Medela Freestyle Hands-Free Breast Pump Review

Looking for the best breast pump for you? The Medela Freestyle Hands-Free breast pump is a wearable option that works really well as a portable pump. Here’s a review.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click a link and purchase something, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I love! More information here.

What is the Medela Freestyle Hands-Free?

The Medela Freestyle Hands-Free breast pump consists of a small, portable pump motor with wearable cups. 

The cups go in your nursing bra, so you can pump hands-free without needing a special bra. Tubing connects the cups to the pump motor, which can fit in a pocket. 

It’s a good option for pumping in public, as the cups aren’t super noticeable when you’re wearing them. (It just kind of looks like you have a large chest.) The cups are also helpful for pumping when your baby wants to be held or fed while you pump.

You can see more of this breast pump in the below stories:

What are the advantages of the Medela Freestyle Hands-Free?

Below are some of the pros of this breast pump.

1. You don’t have bottles hanging off your chest

Wearable cups can make it a lot easier to get things done – like feed your baby a bottle or play with baby during tummy time – because your range of motion isn’t limited by the pump parts and bottles taking up space in front of you. 

(You do need to be careful to stay upright while pumping, or the cups will leak.)

2. It only has three pump parts 

Having only three pump parts – the breast shield, valve, and collection cup – makes the Medela cups really easy to put together, and there are fewer parts to wash compared to other options.

3. The Freestyle pump is portable

This pump is small and has a rechargeable battery, so it’s easy to move around the house while you pump. The pump fits well in a pocket.

(Personally, I think they should also include a lanyard so that you can wear the pump around your neck.)

4. The bottom of the cup is flat 

One thing that sets Medela cups apart from other wearable pumps is that the bottom of the pump has a flat edge – which means you can safely set it down on the counter after pumping before transferring the milk to a bottle.

5. It uses a USB-C charger

I love that you don’t need a specific charging cord that can only be purchased online. I can charge it with the same charger I use for my MacBook – it’s easy to get extras to put around your house, and you can buy replacements in an airport gift shop if you forget it on a trip.

What are the disadvantages?

There are also a few cons to this pump.

1. You still have to deal with tubing

While you don’t have bottles and pump parts hanging off of your chest, it’s not a completely wireless pump.

You still need to make sure all the tubing is connected, and you’re tied to the portable motor.

2. It’s not super quiet

It’s not the loudest breast pump I’ve ever used, but it’s also not quiet – people around you will know that you’re pumping.

How do you use the Medela Freestyle Hands-Free?

Below are some tips for using this breast pump.

Assembling the cups

Compared to other wearable cups, assembling Medela cups is really easy. There are only three parts – the breast shield, the valve, and the collection cup.

To assemble the wearable cups, place the valve on the breast shield. Then attach the collection cup, and the tubing to the top of the cup.

Using the pump

The Freestyle breast pump allows you to control the mode and vacuum strength of the pump. To use it:

• Press the play button to turn the pump on and off
• Use the + and – buttons to increase and decrease the suction strength
• Press the drop button to switch the mode from letdown to expression mode and vice versa

You aren’t able to adjust the cycle speed on this breast pump.

The Medela Freestyle can connect to the Medela Family app to see how long you’ve pumped and track your sessions.

Can you use the Medela Freestyle Hands-Free as a primary pump?

The Medela Freestyle itself is a strong enough breast pump that it can be used as a primary pump.

Some people do not respond as well to wearable cups ass to traditional pump parts, so this is something to consider if this will be your only pump. You can likely buy the Freestyle Flex pump part and switch them out with the cups, if you’d like. (I haven’t tried it, but if you get the Flex tubing, the PersonalFit connectors, membrane, and breast shields, I think it would work.

How do the cups compare to other hands-free cups?

There are some different variations on wearable cups that you can use to pump hands-free. Some examples include Freemie cups, Spectra Cara Cups, and Legendairy Milk wearable cups. More on these here.

Medela wearable cups are a little different (and in my opinion better) than some options because of a few features:

1. The ability to put the cups down on a table, due to the flat bottom
2. Putting the cups together is much less complicated because there are only three pieces

The negative is that these are really designed to be used with Medela pumps and may not be compatible with any other pump you may have.

How does it look when you’re wearing it?

Here’s how the Medela wearable pumps look on me – people that know you might notice that your chest is suddenly larger, depending on what you’re wearing. 

Strangers probably would not notice you’re wearing them.

Have you used the Medela Freestyle Hands-Free breast pump? Let us know your review in the comments!