The Ancient History of Breast Pumping: It Started With a Clay Pot in 400 BC

By Ece · Founder of Idaho Jones, pumping mom
Pump It Up · Episode 1

Most people assume the breast pump is a relatively modern invention, something that arrived alongside the hospital bag and the swaddle blanket. It did not. Women have been using devices to express breast milk for well over two thousand years, and the earliest known example is a small ceramic vessel from ancient Greece called a guttus.

What was the guttus?

The guttus was a low, round ceramic vessel with a handle, a small opening at the top, and a narrow spout. It was common across Greece and was used for multiple purposes: pouring oil, feeding infants, and, according to historical and medical research, expressing breast milk. It wasn't a single-use device designed exclusively for pumping, but it served the function effectively enough that versions of it persisted for centuries.

The shape made sense. The narrow spout could be placed against the breast, suction could be created manually, and milk could be collected and transferred to the infant through the same opening. Two functions, one vessel, no moving parts.

Why did they need it?

Breast engorgement, the painful swelling caused by milk accumulation, is not a modern problem. It's a physiological reality women have dealt with since the beginning of human reproduction. The guttus offered a practical solution at a time when the only alternatives were hand expression or simply enduring the discomfort.

There was also the challenge of feeding premature or weak infants who couldn't latch effectively. A device that allowed milk to be expressed and then fed to the baby through a controlled spout was genuinely useful in those situations.

What came next?

The Romans refined the concept, developing glass milk-extractors that a woman would use herself to address retracted nipples. The materials changed as available technology changed, but the core problem (and the need for a solution) remained constant across cultures and centuries.

The latest chapter

Cushy Silicone Flanges

From ceramic gutti in ancient Greece to glass milk-extractors in Rome to today's soft silicone. Cushy is the latest chapter in this 2,000-year story, designed by a pumping mom for real-life comfort.

Shop Cushy →

The history of breast pumping is, at its core, the history of women finding ways to keep their babies fed in circumstances that were rarely designed to make that easy. That part, unfortunately, has not changed as much as the technology has.

Next week

The 17th century, when corsets created a widespread public health problem involving flat nipples, and the medical solution involved a device that looked remarkably like a smoking pipe. Subscribe to get it in your inbox, or follow along on Instagram and Pinterest.

Pump It Up is a weekly series on the history of breastfeeding and breast pumping. New episodes drop every week on Instagram and Pinterest.