The Medela Harmony and the AVENT Manual Breast Pump have several things in common, therefore making a decision between the two can be difficult. Let me point out a few differences and help you decide.
Medela Harmony Vs. AVENT Manual
Similarities:
First of all, let’s examine the similarities. Both the Medela Harmony and the AVENT Manual Breast Pump offer comfortable, ergonomically designed, easy-grip handles. Manual pumping can get tiresome, but these handles allow you to continue pumping comfortably. Plus, both of these manual breast pumps offer one-handed operation, in other words, you can pump with one hand and do whatever with the other. Some manual breast pumps are harder to operate and require both hands. Also, both the Medela Harmony and the AVENT Manual Breast Pump have less parts then other manual breast pumps, making them easy to assemble and easy to clean. Pretty much all of the parts are dishwasher safe as well, however, I would recommend hand washing the smaller parts, and the breast shields, that way you won’t lose them down the drain or end up with a warped breast shield.
Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump
Differences:
As far as functional differences go, the Medela Harmony offers the two-phase expression technology. Basically what this means is that it has an additional lever at the top of the handle that allows you to begin your pumping session with a stimulation mode. The Medela Harmony’s stimulation mode consists of a short, quick, sucking rhythm designed to stimulate your milk flow and provide a faster let-down. The larger part of the handle can then be used for the expression mode, which is a longer, deeper sucking rhythm. Now the AVENT Manual Breast Pump doesn’t offer any additional levers, but you can easily create the different expression phases manually.
AVENT Manual Breast Pump (On-The-Go)
The Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump comes with a standard sized 24 mm SoftFit breast shield, and the AVENT Manual Breast Pump comes with a one-size-fits-all breast shield and a 5 petal cushion massage liner. Now Medela offers several different sizes of breast shields for a custom fit, all sold separately of course, and AVENT only offers the one. Now if you choose to purchase the AVENT On-The-Go Manual Breast Pump you’ll get a few more extra’s, like the micro-fiber insulated travel bag, and the smaller bag with two cool packs that allow you to store your milk and keep it cool, as well as the newborn flow nipple that attaches directly to the collection container for immediate feedings.
As for customer feedback, the Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump had more reviews and a better customer satisfaction rating. With 189 out of 241 reviewers rating it 4 to 5 stars, with 5 being the max, that’s a 78% customer satisfaction rating. The AVENT Manual Breast Pump had 32 out of 46 reviewers rate it 4 to 5 stars, that’s a 70% customer satisfaction rating.
The prices are pretty close to the same for just the manual breast pumps.
- Medela Harmony – on SALE at Amazon for $29.99.
- AVENT Manual Breast Pump – on sale for $32.15 (just the pump).
- AVENT On-The-Go Manual Breast Pump – on sale for $37.23.
If you’re still undecided, check out the full reviews listed below.
Medela Harmony Manual Breast Pump Review & Video Demo
AVENT Manual Breast Pump Full Review