Customer Reviews

Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump with Shoulder Bag

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I rented the Symphony from the hospital for the first month before purchasing the PIS shoulder bag pump. I love love love it. It is so powerful, I think it is even more powerful than the Symphony. Its easy to carry around and can hold all my pumping accessories. I would recommend shopping all the sites (Amazon and Target) before buying b/c I paid 279 and now I see it on here for 235. I bought mine at Target and the week later it went on sale for 240 so I took my reciept back and got an adjustment and the difference back. I would suggest getting a few sets of flanges though. I have 2 and am considering buying a third. I am pumping full time. I made mine hands free buy cutting slits in an old sports bra and that has been wonderful. I figured the "freestyle's" bra clips could be time consuming and the freestyle is so much more expensive. The sports bra thing works amazing.

I purchased this breast pump approximately one month ago. I would highly recommend it to any breastfeeding mother. It has two phases to help stimulate let-down faster. I am a nurse and use a Symphony hospital-grade pump while I'm at work. I honestly cannot tell a difference in the quality between the Pump In Style Advanced and the Symphony. The pump does not detach from the bag but I have not found this to be a problem as other reviewers have. It is an expensive breast pump but well worth the money. And if you do your research you can find it cheaper. I bought mine at bestbuybaby.com for $200 (I think maybe $240 for the metro bag) with no shipping/handling and no sales tax.

I bought this breast pump after a mother of 3 recommended buying a medela pump and after buying the manual medela harmony pump. I did my research and decided this was the pump that would suit my needs. I decided to quit nursing but wanted to give my daughter breastmilk. I was also going to be returning to work and needed to pump for when I am gone.

Pros:
After figuring out how to pump properly, I started getting more milk. It has a suction control which helps when I am sore and need a lower setting. It also has a 2 minute letdown which automatically switches to regular pumping. You can also push the button to go back and forth between regular and letdown mode. I like that I can pump one breast at a time or double pump. I liked all the accessories the package came with such as sample nipple cream, breast pads, and bottles. The pump also fits standard bottles. It's easy to clean after each session and has less pieces per breast than the Harmony.

Cons:
It's quite heavy and sometimes a pain to move from the regular spot that I keep it. The bottles did not come with rings so I have to use the rings from other bottles to use the bottle to feed my daughter. The nipple shields were not the correct size and I had to buy a different size.

I have had a love/hate relationship with my breast pump. When I was a new mom and VERY post-partum, my milk was slow coming and and so I had to pump extra to stimulate my milk. I HATED it then--I felt like a Borg (for any Trekkers our there) and I swear I could hear the pump talking to me, but it did the trick. I've been successfully nursing at home and pumping at work for the 10 months. My son in healthy and I feel very good about our progress. In fact, I've saved up enough milk, that I will be stopping soon and using the frozen breastmilk to get him up to a year.

My one complaint is that after all my use and transporting of the pump, the cord came loose from the power converter and started to spark! Now, this doesn't diminish the effectiveness of the pump, but it's sort of a fire hazard! I've had another friend have the same problem when she used the pump with her second child. I emailed Medela to alert them to the problem and bought a second power cord.

Finally, before you purchase this from Amazon, check to see if breastpumps are covered by your health insurance. My insurance covered it if it was purchased from a medical supplier, so I got mine at the hospital.

**Addition: Medela has since returned my email with this comment, "We apologize that you encountered a problem with the power cord. Sometimes, if the cord is wrapped around the plug during storage, this causes the cord to twist and can cause it to fray. We suggest no wrapping the cord around the plug, but storing it as it was when the cord was removed from the box."

After using the Medela "Symphony" (hospital grade pump)while I was in the hospital, I called the company to ask them what model could I purchase that came close to the "Symphony" model. They said the "Pump In Style Advance" comes the closest. I purchased it because I had a breast reduction 8 years ago and was not producing much milk. This breast pump has helped increase my milk production and is not painful (as many people have suggested about breast pumping). My only disappontment is that I wish I could just purchase the pump without the travel bag. Maybe that would bring down the cost for people just interested in pumping at home. Also, I wish the actual pump mechanism was removable/detachable from the bag, but it's not in this model. I think you have to purchase the "METRO" by Medela which is even more expensive to get that added ability. Overall, I am happy I bought it.

Although the price is a bit steep, some can get a big discount on it if their work has a partnership with Lifeworks. This pump is fantastic, especially since my baby has latching problems. A downside to this pump (that is true for all automatic pumps) is that it may pinch a bit at first, but since the dial allows you to adjust suction strength you can start off slowly and work your way up to max suction. There are also different size breast shields that would probably make the suction pinch less, but since you automatically get the 24mm size and it worked well enough, I didn't order another. Once the pump starts, you can get enough milk out to not only relieve engorgement, but also stimulate yourself to make as much as the baby needs (which may not happen if the baby doesn't nurse well). The only complaints I have about this model is that it's not really hands-free and I feel the power cord is too short. It's necessary to hold the pump on your breasts and be careful or you will still dribble out some milk out the bottom of the breastshield at first. I also would have preferred another couple feet on the cord length, but it's still very portable and long enough to use in most locations.

Another really nice feature about this product is the milk storage bag and freezer pack. It allows you to store breast milk and keep it fresh for up to 12 hours if you can't be around a fridge. This is crucial if you have to travel to visit family (as I found out) and can't pump a fresh supply whenever you want.

Also, the bottles and nipples you get with the pack are wonderful. The bottles are only 5 oz and it wasn't long before I had to buy a pack of 8 oz bottles (there's a coupon included when you buy the pump). So many types of bottles and nipples leak terribly, but I have had no problems with Medela brand bottles and nipples. They're easily removable for cleaning, yet they NEVER leak. If I hadn't gotten this pump I would never have known what great bottles this company makes, and now it's the only type of bottle I use to feed her, since all the other types of bottles dribble around the seal.

I am SOOOOOO happy that I bought this one. I have been renting the hospital Lactina model for 5 months afraid of regretting buying one. Not only does it get as much milk as the Lactina, it gets milk faster and is more gentle than the Lactina! If your job offers an Employee Assistance Program you will get it even cheaper than online (including shipping and handling). I should have bought this sooner, I would have saved even more money. This pump definitely will help me reach my goal of providing at least 1 years worth of milk for my son. (This pump can encourage overproductivity of milk, which is great when you need to stock up if you have to be away from your child or can't nurse.)Would recommend all moms to get one.

With my first two children (now 12 and 8) I used a Playtex brand breast pump and was very successful. However, the models have changed over the years and I was hesitant to purchase a Playtex model after reading the reviews. Anyhow, I wound up purchasing this Medela breast however, there are a few draw backs to the unit:
1 - This breast pump is rather expensive.
2 - Bag is a bit heavy and bulky to move around or travel with.
3 - It is quite noisy.
4 - I feel like I am pumping the same amounts as I did with the more affordable Playtex model.
All-in-all I am pleased with the pump. It does the job. I do think that it is overpriced and in today's economy, that is a big issue. I wonder if I would have been just as successful with a Playtex model or a more affordable model.

I knew I wanted to breastfeed from the moment I got pregnant. But I also knew that I would be working and I would need a breast pump to express milk when Willow was unable to nurse because I was at work. But, since Willow never latched on, I was glad that I had spent the money and bought what I feel is the best breast pump out there, the Medela Pump In Style Breast Pump.

The great thing about this breast pump is that it has two nozzles so you can express from both breasts at once, if you care to. It has a variable control so you can decide how much suction you would like to have. When I first started, I went with what it felt like when Willow tried to nurse and then as I used it, I was able to up the suction until I had it maxed out. And let me tell you. I know everyone is different, but when I really got into the pumping groove, I pumped an ounce a minute.

I just can't say enough good things about this pump. It's easy to use and has a handy shoulder bag to carry it in and comes with a freezer pack to store the milk. Everything a pumping mom needs!

The pump itself is great -- I can't compare it to other brands, but I know that it has worked well for me so far. Too bad there are so many parts to clean, but I guess that holds true for all pumps. My only complaint so far with the Medela Pump in Style Advanced is that 1)the shoulder bag is REALLY heavy and not very attractive, and 2)I wish I could buy only the pump (without the bag & all the bulky extras), but still have the two-stage pumping. Other than that, so far so good. I highly recommend this, if you want to spend the money. I also borrowed a friend's pump, which is discouraged by Medela and many websites devoted to pumping. Just so that you know, all the Medela pieces are easily sanitized. I see no problem in borrowing a friend's pump as long as you clean the pieces thoroughly. Or you can even buy your own pieces for a small amount of money.