You attach the Haakaa to the breast your baby isn’t nursing on, and your body’s natural letdown does most of the work. When your baby latches and begins suckling, your brain releases oxytocin, which triggers milk ejection in both breasts simultaneously. The Haakaa catches what would otherwise leak into a nursing pad, turning wasted milk into a freezer stash over time.
How the Haakaa Actually Works
The Haakaa is a one-piece silicone pump with no motor, tubes, or batteries. It collects milk through gentle vacuum suction. You squeeze the rounded base to create negative pressure, attach it to your breast, and release. That suction holds the pump in place and draws milk out as your letdown happens naturally.
This is different from an electric pump, which actively cycles suction to mimic a baby’s nursing pattern. The Haakaa applies constant, passive suction. It works best during a feeding because your baby is already triggering the hormonal response that pushes milk forward. Without that letdown, you’ll collect very little.
Step-by-Step: Attaching During a Feed
Get your baby latched and settled first. Trying to attach the Haakaa while also getting a newborn to latch is frustrating and usually ends with spilled milk. Once your baby is nursing comfortably, pick up the pump.
Squeeze the base of the Haakaa to push air out, then center the flange over your nipple on the opposite breast. Release the base slowly. The suction should pull your nipple slightly into the neck of the pump, and the whole unit should stay put without you holding it. If the seal feels weak or the pump slides, break the suction by pressing a finger between the flange and your skin, reposition, and try again.
Once it’s on, leave it alone. You’ll typically see milk start flowing within a minute or two as your letdown kicks in. Most parents collect anywhere from half an ounce to two or three ounces per session, depending on how full that breast is and how strong the letdown is. Early on, expect smaller amounts. Over days and weeks, your body adjusts to the extra demand and output often increases.
The Inversion Method for a Stronger Seal
If the standard squeeze-and-attach approach isn’t holding, the inversion method gives a noticeably tighter grip. Flip the flange inside out (like turning a sock), place the pump over your breast with the flange still inverted, squeeze the base to push out the air, then gently roll the flange back to its normal position. As the silicone flips outward, it creates a stronger seal against your skin. This is especially helpful if you have smaller breasts or if the pump keeps breaking suction during feeds.
Keeping It in Place
The biggest practical challenge with the Haakaa is your baby kicking or swatting it off mid-feed. A full pump hitting the couch cushion (or worse, the floor) is one of the more demoralizing moments in early parenthood. A few strategies help.
- Angle the pump away from your baby. Rotate it slightly to the side so it’s out of range of flailing legs and arms.
- Tuck it inside your shirt. A loose nursing top can hold the pump against your body and absorb some of the impact if it does get bumped.
- Use a lanyard or hair tie. Loop a hair elastic around the neck of the pump and clip it to your bra strap or shirt collar. If the pump gets knocked loose, it dangles instead of crashing down.
- Try a football hold. Positioning your baby along your side, tucked under your arm, keeps their legs pointed away from the pump entirely.
- Create space with a pillow. Sit cross-legged and place a pillow under the knee on the side your baby is nursing. This angles their body diagonally, opening up room on the opposite side for the Haakaa.
When and How Often to Use It
Most people use the Haakaa at every feed, or at least at the feeds where they’re sitting down long enough for it to be practical. Quick, five-minute nursing sessions may not give you much. Longer feeds, especially the first morning feed when breasts tend to be fullest, usually yield the most milk.
One thing to be aware of: using the Haakaa consistently at every feed sends a signal to your body to produce more milk on that side. For most parents building a stash, that’s the goal. But if you’re already dealing with oversupply or engorgement, using it at every single session can make things worse. In that case, limiting it to one or two feeds a day keeps collection going without ramping up production more than you need.
Cleaning and Sterilizing
After each use, wash the Haakaa with warm soapy water and rinse thoroughly. The one-piece design means there are no small parts or valves to disassemble, which makes cleaning significantly easier than a standard pump. To sterilize, boil it in water for two to three minutes. Some parents sterilize before the first use and then once daily after that, washing with soap between sessions throughout the day.
Check the silicone periodically for any cloudiness, stickiness, or cracks. Food-grade silicone is durable, but it does degrade over time, especially with frequent boiling. If the texture changes or the suction weakens noticeably, it’s time to replace it.
Storing the Milk You Collect
Freshly expressed milk is safe at room temperature (77°F or cooler) for up to four hours. If you’re collecting from multiple feeds to combine into one storage bag, keep the Haakaa milk in the refrigerator between sessions, where it stays good for up to four days. Once chilled, you can add fresh milk to already-refrigerated milk, but cool the new batch in the fridge first before combining so it doesn’t warm the stored portion.
For longer storage, transfer the milk to freezer bags or containers. Label each one with the date. Even collecting just an ounce or two per feed adds up quickly. At three feeds a day with an average of one ounce each, you’d have over 20 ounces in a week without ever plugging in an electric pump.
What to Expect in the First Few Days
The first few times you use a Haakaa, you might collect almost nothing, or you might get a surprising amount. Both are normal. Your body hasn’t adjusted to the extra stimulation yet, and your letdown strength varies throughout the day. Morning feeds almost always produce more than evening ones.
It can also take a few tries to get the positioning and suction right. If you’re getting a lot of air in the pump or the seal keeps breaking, experiment with the angle and how much you squeeze the base before attaching. Less air in the base means stronger suction, but too much vacuum can be uncomfortable. You want a gentle, steady pull, not a pinch.