Would you use a USED Pump in Style?

[Skatterfly]

Hey ladies,
I wasn't going to even BUY a pump until I found out what my needs are after the baby gets here. But last weekend my friend showed up with her used Pump In Style, that she in turn got from a friend of hers that I have met a couple times but don't know well.

Anyway, she INSISTS it's perfectly safe to use since the pump itself doesn't touch milk... she just said to buy the sterile kit you get when you rent one of the hospital grade rentals and it's FINE. The kit includes all the tubing and everything except the pump itself and the pump cover on the outside of the Pump in Style.

But the instruction kit for the Pump in Style says it's only a 1-use product and that it's no longer sterile after use... but I've checked with a number of the independent baby stores that sell replacement parts AND with the women's center at my local hospital, and they all say that this is very common for women to do and the Medela instructions is just marketing scare tactics so they can sell a Pump in Style to each woman.

Did any of you (would any of you) use a USED pump in style? Am I being paranoid about possible contamination. Should I be if all the parts are actually new except the motor?

It's such an expensive Pump (almost $300) and if my friend hadn't brought it to me I probably would have just bought the Avent Isis and hand expressed because I don't have that kind of money.

Thanks in advance,
Kat

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I personally wouldn't do it. The milk can go back in the tubes to the motor and you just don't know how well the previous owners have cleaned it. There is no way to sterilize that part.

You can get a Pump In Style new for $170 or so. Here is one place: http://www.fjroberts.com/sitemap.htm

Or you can get a Ameda Purely Yours for $120 here: http://www.mothersmilkbreastfeeding.com/PYw_otote.html#

I wanted the tote bag etc that comes with the Purely Yours, so I got mine from a seller on eBay for $175 total. There are deals on Pump In Style brand new on eBay from dealers too.

...Karen
Mom to Jake age 12 and expecting Logan Elizabeth or Garrett Logan, EDD March 21

[KathyO]

Me, I'd go with a used one, particularly when it comes from someone you know. Here are a couple of links to other discussions on the subject.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dcforum/DCForumID4/342.html

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dcforum/DCForumID4/173.html

The whole "it's no longer sterile after one use" thing is both true and not true. It would be more accurate to say that there is a THEORETICAL risk of contamination (I have yet to hear of an actual case of contamination by this method), and due to that theoretical risk, PERFECT, ABSOLUTE sterility cannot be guaranteed 100% of the time. So, when something cannot be 100% guaranteed to be sterile, in infection control terms, it is still considered to be non-sterile.

It's true that the milk does not flow through the motor. However, the theoretical risk lies in the possibility of microscopic airborne particles of milk being sucked into the motor with the air flow, and the subsequent possibility that these particles are carrying an organism capable of setting up housekeeping in there, and the subsequent possibility that the organism could survive until the next user, and then the subsequent possibility that the organism could make its way back down the air tubing and somehow through the valve into the milk flow, and then that the organism could survive the antimicrobial qualities of the milk itself, and then that it could actually be a harmful organism, and THEN that it would be the kind capable of infecting a baby by mouth (Hep C, for example, cannot be transmitted this way)...

It's a long chain of "ifs". So, yes, there's risk, but compared to the other everyday stuff your baby will face, it's a small one. Now, some people opt for a new pump simply because the thought of a second-hand one is unappealing to them, and that's perfectly legit. But if you're comfortable with it, by all means I'd consider it myself.

HTH,

KathyO

[Momof3Labs]

Kat,

Is she giving it to you or selling it to you? The reason I ask is because it is my understanding that the PIS has a limited life - it is only intended to work for so many hours of pumping. So, if both women used it heavily, there might not be a lot of life left in it. But if they didn't, there might be a lot of life left in it. If she is giving it to you, it doesn't matter, but just something to think about if you are buying it from her.

Everyone else has covered the sterility factor pretty well, so I won't add to that.

[emilyf]

My friend gave me her PIS, she gave up on breastfeeding after a few weeks so hadn't used it much, but I did get new parts for it. I ended up not using it myself though, because I already had an Isis and actually like it much better-it's more comfortable for me. I stay at home though and only pump occasionally.
Emily
mom of Charlie born 11/02

[Rachels]

I did use a used one! Try a search on thi-- it has been discussed before. But I wouldn't worry at all.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02