Myths, Risks, and Benefits of Power Pumping
Published Date:May 19, 2026
By Ali Weatherford in consultation with Cassie Terrillion, IBCLC
At Breastfeeding Success, we try to stay aware of what you are most interested in. We can see that, at times, one particular aspect of parenting or breastfeeding becomes trendy. In one way, that’s great. This kind of recognition creates conversations and awareness. Unfortunately, this can also end up causing an overemphasis on things that really should be used with care. Power pumping is something that has been trendy for some time, and is still going strong. But, there are some important things to clear up about power pumping.
What is power pumping?
Power pumping is a strategy using a breast pump. It’s a very specific protocol. If you are instructed to power pump, you will do one hour long pumping session per day. The exact schedule for that hour is:
- Pump for 20 minutes; rest 10 minutes.
- Pump another 10 minutes; rest for 10 minutes.
- Pump again for 10 minutes; finish.
It’s very important to remember that you will only do ONE power pumping session per day. More is not necessarily better, and may actually cause problems, or at least some unnecessary stress for you. It’s a good idea to do your power pumping session at the same time each day.
Depending on your situation, your lactation consultant might recommend that you do this for one day, or for as many as 3 or 4 days. It would be unusual to follow this schedule for more than a few days.
Power Pumping for Exclusive Pumpers
In most cases, power pumping is needed for people who are exclusively or primarily pumping to feed their babies. It’s much less commonly needed for people who are exclusively or primarily breastfeeding directly. The reason is that for people who are pumping a lot, it’s important to pattern your pumping routines as closely as possible to your baby’s natural feeding patterns, and babies naturally go through periods of cluster feeding. Power pumping is sort of designed to mimic a cluster feeding day. When babies are cluster feeding, they usually stay on the breast for a really long time, or want to be off and on more than usual. This is how your baby tells your body to increase the milk supply, because they are growing and changing and need more milk. If you are exclusively or mostly pumping, you’ll probably need to plan to do these occasionally to be sure your milk supply is keeping up.
Other Reasons You Might Power Pump
Power pumping can also be helpful in some other situations. If your milk supply is truly lower than it should be, power pumping can often be enough to get it back to an optimal level. Power pumping might not be enough if your milk supply is very low, but if it’s just right on the edge, it might be the perfect solution.
Power pumping might be needed if you are relactating. This means that you breastfed before but then stopped, and now you want to start again. This might mean between babies, or it might be because you had to stop for medical reasons or travel and lost your milk supply, but now you’re ready to get it back. This is possible, especially with the aid of some pumping strategies like power pumping.
If you are hoping to induce lactation, power pumping might also be helpful. Induced lactation is when someone who has never breastfed before and did not give birth, wants to start lactating to feed their baby. Parents who are adopting might do this, and also the non-birth parent in a same sex partnership.
Downsides to Power Pumping
This is not a strategy to take on without guidance. It can be very difficult to add this into your daily routine. Our lactation consultants recognize that you are doing a lot. It can be overwhelming to be postpartum and taking care of a newborn baby on top of your other responsibilities. Adding in power pumping might be enough to tip your stress into unhealthy levels. We do not want that for you. We recommend that you use the power pumping strategy under the supervision of a lactation consultant. Power pumping should be treated as a prescription treatment plan and not be done on a whim. Under their care, you should be able to get a very clear assessment of the issue and an appropriate plan of action that may or may not include power pumping.
If overused or not needed, power pumping can lead to an oversupply of milk. An oversupply can come with its own set of problems including engorgement, leaking, or (less commonly) a baby feeling overwhelmed by too much milk and rejecting the breast.
Alternatives to Power Pumping
There can be other things to try before resorting to power pumping. A lactation consultant might recommend some other strategies based on your particular situation. They might recommend that you feed your baby from the breast more often, increase night feedings, lengthen time at the breast, try different positions, pump a little after each feeding, and there are many more. Most strategies don’t require the amount of time and energy that power pumping can take, so it might be a relief to be offered something else.
What a Lactation Consultant Most Wants You to Know About Power Pumping
If you do need to power pump, you can do some things to make it easier and more pleasant for you:
- Choose a time of day when you’ll have another adult to help. Let that person take care of your baby while you take this time to focus on YOU.
- Find some privacy and get comfortable. Be in your favorite room, in your favorite chair or bed.
- Let yourself watch your favorite TV show or pick a couple of movies that will be your “power pumping viewing”.
- Get some snacks and your favorite warm or cold drink.
- Relax and try to enjoy!
Lactation consultants want you to know that having a low milk supply is not as common as people think. Sometimes the issue is perceived low milk supply. Having a low milk supply is a very common concern. Most of the time though, what people think is low milk supply is actually just a normal phase. And social media is giving us unrealistic expectations. You are not supposed to be making enough milk to fill up your baby while also filling your freezer to capacity.
Lactation consultants also don’t want anyone to have to work this hard, and will only recommend it if they really think it will work for you without making you suffer. They want you to know that not everyone should be power pumping. Your mental health matters most, and they can work with you to find a creative solution that you might not have thought of.
