Our NCT branch has 2 hospital grade Medela Symphony breast pumps available for hire from Linzi Barnes.

The Symphony is an electric double pump and it is the number 1 choice for hospitals. It mimics the natural suckling action of baby - Medela call this ‘Natural Expression’ and it is unique to their pumps. Based on research by renowned breastfeeding expert Professor Peter Hartmann at the University of Western Australia, the hospital grade pump uses a unique 2-phase pumping system that mimics the way a baby feeds at the breast. The first phase is a burst of quick, soft pumps to stimulate a let-down reflex. Once you see the milk flowing you press the button and change to the longer harder sucks that draws out the maximum amount of milk in the minimum time.

Medela say that this breastpump for hospitals (costing almost £2000) and home rental gives the mother the most natural of feelings along with unique technical refinement. Ideal for long-term and frequent pumping needs. If you have to express regularly or are struggling to express with a basic pump you could be amazed at the difference the Medela Symphony Breast Pump will make.

Prices - Symphony Breastpump

• 14 days Rental Package £30.00
• Charge per 30-day hire period (after initial 14 days) £40.00

The ‘Made For Mums’ website tested the Symphony pump:

"Everything it says is true. I needed to up my supply and was completely failing to express anything after my baby Noah had fed. In desperation I hired the Symphony and was amazed to discover the stimulation cycle of quick bursts managed to produce a let-down reflex in under two minutes even when Noah had just fed. It’s quiet and fast, doing two at a time, and once you get used to it it’s perfectly possible to drape a shawl over your shoulder and pump away discretely while you watch TV, even with guests (sorry mum and dad!)"

"The units have an adjustable vacuum so if you have sore or cracked nipples you can be gentle and the double pumping action – whilst admittedly making you feel like a dairy cow – means you cut down on pumping time dramatically. These are the pumps you use if you need to express in hospital and while it might seem extreme to have one of these in your home, they’re not actually that big and bulky and if you’re struggling to express with the more modest, personal pumps, hiring one of these for a couple of months could turn your breastfeeding experience around."

"I found expressing with smaller machines much more uncomfortable and far less fruitful. It can be a very emotional time when you’re struggling to breastfeed. For me, the Symphony made an unbelievable difference to the early days of motherhood."

What to watch out for: if you’re an ‘at work pumper’ the portability might be a problem. While it does come in a carry case, it’s huge. You couldn’t jump on the bus with it thrown over your shoulder.

It can be expensive. If you’re struggling with supply you probably only need it for a few weeks and you can justify the cost against your savings on formula. But costs can mount up.

Who is the Medela Symphony Breast Pump best for? Mums who need to pump a lot, or who are trying to increase supply.

MadeForMums verdict: Amazing, professional, quality pump that makes expressing very easy. It’s not cheap but the results (both in time and volume of milk expressed) are significantly superior.

A Mumsnet reviewer stated:

"I've rented this pump twice now - once with DD1 (for 14 months of pumping, 8 of them exclusive pumping) and once, so far, for 6 months with DD2 (daily pumping to build freezer store of milk and also to give breastmilk to toddler DD1). This is probably the best pump out there if you're likely to be using it on an at-least daily basis - smaller electric pumps have motors that burn out after a few months (this happened to my smaller medela) and hand-pumping resulted in repetitive strain injury to my wrist after a couple of weeks). This is quiet, efficient, rather gentle on the nipple and has a useful two-phase expression setting to simulate baby's sucking for let-down. I really think that this pump is one that genuinely could save a mother's milk supply in the event that her baby could not feed for however long. Only once have I had any problems (one of the lengths of plastic tubing broke off) and Medela sent out new parts by first class post - very polite and friendly service. It's far cheaper than buying a month's worth of formula, and enables optimal nutrition for one's baby: what's not to like? I got to the stage where I could pump twice (morning and night), getting 12 ounces each time and taking about 20 minutes) so it wasn't as time-consuming as I think people imagine pumping to be. Overall rating 10.0 (FrozenNorth on 26-Jul-10).

If you are interested in hiring the pump, or would like any further information please contact the NCT Breastpump agent - Linzi Barnes on 07789 718056 or email her on breastpump.ncthertfordware@googlemail.com