The Babyation Pump Review

Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. I purchased this pump out of pocket to review for my clients. The thoughts on this pump are entirely my own.

The Babyation Pump has finally hit the market!

If you have been in the pumping world for a few years, you know it was originally slated to launch in 2017-2018(ish) but life happens, COVID happened, supply chains came to a screeching halt, and well, it is finally here! So now it’s time to try it out and review it! Before you read this blog post know that this pump is actually quite difficult to review and describe because there really isn’t anything comparable on the market. This is a unique pump in a category all of it’s own.

What does the Babyation Pump have to offer?

The pump design itself is novel, with the pump motor being integrated with a cooler unit with an ice pack inside. The pump collection bottles sit in the main unit and attach with long tubing to the actual breast shields. The breast shields are a soft, squishy silicone that projects less than 2 inches from the body. The pump uses a constant suction pattern to essentially latch to the breast, and the suction pulses with a gentle collapsing/pulsing of the flanges around the nipple in a rhythmic fashion. The milk is then sucked through the tubing to the bottles sitting inside of the main unit. This tubing is disposable and intended to be used for up to 24 hours going with no more than 6 hours between uses. There are breast pads designed to be used for discretion that allows for almost invisible pumping.

What are the benefits or desirable features of this pump?

-The motor is really quiet. It doesn’t disrupt anyone sleeping in the same room. It would be hard to detect the noise in a normally loud room. And, even if it is audible, the sound is closer to the purr of a cat than the mechanical pumping sound typically associated with a breast pump.
-The flange style offers a new level of discrete pumping with a profile and breast pad design that makes it easy to wear your normal clothing without any obvious enhancements to the bust-line at pump time.
-Its comfortable! The suction pattern is really comfortable, but at the same time, you can feel the effectiveness. The relatively quick and short suction pattern combined with slight compression results in a pumping experience that closely resembles nursing a baby.
-The integrated cooler in the unit does cut down on the immediate work associated with setting up and cleaning up from a pump session.
-The sleek, main unit doesn’t scream breast pump. If it was sitting out in the open not pumping, most people would not guess what it actually was!
-The pump can be 100% controlled by the app. There is literally no need to touch the pump unit other than to put flanges in place or clean up at the end.

What are the considerations or drawbacks?

-This is not a hackable pump. If you need a different flange size or style other than what they have, this may not work. If you need collection bottles bigger than 5 ounces, it may not work for you.
-The pump requires the use of proprietary parts that are only available from the company.
-The reusable tubing is refrigerated, or kept cool to be reused, which means the mixing of milk at different temperatures. This is a practice many are okay with, and I personally trust the research that led to the FDA approval of the tubing. But, others may be uncomfortable with this or may have babies who are not candidates for using this practice. This is a concern for anyone considering the pump as the only alternative to using this practice would be to use new tubing every session.
-The main unit is portable in the sense that it has a rechargeable battery and can be carried around, but the pump turns off with any minor tilting which does limit some of the portability in addition to the presence of tubing. I would put the portability at the same level as a Spectra size pump with a wearable bra.

Costs of the Babyation Pump:

This is not a low-cost breastpump. The initial pump cost is $500 with the ongoing need to replace tubing daily at a cost of $35 for 20 sets of tubing, and other parts including flanges, bottles, posts (these are the filters that protect the motor from contamination).

In talking to Sam, the CEO of Babyation, here’s what I learned about the anticipated replacement schedules (that’s right the CEO is actually available to customers to discuss the pump!):

Tubing: every 24 hours or after 6 hours of non-use
Bottles: as needed for damage 6-12 months would be average
Flanges: every 4-6 months
Posts: every 4-6 months
Icepacks: as needed for damage
Breastpads: every 4-6 months

Replacement parts are only available through Babyaytion’s website.

Babyation’s Flange Sizing:

Flanges for this pump come in 3 sizes with a suggested size range based on nipple diameter-

Small: 17 mm or smaller
Medium: 18-23 mm
Large: 23 mm or more

The flanges are relatively short compared to many pumps, but the suction pattern lends itself to less stretching of the nipple than average, so the length will really only be a concern for the most elastic of nipples.

Video of an actual nipple in all 3 sizes of flanges for those who are curious:

This may also be the first pump in history where my response on sizing is to try the different sizes and see what works for you. I trialed all 3 sizes and found it changed the sensation based on where it latched to the nipple and areola. I settled on the small for myself but debated small versus large for several sessions. Medium pinched based on where it latched. If you have a heavier flow of milk, you may prefer the larger sizing to allow more room for the milk volume.

Particularly sensitive nipples may actually find success rotating sizes to change where the nipple is stimulated.

A pump on the market with the closest function to this would be the Limerick pumps which have a one size fits all flange sizing that is successfully used by the majority of pumping parents without issue. It’s just a suction pattern that allows flexibility in sizing without risk of nipple trauma.

Let’s Talk Tubing:

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A post shared by Genuine Lactation (@genuinelactation)

Advantages I found with this pump:

-The flange design and breast pads reduce the bulk of the pump on the chest, and the quiet motor makes this one of the easiest pumps available to hold your baby while pumping.
-One of the most discrete designs available. If the motor and tubing aren’t visible, no one would suspect you were pumping if you are using the breast pads. I used this while video conferencing and asked several if they could hear the motor, and no one reported that they could.
-It doesn’t require the use of a specific nursing or pumping bra. Any bra with a flexible enough band to slip the tubing under the band should work.
-The ability to pump laying down and braless at night. This is not a joke! These flanges self-adhere and stay in place with the suction without issue. One of my personally least favorite parts about night nursing is the need to wear a bra or hold flanges and stay in a position other than on my side while asleep. Even the Willow 3.0 that offers pumping leak-free in the same position can’t do it braless.
[[Link to video showing braless laying down pumping how-to]]
-Full control of the pump with the app including turning the pump on and off.

Does Babyation have a learning curve?

This pump does have a learning curve to figure out assembly, your preferred settings, the sizing to use, how to use the breast pads, and how far the pump can tilt before turning off.

There could be a minor adjustment period to the suction pattern like we see with all constant suction pumps, but I am not able to confirm this yet. For my personal use, I didn’t experience this, but I regularly use constant suction pumps so that may have skewed my perceptions.

Assembly is probably the biggest part of the learning curve. If something is not working right, assembly is the most likely error. Everything needs to be clicked just so to establish suction. If you are struggling with getting something to work, disassemble, and carefully try again. Once you get used to the way things fit, it’s not a big issue.

Settings and Cycles

This was one of the areas that was hard to assess for this pump- the flanges are tricky to hook up to a standard pump gauge and the unique suction patterns made calculating a cycle speed and strength for the different settings quite complicated. The pump also has two unique settings- one that regulates suction for the first time pumper and one with more powerful suction for the experienced pumps.

First time pumper- this is a lower suction mode to allow a new pumper to play with settings without risking excessive suction.

Power pumper- this is access to higher suction once you have the hang of pumping.

And then there are the typical modes:

Stimulation- this is the shorter, quicker suction pattern with lower suction to trigger the milk. There are four speeds and 4 suction levels here.

Expression- this is the slower and longer pull pattern with higher suction to move the milk. There are 8 speeds and 8 suction levels here.

You can independently control speed, suction and mode on the pump unit or from the app at anytime including turning the unit on and off!

Note about lesson learned: The pump will start in your last used settings which are typically higher suction levels than you will want to start with. This also makes it harder for the pump to establish a good vacuum in my experience. Turning the pump down to level 1 for suction and speed in both stimulation and expression at the beginning then increasing resulted in a better vacuum, and overall effectiveness of the pump was improved.

How is Babyation’s Customer Service:

One of the factors I always consider in recommending a product is the customer service the company provides. Even the best breast pump can malfunction, and the quality of the customer service is crucial to handling any issues.

I was able to experience their customer service and support first-hand when I was learning about the pump, and then again when I had an issue with my unit malfunctioning (this can happen to any pump!). Both times I got a live person on the video chat with exceptional service. The CEO of the company designed this pump after her own pumping experience, and the quality of the product and the customer service reflects that of a pumping parent who is working to make pumping better. Every box has come with a hand written note and offers of support and help! I can’t speak highly enough of their customer service.

So do I recommend this pump?

I actually think this is a really neat pump that has a lot of potential to solve pumping problems for parents. It’s gentle, comfortable, quiet, and effective. Is it the pump for everyone? No. But no breast pump is.

If you think the features of this pump are something that could improve your pumping experience I think it’s worth trying! The company seems great, their priorities are in the right place to support pumping parents and there is a lot of potential for this pump to be a great option!