Review: Motif Medical Duo

Few products have undergone as much change in recent years as breast pumps. Nursing parents have gone from being tethered to an ubiquitous black box to having a variety of options with features like rechargeable batteries, attractive curves, and backlit displays. Breast pumps are still a long way from being as elegant as an iPhone, but there have been definite improvements.

One of the companies scurrying to address the lack of user-friendly breast pumps is Motif Medical. Founded in 2015 by a gang of medical professionals, engineers, and working mothers, Motif came out with their first breast pump, the Duo, in early 2017. In their words, Motif’s goal was to create a pump "from the perspective of mother and child," rather than from an engineering viewpoint.

Motif

That perspective is very clear from the moment I unpacked the Motif. It looks very much like a consumer product more than a medical device. Even the accompanying tote could pass for a casual work bag rather than a bag that screams, "Yes, I have bodily fluids in here!"

The Duo itself is cute. It’s less than half the size of the Spectra S1 pump. It measures 3.7 inches by 1.9 inches by 5.19 inches, and weighs a little over a half pound. It fits in one hand, and is brightly colored, with a backlit screen. Walking around while holding it feels like holding a Tamagotchi.

The tubing and power adapter ports are located at the base. It seems physically impossible for a pump this small to pack that big a punch, and yet it does. With its small, rechargeable 7-volt lithium-ion battery, the Duo is able to generate a maximum of 250 mmHg of vacuum pressure, which is comparable to much bigger pumps on the market.

Like the Spectra S1, the Duo is a closed system. A thin, white rubber membrane prevents milk from traveling through the pumping mechanism and into the rubber tubing. To pump, you turn it on and make sure that it’s switched to massage mode to stimulate milk production. When milk is flowing, press the mode button to switch to expression mode.

You can adjust the vacuum strength and frequency of the pumping. You can also save pumping sequences—when you hold the memory button, the pump will remember the vacuum strength, the time at which you switched to expression mode, and the length of the pumping session. The Duo also automatically shuts off after 30 minutes, if you get distracted or fall asleep while pumping.

I took the Motif Duo on a recent trip, packing it into my backpack for a flight and again on a car trip. I’ve also been using it to pump twice a day during my workday.

It took a startlingly short hour to charge fully, and each charge lasted a surprisingly long time. It advertises 2.5 hours of pumping time per charge; I’ve been able to go two to three days without charging, while pumping twice a day on maximum vacuum for 15 to 20 minute sessions.

Also startling: The pump does seem capable of the advertised 250 mmHg maximum vacuum strength. I max out the vacuum strength on every breast pump I’ve used. The Motif Duo seems comparable in terms of maximum strength—and correspondingly, output—to other pumps that I’ve tried.

As far as sound goes, I measured it at an average of 55 decibels. It’s not as quiet as a pump like the Medela Sonata, but you definitely won’t struggle to talk over it. And unlike other pumps, such as the Freemie Liberty, you can stick the bottles, flanges, and membranes into the dishwasher for washing and sterilizing.

I did have a few quibbles with the pump. It is frustrating that you can’t control both vacuum strength and frequency. When you increase the vacuum strength, the frequency decreases correspondingly.

Also, I didn’t find the memory function useful, which might be more due to my circumstances and physiology. I find that my pumping routine and output can vary tremendously, depending on whether or not I’m stressed out, distracted, dehydrated, or hungry.

In the weeks that I used it, I pumped in several different states, on planes and while riding in the passenger seat of a car. Anyone who needs a pump this small is likely to be in a similar boat. (I haven’t pumped in a boat yet, but I’m not ruling out the possibility.)

As seems to be the case with many new companies, the breast shields are only available in three different sizes (21-, 24-, and 27-millimeters), which will limit the number of women who are able to use it. Replacement parts would also be an issue. Many women who pump do so several times a day. In between washing, packing, and traveling, there is a high likelihood that you will lose or break any number of these small plastic doohickeys.

As of this writing, I can only find replacement Motif pump parts from a few retailers, and none with free overnight shipping. The Motif is not compatible with my Medela bottles, or even the thread-changers that I use with my Spectra flanges.

And finally, as silly as it might seem to complain about "shrinking and pinking it" when it comes to something as overtly feminine as a breast pump, I have to say that I personally prefer more utilitarian-looking devices and accessories. Other moms that I met liked the included tote bag, but I didn't. Luckily, the pump is small enough to stick in a zip pouch in my backpack.

But for a portable, battery-charged pump, the Duo is amazingly affordable. The $159 price even covers the aforementioned tote.

If portability is your main concern—for example, if you travel frequently—the Freemie Liberty is still the quietest, smallest, and most discreet pump that I’ve tried so far. However, if you’re looking for a more affordable second pump to pack in a carry-on, or if you find the constant hand-washing and sterilizing for the Freemie cups to be more than you can handle at the end of the day, the Motif Duo is a very attractive option. Just don't get it confused with one of your kid's toys.