06/02/2026
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RESEARCH SUMMARY ON PUMPING:
More than 85% of mothers in the United States report pumping breastmilk occasionally (Labiner-Wolfe, Fein, Shealy, & Wang, 2008). A recent study estimates that 6.9% of mothers are “exclusive pumpers” (mothers who express breastmilk with a pump yet do not feed directly from the breast; Keim, Boone, Oza-Frank, & Geraghty, 2017). Yet, there is very little research guiding women on how to pump effectively and how to be successful at “exclusive pumping”. There is also very little support from healthcare professionals in helping mothers to reach their pumping goals (Leurer et al., 2019).
Many mothers feel like exclusive pumping is their only option for offering their baby breastmilk due to concerns about baby’s milk intake, health issues, difficulty establishing a good latch, or painful breastfeeding.
Most previous research examines breastfeeding versus formula-feeding but there is emerging research in the last 10 years that is examining the impact of feeding directly at the breast vs. pumping.
BREASTFEEDING SUCCESS
First, women who pump more frequently may be more likely to quit breastfeeding earlier(Felice, Cassano, & Rasmussen, 2016), a finding which likely reflects the difficulty of this method compared to direct breastfeeding
HEALTH IMPACTS
Feeding directly at the breast is associated with less risk for ear infections when compared to pumping (Boone, Geraghty, & Keim, 2016). However, both direct breastfeeding and pumping are related to a lower risk of diarrhea when compared to formula-feeding. Another study found that direct breastfeeding reduced the risk for coughing/wheezing episodes in the first year of life when compared to either pumped milk or formula-feeding (Soto-Ramírez et al. 2013). Direct breastfeeding is also associated with a lower risk of asthma when compared to pumped milk or formula-feeding (Klopp et al., 2017).
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