Medela Swing Flex single breast pump review

Tested by:

Sybilla is a mum-of-5 who lives on the Essex/Suffolk borders. Sybilla tested the Medela Swing Flex with her 2-month-old son Benjamin at home and on holiday.

First impressions?

My first impressions of the Medela Swing Flex are good. There are not many parts and it is a pleasant yellow colour with white accessories. The plastic is matte and looks good quality.

How is it different to the classic Medela Swing pump?

The Swing Flex comes with two sizes of breast shields, which means that it adapts to the size of the user. Personally, I used both and didn’t notice much difference! But this didn’t detract from the fact that it is a great breast pump, regardless of whether the new Flex pump has a better fit or not.

How does the Swing Flex compare to other pumps you have looked at or used?

Much better. I have used two other breast pumps before - the electric Philips Avent pump (£95 on Amazon)and the manual Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature pump (£15.99 on Amazon). The Medela Swing Flex is infinitely better than either of these as it has far fewer parts than the Avent Isis and is far more effective than the Tommee Tippee pump.

How portable is the Medela Swing Flex?

Because there are so few parts it is extremely portable. You could use it out and about if you needed to, but - although it’s not loud - it definitely isn’t silent. We had to turn Poldark up louder to hear the TV! I used it on various car journeys but would personally feel self-conscious using the Swing Flex pump in a public space.

How effective is it?

The Medela Swing Flex is incredibly effective. I had no trouble using it and had lots of milk coming out - pain free - in no time at all.

Is the Swing Flex easy to clean?

Yes, it’s very easy as there are only two items to clean – the breast shield and bottle!

What’s in the box?

The Swing motor unit, a mains adaptor, one 150ml bottle with lid, a bottle stand, one PersonalFit Flex connector, two PersonalFit Flex breast shields (one 21mm-size, one 24mm) and the Medela Swing Flex instructions (full and ‘quick card’ formats).

Is it easy to put together?

The Medela Swing Flex pump is incredibly easy to put together. You only need the ‘quick card’ instructions, but to be honest you barely need those!

Who would the Swing Flex be most useful for?

I think the Swing Flex is useful for any mum who wants the finest quality breast pump on the market. It's been great for me, as I want to be able to pump and store milk for flexibility, and so that someone else can feed my baby. I used it on holiday and on long car journeys.

What would you have wanted to know before buying the Swing Flex pump?

I have only given the Medela Swing Flex four stars for portability because it doesn’t come with any sort of carry case or bag. This would be a huge bonus and would be fairly inexpensive for the manufacturer to supply. It’s something I would expect from such a costly product.

Are there any design elements you find particularly useful?

Because there are so few parts, it’s so easy to put the Swing Flex pump together. It's really well designed.

Is the Medela Swing Flex good value?

The Medela Swing Flex is a pricey piece of baby kit, but it is good value for money given how well it works. It is much more expensive than most pumps, but then it has many less parts, is much easier to use and is more effective. The only downside is that Medela don’t include a newborn teat, which I think is ridiculous given the price. This meant that I ended up spending another £30 on bottles and teats, which inflates the price unnecessarily in my opinion.

Where can I buy the Medela Swing Flex?

It's available from Amazon and Argos.

MadeForMums verdict:

The Medela Swing Flex is an excellent breast pump. It is highly effective and has very few parts - making it so easy to put together that you barely need the instructions.

Read more...

• 10 of the best breast pumps
• MAM 2 in 1 breast pump review
• 10 of the best nipple creams