Is there a means for testing the suction of a breastpump to see if it is
still working effectively?  Mom has been pumping at work using a Medela PIS
pump and feels that the pump suction is not as strong as it used to be.
The pump has been used very regularly (2-4 x day) for 12 months with her
first child and 15 months with her second child.  Would you expect such a
pump to lose suction after this much use?  Or perhaps the mom is just
experiencing a normal decrease in pumping output since the child is now a
toddler.  She had ceased pumping by this age with the first child as her
supply had diminished sufficiently to go all day w/o expressing.  But this
time she *feels* there is still more milk, but that she's not pumping it
all.  There is no 'milk supply' concern at this age, of course, but Mom
mostly wants to know if the pump is wearing out or not.

Thanks,
-Catharine Decker, MD

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