Advantages: Easy to use, compact, portable compatible with Avent storage and feeding bottles, cups etc
Disadvantages: Sometimes squeaky, white valve is easily lost or inserted upside down

...When assembled properly this pump is very easy to use. The Avent website and information supplied are very helpful. The pump is supplied with spare parts which are very handy as the small white valve is easily misplaced. If there is no suction when the pump is assembled, check the white valve as if this is upside down the pump will not work properly. Occasionally this pump makes a squeaky noise in use, this appears to be quite a common problem but appears intermittently. If it is of concern, try rinsing and reassembling the pump. Some mothers find pumping easier than others, this pump is very efficient, but if you find you are not producing milk try moving the pump on the breast or taking off and reattaching. Milk will flow better when you are relaxed so try to not get stressed if you are not producing a great volume... Read review

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Advantages: Small, very easy to use & clean
Disadvantages: Rubber stimulator often comes off

...I bought the Avent Isis breast pump from Boots for £24.95 from Boots after the birth of my eldest daughter. It comes complete with 2 4oz avent bottles, teats and sealing disks. There are spare valves (tiny little things, but crucial for the pump to work and easy to loose whilst washing the pump!). It also has 2 covers to place over the funnel (if you're not planning to use the pump immediately after you've sterilised it) and these can also but used as a stand to stop the pump falling over when rested on a surface. Expressing is quite difficult until you get the hang of it and although I've never used any other type of pump, I'd say the Avent Isis really helped. Assembling the pump was quite complicated, as the pump is in many pieces, but the instructions supplied were clear and concise. The pump can be used with or without the rubber... Read review

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Advantages: Can be used anywhere, easy to use, comfortable.
Disadvantages: Hand might get a wee bit sore!

...I had received the Avent Hand breast pump from my sister as she had rarely used it. I used it several times with my first baby but thought a battery one must be better so I went and bought a new one, only to discover that the hand one was much better. You have more control over it, it is more comfortable and really easy to use. Apart from the fact that you feel you are milking a cow (!), I have been recommending friends to get the Avent hand pump. I have used it again with my second child. I cannot really think of any negative points about it - the only thing compared to the battery pump is that your hand might get a wee bit sore, but it is no great affliction. I would recommend this to any one.... Read review

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Advantages: completely steralisable, easy to use and works!
Disadvantages: lots of parts to fit together, although you soon pick up how to build it!

...I have the Avent Isis pump and find it extremely easy to use. When I had my son, George, I borrowed 2 breastpumps - 1 Avent Isis and a cheap Boots one. The Isis outshone the other as it had milk stimulating petals on the breast sheild. this makes it feel like the baby sucking which in due course makes your letdown reflex produce milk. The Boots pump did work but not very well. With my second child, Angel, I bought myself the Avent Isis pump which cost £25 from Mothercare on-line. You will find that when you first use the pump it seems really complicated to put together but you soon remember where all the parts go! It is completely steralisable and can be bought to use with either disposable bags or to fit the bottles (I have the one that the bottles fit) I can then put the bottles directly into the freezer and top them up if necessary... Read review

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Advantages: easy to use, easy to clean, very quick, comfortable nipple shield.
Disadvantages: hard to assemble at first, need to lean forward, can make hand ache

...I bought a breast pump before the birth of my baby, because shortly after the birth, I was due to have an operation which meant I needed to express milk almost immediatly after birth, to feed my son whilst in hospital. I used the breast pump 10 days after the birth and instantly managed to produce 3.5-4 floz. (I do seem to produce excess breast milk though). I found it easy to use, and once the let down had been started (after about 10-15 quick pumps), my milk squirted out and I could just pump every minute or so. I found it quick, taking only 10-15 mins to get approx 4 floz. The only problems I found were that I had to lean far forward to get the milk to flow well, and had to re-position my nipple a few times, to restart the flow, once stopped. Also found myself squeezing my breasts into weird shapes to help the let down, and flow... Read review

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Advantages: eases your breasts
Disadvantages: you can loose small part

...This pump became my best friend when I returned to work after having my last baby. It is easy to assemble the component parts, and they are all suitable for any sterilisation method. The pumping action is very natural, and it is easy to control the force that you apply. I found it very easy to achieve let down with this pump. I found it best to use this pump with the Avent bottles, but there is also a useful attachment for pumping into bags for storage. If you are using the Avent range anyway, then this is an advantage. The only downside I found was that there is one very small component (the valve) which is easy to lose down the sink! It would be better if the pump was supplied with several spares! I had to buy a whole new pump when I lost mine at work, since these can't be bought seperatley Other than that, the Avent Isis... Read review

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Advantages: Fast, effective, quiet, easy to use, easy to clean
Disadvantages: none

...I have used lots of different breast pumps, but this is by far the best. Outstanding. Whenever I needed to express I found I could get a 4oz bottle in 10 minutes or less. The secret is to be found in the "petal massager", which is a soft plastic insert that goes onto the pump. As you pump, the suction gently presses the "petals" against the breast, simulating the action of a feeding baby's jaw and stimulating the let down reflex faster than anything I'd tried before. It also seems to keep the milk flowing very well. It's quiet, easy to take apart for sterilising, and fully compatible with all Avent bottles. As a comparison, I have also used the Avent battery pump, which in my view was the "best of the rest", effective, but a little noisy; the Boots hand pump which had no suction and was useless; and a hospital electric pump... Read review

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Advantages: easily sterilisable in its entirety comfortable pumping action
Disadvantages: disposable system is new, fewer shops carry replacement liners

...I had certain criteria in mind when choosing a breast pump. It had to be easy to use, comfortable to hold and to use, easy to clean, and I preferred it to pump directly into a storage container to minimise the possibility of milk contamination. I found one system that met all these criteria: the Avent Isis manual breast pump with disposable bottle. The Avent Isis breast pump was designed with comfort and ease of use in mind. From the ergonomic pump handle to the petal-like massage cushions to help milk flow, this pump is a dream to use. the handle fits neatly even into my small hands and the action is so smooth it can actually be used one handed, even while nursing on the other breast. The massage cushions gently aided in helping my milk flow without it feeling like my nipple was going to be ripped off. It is also extremely easy... Read review

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Advantages: easy and gentle to use
Disadvantages: none

...My son was prem and unable to feed from me himself. I started expressing in the hospital and never thought of what I would use when I got home. When I finally got home my husband had been out and bought the avent pump with an £89.00 price tag. This I thought was expensive but was in hind site well worth it. Its easy to use and not harmful to the nipple like some. I have used it for 3 months and do not know what I would of done without it, it definately played a part in me breast feeding for longer. Be careful buying cheaper models as you really do pay for what you get and that is really important as once you get sore it is hard to continue feeding yourself.... Read review

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Advantages: Convenient and (fairly) quiet to use
Disadvantages: Complicated Assembly

...When my son (darling, angel, light of my life and occasional terror) was born I had decided in advance that I would like to breastfeed. Sadly the day after he was born he was in intensive care and the pumping began. In hospital I had the luxury of high tech electric pumps which did both sides at the same time and could make as much noise as they wanted to. However the major disadvantage was that i soon likened myself to a cow at milking time. On leaving hospital I found I had an abundance of milk due to expressing both sides every 3 hours day and night. I desperately needed a breast pump to relieve myself of all the excess milk (and allow a few girly nights out). I had already bought Avent bottles because of their conversion to cup ability and so naturally an Avent Isis Breast Pump seemed the way to go (I can nearly honestly say that i... Read review

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