When I talked to my doctor about my plans to work and breastfeed she told me I would need a good electric pump and recommend one, it turns out that pump cost over $300 dollars. A couple women at work were breastfeeding and they all had that pump my doctor had told me to get reaffirming its necessity. After I had my baby girl and breastfeeding was a success I decided to start out with a $40 hand pump and when it became necessary my husband and I would bite the bullet and find a way to get the electric pump.
It never became necessary. Maybe pumping at work would have been easier I don't know maybe if I'd ever used an electric pump I too would say its essential to successful breastfeeding. I breastfed my baby girl for 8 months, using a hand pump at work on my breaks, and as far as I could tell it didn't take me any longer to pump then it took the ladies with the electric pump. Pumping at work is never fun it takes up your breaks and I would much rather spend the time with my baby girl then in a small closet by myself, but I believe that would be a complaint from every working mom regardless of electric pump or no. After 8 months my husband and I decided to switch to formula. She had made the transition to solid foods well and didn't need much milk anymore, plus to be honest I had not lost my baby weight yet and I heard sometimes you don't start losing weight until you stop breastfeeding. (Side note it did help but I'm still not down to pre-baby weight but that's OK I am healthy and am working on it at my own pace.) .
Moral of the story if you don't find an affordable way to get an electric pump then a hand pump works just find, take it from a full time working mom who breastfed her baby for 8 months using a $40 hand pump.
