{"id":431233,"date":"2026-05-16T23:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T23:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/431233\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T23:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T23:30:10","slug":"tauranga-mum-turns-painful-breastfeeding-journey-into-hit-breast-pump-with-breastfriend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/431233\/","title":{"rendered":"Tauranga mum turns painful breastfeeding journey into hit breast pump with Breastfriend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI have a graveyard under my desk of all the pumps I tried that didn\u2019t work, and maybe it\u2019s a craze when you\u2019re a mum, but I was like, \u2018no one\u2019s going to help me, so I\u2019ll just help myself\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houtsmuller gave birth<\/a> to her daughter in December 2024 and launched Breastfriend in July 2025.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Breasties have hospital-strength suction, a built-in night light for overnight pumping, and 12 different flange sizes. Photo \/ Kaitlyn Morrell<\/p>\n

She said research for the business started when she was six weeks postpartum.<\/p>\n

Houtsmuller said she made it her purpose to find a solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never had a reason as to why she wouldn\u2019t latch; we couldn\u2019t get her to breastfeed, so I felt like I had failed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never intended for this to happen, but it kind of just organically did because I was like, well, if no one\u2019s doing it, I will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her company focuses on inclusive sizing, practical design features and direct customer support \u2013 areas she said were lacking in her own experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt there was a disjointment between mums who needed support during a time in their lives where everything\u2019s changing, it\u2019s all new.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Marie-Claire Houtsmuller founder of Breastfriend. Photo \/ Kaitlyn Morrell<\/p>\n

The product, called The Breasties, includes features such as hospital-strength suction, a built-in night light for overnight pumping, and 12 different flange sizes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be something that can complement your breastfeeding journey, but I most definitely don\u2019t think it\u2019s a necessity, at least not for most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houtsmuller said it was the \u201cmost inclusive\u201d breast pump in Australia and New Zealand, and potentially one of the most adaptable pumps globally.<\/p>\n

The Breasties are sold as a double pump at the price of a single wearable pump, paired with a storage and transport case, as well as a purpose-built nipple ruler.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s given exclusively pumping mums a place now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The business launched<\/a> with an initial run of 120 units, which sold out in about two months and left the company without stock for three weeks.<\/p>\n

\"Marie-ClaireMarie-Claire Houtsmuller gave birth to her daughter in December 2024 and launched Breastfriend in July 2025.<\/p>\n

A second shipment of 200 units followed, but those were also sold within three months, and by late January 2025, they were out of stock again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI pride myself on making sure that it works for everyone as best as it can and supporting them through it if things don\u2019t work,\u201d Houtsmuller said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not support that you would get elsewhere, and I know that because I was in that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the business was still growing and \u201csteadily so\u201d despite being a one-woman band.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really and truly hope to be my customer\u2019s Breastfriend, even if it\u2019s only for a short period of time in their motherhood journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaitlyn Morrell<\/a> is a journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI have a graveyard under my desk of all the pumps I tried that didn\u2019t work, and maybe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2831,13161,220785,3594,296,2203,2721,111,43,139,69,58310,32257,1227,32951,102],"class_list":["post-431233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-breast","tag-breastfeeding","tag-breastfriend","tag-hit","tag-into","tag-journey","tag-mum","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-painful","tag-pump","tag-tauranga","tag-turns","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}