a style of hospital grade Medela pump to pump breastmilk for her (just a "fun fact"). It looks like this:

medela-symphony-hospital-grade-breast-pump_1.jpg


I've never used an Avent breastpump but when I was using their bottles with my son and the whole BPA thing became a big deal, I contacted the company to find out if A) their bottles had BPA in them B) if it was safe to use BPA bottles with babies. This was at the height of when this was big news and they told me that yes their bottles have BPA but it's not a big deal and just acted like they weren't concerned and didn't care. Another 3 years later and almost all quality bottles and baby products read "BPA-free" on the package. I guess it was a "big deal." After that, I decided that Avent would no longer have my business.
 
The avent pump is gentler than the medela but I love my medela freestyle for the reason that it's handsfree!!!!! I can do stuff while pumping which is invaluable. It is also of the same power as the hospital grade symphony.

Medela us service is outstanding. I broke the tube once and they sent me a replacement immediately. And my pump broke down recently, and again the sent a new set without question.
 
Want to highlight though that it was Medela USA that is fantastic. I first went to Celki and they wanted to send the pump for repair for 15 day. I said forget it and called USA.

"no prob madam, we will send you a new one immediately, can you return your old pump to us after receipt of the new?" :)
 
Obiwan said:
Want to highlight though that it was Medela USA that is fantastic. I first went to Celki and they wanted to send the pump for repair for 15 day. I said forget it and called USA.

"no prob madam, we will send you a new one immediately, can you return your old pump to us after receipt of the new?" :)
Click to expand...

That's good to note. I dealt with Medela USA for my major repair but if you need minor parts (bottles, flanges, tubes, diaphragm/membrane) Celki has those and they're not too expensive.
 
I also heard lots good staff about the M BP and thinking I will go for this one. But there are so much more expensive here then in UK/US!
 
I swear by my medela freestyle! N it's the reason I managed to breastfeeding my child till she is two..only stopped cos I got pregnant with my second and I intend to use it for my breastfeeding again. It's really efficient and fantastic. Definitely recommended. I would like to buy a new tube though just in case and not sure where to get it. Any advice?;)
 
Oh I just gave a set away. I think you can buy from Celki at Melbourne plaza. They didn't use to carry freestyle 2 years ago but they do now. Best to call to see if they carry the tubes.
 
I exclusively pumped for my daughter who couldn't nurse - I used a Medela Pump in Style which was fantastic - and after a full year of heavy use, it was still going as good as the day I bought it.

I also have used both the Medela and the Avent hand pumps, and personally I prefer the Medela.

And when my daughter was in NICU, I would use the hospital's Medela as well (QMH) - although I have to say that I liked the pump in style better than the hospital grade pump... dunno why!
 
I bought my medela freestyle from celki at Melbourne plaza 2 years ago & love it. I also own a medela hand pump. I just gave birth to #2 and bought freestyle parts at celki.
 
Thanks for the advice on celki. Will try my luck! Just remembered that I also hv an avent manual pump. I found my hands v tired after pumping. Even though I thought it was great at removing lumps n engorgements in the beginning of my "milking career". I have only used it a handful of times. Still prefer the freestyle. Whatever it is, I think it is best to get a double pump. I think it's a huge waste of time n milk to pump on a single pump.
 
With my first child, I breastfed and only pumped a little. She took a bottle no problem, thankfully, but probably had less than 20 bottles (maybe even less than 10) her entire life! I used the milk for mixing into her food though, and I was able to go out without worrying about breastfeeding... With her, a single hand pump was adequate for my needs. A larger, more powerful pump may have led to oversupply and engorgement etc. I personally don't think that a double hands free electric pump is necessary unless you are planning to do a LOT of pumping - ie, if you are working full time, or pumping exclusively. That's just my opinion though :) (although that said, now that I have a double electric, I may still use that next time around, even though I hopefully won't "need" it as badly...)
 
nicolejoy said:
With my first child, I breastfed and only pumped a little. She took a bottle no problem, thankfully, but probably had less than 20 bottles (maybe even less than 10) her entire life! I used the milk for mixing into her food though, and I was able to go out without worrying about breastfeeding... With her, a single hand pump was adequate for my needs. A larger, more powerful pump may have led to oversupply and engorgement etc. I personally don't think that a double hands free electric pump is necessary unless you are planning to do a LOT of pumping - ie, if you are working full time, or pumping exclusively. That's just my opinion though :) (although that said, now that I have a double electric, I may still use that next time around, even though I hopefully won't "need" it as badly...)
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Oh yes, v true indeed! I was working full time and it was a breeze pumping handsfree while driving, keke!! :p if I didn't hv so much pumping, prob a single manual would suffice! Gd pt. :)
 
Even for lower pumping needs, I wouldn't have gone with a manual. I was using a good Medela manual pump and even pumping for a few minutes with that was tiring. When you're a new mother recovering from childbirth (and you never know how that will be) I think if you can conserve energy you're best off. But, I've never had the problem of engorgement due to pumping--I've had the opposite problem of not being able to get enough milk so I needed all the help I could get and a good double electric pump was essential. Even if I was only using it once a day or once every few days I wouldn't bother with a manual pump. If you get some good advice about avoiding engorgement while pumping (LLL can offer that) you should be just fine. Unfortunately, I was never able to hand express as I find it terribly painful even with the "correct technique"--that would be my preferred route if it was possible for me.

["Fun Facts": My guess is that my inability to hand express is due to my "low pain thresh hold" due to having red hair and fair skin. My well-experienced midwife with my first child said that in her experience those of us with red hair and fair skin also hemorrhage more easily. She told me this the first time she saw me in her office and sure enough, I did bleed too much when my son was born and had to be given a lot of pitocin post-partum with my second to prevent the same thing happening again. Interestingly, although I have a lot of the classic signs of "low pain threshold" including sensitive skin (after breastfeeding for 8 months my nipples STILL hurt) I was still able to give birth completely med-free for a combined 55 hours with both of my births.]
 
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Another reason why I love my medela freestyle is because it's easy to clean thoroughly. The pieces come apart so you can actually clean it, unlike the swing where there are "hidden" parts.
 
Hi everyone. We just moved from US to HK with our 7 month old daughter. I brought my Medela pump in style with me, but I think the power cord is not compatible with the outlets here. Can I get a HK power cord somewhere?
By the way, I just discovered this forum and it's been a great source of information for a new mom who is also new to HK.
 
Do you mean just the shape of the plug or the voltage? If it's the voltage, you can get a transformer. Some hardware stores have them. You can also try to look up and call Celki (search medela hong kong) and ask if they have a cord with right voltage
 
Thanks. It's the voltage that's different. I am hesitant to use a transformer as it broke our coffee maker not too long ago. But will for sure look into the other option. Thanks!
 
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