Exclusive pumping? Why would some one do this? Barbara and Nancy discuss the latest research on exclusive pumping. They look at who is exclusive pumping and why. This has shifted in the past 2o years or so. It used to be that the majority of exclusive pumpers were pumping for their preterm babies while they go mature enough to directly nurse. Not true anymore. Some people choose to exclusively pump from the very beginning but the majority of exclusive pumpers end up exclusively pumping because they had problems with breast/chestfeeding that they couldn’t resolve. There is also new research that shows maybe our suggestions in the past aren’t as accurate as we thought they were.

Listen to find out what the latest research says!

Important references:

Eden, C. (2024). Shifting the paradigm for establishing and maintaining milk production in the setting of mother/infant separation. Journal of Human Lactation, 40(4), 535-538. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39313928/

Hoban, R., Pei, Q., Medina Poeliniz, C., Golan Maor, Y., Walker, R. E., Meier, P. P., Monk, A., & Parker, L. A. (2025). Maternal complications of pregnancy and achievement of secretory activation and coming to volume in breast pump-dependent mothers of preterm infants. Breastfeeding Medicine, 20(7), 512-520. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40626629/

Levene, I., Fewtrell, M., Quigley, M. A., & O’Brien, F. (2024). The relationship of milk expression pattern and lactation outcomes after very premature birth: A cohort study. PLoS One, 19(7), e0307522. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39074108/

Mago-Shah, D. D., Athavale, K., Fisher, K., Heyward, E., Tanaka, D., & Cotten, C. M. (2023). Early pumping frequency and coming to volume for mother’s own milk feeding in hospitalized infants. Journal of Perinatology, 43(5), 629-634. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37037987/

Yuan, S., Wang, H., Xu, X., & Li, Q. (2025). A randomized control trial of early breast milk pumping interventions for mothers of moderately pretermi infants. Breastfeeding Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40768317/

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