A suction pump, in particular a breast pump, comprises a bleed valve with ableed opening (44, 54, 67), a bleed body (32) which seals the bleed openingand an operating means (8) for operating the bleed body. The bleed body may beoperated such that upon opening the valve initially only a partial region ofthe bleed opening is released and subsequently a greater part thereof or thewhole bleed opening is released. Said suction pump provides a largefunctionality with the smallest size and, furthermore, is cheap to produce andeasily assembled.
