Philips AVENT SCF314/02 Twin Electric Breast Pump

I have been told by a number of people that this kind of device is perfect for any mother who is nursing a baby - especially those who are producing a lot more milk than needed, have a busy lifestyle or are unwell and cannot always nurse their child when it needs feeding.

I opened the box to be greeted by something I hadn't expected - a black 2 handled carrying bag. What I had expected was the pump and connections to come in the bog-standard white pressed polystyrene shell so seeing the micro-fibre carrying bag was a surprise. To be honest my initial feeling was to question whether or not they had sent the correct item in the box.

The first thing to say is that the bag isn't the usual type of "baby bag". In fact it looks like a business bag. It is approximately 38 cm wide by 32 cm high by 21 cm deep and made of a soft micro-fibre material. It has 2 long, strong handles which can be fastened together. The bag can either be carried by hand or over the shoulder depending on your personal preference.

It has 2 zip-up side pockets, one contains the electrical pump, cables and tubing, the other is a storage pocket which contains 2 grey draw-string bags. There is also room in this second pocket for a couple of spare nappies (not provided) and/or a small towel (not provided).

Inside the bags main area are:

- 2 pump bodies,
- 2 bottle teets
- 2 dribble pads and
- 2 chill bags

Each chill bag contains

- 2 gel freezer packs and
- milk container

The main section of the bag has a double zip. All the zips seem quite strong and have metal connectors.

Everything has its own place in the bag and fits back in perfectly. It is both easy to find and remove what you want and to return it to its place, and the bag itself has a strong lasting feel.

Philips have provided a number of information leaflets and a DVD inside the bag's main pocket. There is the "instruction guide" which not only tells you how to set your machine up (a foldout section of diagrams at the front, as well as a written section on page 11) but also tells you what to sterilise and what never to sterilise. There is a section on how to use it - how to get the best connection/suction, and how to initiate the expressing rhythm.

There is a tiny leaflet which shows you how to set up your baby bottle. A booklet extolling the virtues of natural feeding along with a booklet about the micro-fibre travel bag are included. The DVD shows you how to set up your pump and how to use it, as well as a number of women discussing their feeding problems and techniques.

Inside the box is a laminated A4 "quick reference guide" which is useful as a reminder of how to set the pump up and use it.

My first try at setting the system up took less than 5 minutes and that included unpacking, sorting out and reading the instructions. After a couple of times I was able to put it together without referring to the instructions.

The pump is virtually silent; in fact the only sound comes from the movement of the diaphragm inside jar part of the pump. It is that quiet that you can sit by your babies cot and express your milk without disturbing the tiny one.

Setting up the rhythm is extremely simple - all you need to do is depress the handle 4 or 5 times at the rhythm you find comfortable and then press the blue "button" and the machine takes over. If you want to stop or alter the rhythm then just click the button again. I would recommend having a small towel handy as there can be a small amount of leakage when you remove the "funnel" after expressing. When using the 2 pumps you may find a strange feeling of sympathy and solidarity with the cows in the milking shed developing.

The petal cushion makes it very comfortable to use, and (when you rinse it under warm water) it takes that cold clinical feeling out of the process.

The pump can be turned into a manual expresser if you don't want to take the whole machine with you when you go out.

Expressing milk also means that the partner no longer has the excuse of "well I can't feed him/her" which allows them to roll over and go back to sleep or keep watching the football - well that's the theory it may not work in practice.

The guide says that you can freeze expressed milk, but I'm not sure about how that would be, so I will be sticking to the fresh stuff.

If you are expressing milk then you may find that are encouraged to donate some to your local hospital or your health visitor may even suggest that you express enough to supply another mother (in some places called the "buddy system"). You may even be encouraged to donate some to such as the milk bank.

Please note that most milk banks are NOT altruistic - they take your milk and then SELL it on to hospitals and baby units (for more than 100 GBP a litre), as well as selling it to businesses and research organisations.

Considering that they get the milk as a free donation from you, to charge hospitals and baby units so much for it is (for me) beyond the pale. I understand that they need to make money to keep running, but surely those funds can be made from the massive amount of money they charge research and commercial milk powder companies, and supply the hospitals and baby units for a nominal fee (if they have to charge them anything).

The thing about this sale of donated milk that shocked me most was when I learnt that some home/health visitors are taking payments from companies and certain milk banks to "encourage" donations. So, if you are given a code by a health visitor and a specific organisation to send your milk to feel free to ask them why you need to put a code on it. Then I would recommend that you check up on what is said, if you think you need to.

If you feel uncomfortable with the idea of someone else using your milk for their child you have the right to refuse and no-one should tell you otherwise, but if you want to donate some because you have a heavy flow and don't want to see it go to waste then I would recommend that you research where, how and to whom you donate so that you are sure you are giving to a philanthropic organisation and not a profit making company.

Philips Avent offer a spare parts service on their website. They also provide a telephone advice line which is currently free-phone. The kit even includes 2 pads to help stop those embarrassing leaks that can happen every now and again. Every item (jar, funnel, etc) that comes into contact with the milk has a cover to keep it clean and ready for use.

It is amazing to see the thought and consideration which has gone into this "kit". This is a superbly thought out system, easy to use, to keep clean and to store. I was overwhelmed when I saw everything involved, it's just fabulous.

Before I made a decision to buy a pump I was using Medela Symphony. My daughter does not want to suck milk so the pump is the only option versus artificial milk. However, I could find barely a few reviews and comparisons of symphony with avent, the only two pumps that have hospital grades. My breast hurt me and it was taking 30min to pump milk so I wanted to quit, but after reading a few reviews I decided to buy avent. The pain is gone, it takes a few seconds to let down and a few minutes to pump out even more milk than with medela symphony. For me it was the best buy also considering its price versus the price of symphony. Further, the shields are much more comfortable than those of symphony. Highly recommended.

Hi,
I used the manual version of this breast pump with my 1st baby and had a double pumping electric one from another brand that felt less efficient and comfortable. I ended up using the manual one on one breast while using the electric one on the other instead of pumping bost breasts with the electric. So for my second child I decided to make my life easier and buy the double electric Avent model. I breast fed my 1st born 11 months, 8 of which I spent pumping at work, so I wanted to have all the accessories that would make it easy-peasy to store and transport the pump, the milk and whatever I need while pumping but would still look smart. Seeing the pictures and the description in other reviews, I thought this package was the perfect buy, whith a beautiful bag full of compartments so everything has its place, cooling bags for the expressed milk, etc. That was the reason I bought this package from this shop, even though I had found cheaper alternatives in my homeland (but with less accessories).
When I received my parcell, I was first very happy, then a bit disappointed: the carrier bag looks nice but has only one big compartment and a shoulder strap, there are no cooler packs for the expressed milk,... It was not the same as on the pictures! The machine itself is great though, easy to assemble and not too noisy (although I would not say it is "silent").
After some research on Philips'website, I concluded that the pictures and description I had seen were actually of a former version of the pump, that came indeed with a more sophisticated bag and accessories set. The latest version that I had bought is presented on their website with the package I had received.
So overall I'm happy with my purchase, but I find it necessary to warn potential buyers that what they will get is not exactly what is shown on the pictures and described in former reviews.