Philips Avent Comfort Double Electric Breast Pump, SCF334

The Philips Avent Comfort Double Electric Breast Pump is an easy-to-use pump with very good suction strength and a reasonable price point. It's got a few features we really like: very simple settings, super soft breast shields and a cover that fits over the breast shields to keep them free of lint and pet hair. That said, if you're a pump-on-the-go kinda mom, you'll want to know that this pump doesn't have a rechargeable battery, nor does it take single-use batteries.

Assembly

While it’s important to do an initial sterilizing boil, the Philips Avent Comfort Double Electric Breast Pump is pretty much ready to go right out of the box. The pump bodies are made up of six pieces that fit together intuitively—and if you forget, the instruction booklet includes clear, easy-to-follow diagrams. The tubing connects to the pump bodies in a snap, and it’s just as easy to plug the other end into the pump motor. Our at-home testers all strongly agreed that the pump’s instructions are clear and assembly is easy, and they said they were able to start using the pump quickly.

Comfort

Our mom testers all said they were able to pump without breast discomfort, and they especially enjoyed that they were able to sit in a comfortable position while pumping. (With many pumps, you have to lean forward to make sure the milk drops straight down into the bottles.) 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 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

The pumping settings on the Philips Avent Comfort Double Electric Breast Pump couldn’t be simpler. It features an off-on button, a stimulation mode button and three expression settings. Stimulation mode replicates the quick, strong sucking of a baby when they first begin a breastfeeding session, and this helps to get your milk flowing. Once your milk is flowing, you can choose the suction strength that is most comfortable for you using one of the three expression settings. There's no memory feature on this pump, but with so few settings, it’s not necessary. If you only need to pump one breast, you don’t have to do anything other than use one pump body (though Philips Avent suggests putting the cover over the other pump body). And although there isn’t a digital or backlit display, it’s still fairly easy to use in a dimly lit room since there are only five buttons.

Our testers agreed they had no trouble getting a tight seal between their breasts and the shields, and only one tester reported the smallest amount (a few drops) of milk leakage from the shields. The moms were all very happy with the suction strength, and mostly agreed that their breasts felt drained after a pumping session. They also reported that it was very easy to detach the bottles from the pump bodies without spilling any milk.

As for pumping at work or on the go, our testers mostly agreed the pump packs up nicely in its travel bag, and that it's easy to use away from home. That said, as mentioned above, this pump has to be plugged in to a power outlet to use it.

Noise

In our lab tests, the Philips Avent Comfort Double Electric Breast Pump ranked in the middle of all the pumps we tested in terms of noise (we measured with a noise meter with the pump at its highest setting and with the breast shields pressed against our skin). But only one parent tester found this pump loud enough that she felt she wouldn’t be able to use it in the same room as a sleeping baby or a partner without waking them.

Cleaning

The washable parts of this pump are very 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.) The valves on the Philips Avent Comfort are larger than some other pumps, so they're less likely to tear or be lost. Only one parent tester noticed a bit of condensation in the tubing after cleaning, but it cleared up with air drying.

Design

Our parent testers said the pump is compact and lightweight, and we agree. We also like that the pump bodies are compatible with the Philips Avent Comfort Manual Breast Pump, especially since there isn’t an option to use this pump with batteries. Because your breasts don’t stop producing milk if the power goes out.

Final word

Our mom testers rated the quality and ease of use of the Philips Avent Comfort Double Electric Breast Pump as good to very good, and they all felt it offered very good value. The majority described themselves as very satisfied with the pump. Half of the testers thought it was better than other pumps they’d tried, while the other half thought it was the same or slightly less effective. None of our testers had any qualms about recommending it to other parents.