Philips Avent Comfort Single Electric Breast Pump

The Philips Avent Single Electric Breast Pump is lightweight, compact and reasonably priced. We like that the pump can be plugged in for easy at-home use and can also be run on four AA batteries when you're travelling or on the go. With a handful of simple settings and a massage cushion (a.k.a. breast shield), you can look forward to comfortable and uncomplicated pumping sessions. Plus, this pump comes with cover that helps keep the shields free of lint, dust and pet hair.

ASSEMBLY

The pump comes already assembled (aside from connecting the tubing), but before your first pumping session you’ll need to take the pump apart and do an initial sterilizing boil of some parts. (Note: Always check your pump's manual to see which parts you should be sterilizing and cleaning.) The pump consists of eight pieces total and everything fits together easily. All of our parent testers found that the pump was east to take apart and put back together.

The user manual has a handy fold-out flap with a diagram of all the pump's parts so that you can reference it from any page of the manual. But it's worth noting that this isn't totally intuitive: two of our parent testers and one of our editors didn't pick up on using the diagram in this way, and consequently found the instructions confusing. While there's a visual prompt, a note on the page prompting users to keep the diagram flap folded out when using the manual would go a long way to making this super clear.

COMFORT

All of the moms who tested the pump for us were able to pump without discomfort and sit in a comfortable position while pumping. The Philips Avent Comfort Single Electric Breast Pump allows pumping moms to sit upright, unlike other pumps where you have to lean forward to prevent the milk from spilling. The Philips Avent Comfort has a uniquely soft and flexible breast shield—so much so that they call it a “breast cushion.” The 25-mm breast shields that come with the pump were the right size for all of our parent testers, but a 19.5-mm shield is also available to purchase separately if you need something smaller.

PUMPING

With only five buttons—for power, stimulation mode and the three expression settings—using the Philips Avent Comfort Single Electric Breast Pump is pretty simple. The stimulation mode mimics the stronger sucking of a baby when they first latch, to help get your milk flowing. Once you’ve established a flow, you can choose from one of three expression settings. The pump doesn’t have a digital display or a memory setting, so you’ll need to keep an eye on how long you’re pumping and remember your preferred suction strength (but with three options, that's pretty simple).

When it came to getting an airtight seal between their breasts and the breast shield (or flange), none of our parent testers had any problems. Only two said they noticed some milk leakage from around the breast shield (or flange), but they described it as "a dribble every so often" and said that the leaks rarely happened. All of our parent testers were in agreement that the pump provides good suction, allowing them to pump efficiently, and all but one said their breasts felt fully drained after a pumping session. Everyone agreed that it's easy to detach bottles from the pump without spilling breastmilk.

Despite the lack of a backlit digital display, nearly all of our mom testers agreed that it's easy to use the Philips Avent Comfort Single Electric Breast Pump in a dark or dimly lit room.

NOISE

Electric breast pumps aren't known for being whisper-quiet, but there's some variation in how loud the motors are. In our lab tests, we found that the Philips Avent Comfort Single Electric Breast Pump to be in the middle of the road noise wise. The majority of our parent testers described the pump as somewhat loud and said that they could not pump in the same room as a sleeping baby or their partner without waking them. Keep in mind that perception of noise is subjective, and what will or won't wake someone varies from one person to the next.

CLEANING

The Philips Avent Comfort Single Electric Breast Pump is easy to sterilize and clean by hand or in the dishwasher. (Note: As with any pump, check the instructions for which parts are dishwasher-safe.) Only one parent tester noticed condensation in the tubing which can happen with breast pumps. If this happens Philips Avent suggests that you disconnect the tubing from the pump body and motor, rinse it with water and leave to air dry.

DESIGN

We enjoyed the compact and lightweight design of this pump and our mom testers agreed. We also like that the Philips Avent Comfort Single Electric Breast Pump is compatible with other Philips Avent feeding products, including their classic bottles. Testers largely agreed that the Philips Avent Comfort Single Electric Breast Pump packs up nicely when they need to bring it with them somewhere and that the pump is easy to use away from home. The ability to use the power adapter or AA batteries keeps your options open.

FINAL WORD

All of our parent testers felt that the Philips Avent Comfort Single Electric Breast Pump provided good or very good value, quality and ease of use. The majority of testers were satisfied with the pump. All but one tester would buy this pump again and recommend it to other parents. With its compact design, intuitive assembly and disassembly and easy-to-clean components, the Philips Avent Comfort Single Electric Breast Pump is a reasonably priced electric pump that does exactly what it's supposed to do.