What do you know about the sanitation of buying used pumps?

[gmallios]

Hi,
I am weeks away from my daughter's birth. I am prepping for breast feeding and want a pump. I notice that most moms on this forum use the mechanical pumps (higher priced). I also notice that some moms have referred to renting a pump. But my friend said her LC advised her against used pumps. Why would this be if one can rent a pump and/or hospitals have pumps for use? Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks for your help!

gretchen

[mommyoftwo]

The reason that some lactation consultants recommend not using previously owned pumps is that milk can get into the pump mechanism which cannot be cleaned out and therefore could contaminate your milk. The reality is that it's extremely rare for it to be a problem. The ameda purely yours is made in such a way that it is impossible for that to happen. It is fine to get a used PY. It could possibly happen with the medela PIS but again practically speaking it really isn't a problem. That being said, I still went with a used PY for a number of reasons-it was cheaper and I didn't have to worry about the possibility of contamination. As far as renting pumps go, that is perfectly fine. The pumps are made in such a way that they can be completely sterilized between rentals. Does that help at all?

[juliasmom05]

Another thing to remember about getting a used pump beside the sanitation issue, is the life of the pump itself. Hospital grade pumps are meant for long term multi-use pumping, the PIS and PY are not. You don't want to get stuck with a used pump that doesn't work. So if you do go that route, just make sure you know what you are getting.

Marci

Mom to Julia 4/05

[mommyoftwo]

I agree. If you buy a used pump, make sure that it has been lightly used. I got a pump that had been bought brand new by someone who used it a couple of times and decided that pumping wasn't for her. So it was essentially brand new. You definitely don't want to get a pump that was used heavily because you don't know when the motor will give out.

[daisymommy]

I had actually considered buying a used PIS on Ebay. I talked to someone at Medela who said that not only can milk get inside, but airborne disease, germs, illnesses, etc. can get pulled inside the diapraghm since it operates on a vacume system, and then your milk can get tainted from another user. Yuck!

But a hospital grade rental pump, as well as all Ameda PY pumps are a "closed" system so that this cannot ever happen.

I rented a hospital grade pump for a month to really bring my milk in fast and raise it up since I had ALOT of problems in this department with Joshua. It really helped alot this time around. After a month I bought a new PISA which I love.

[PAfirsttimemom]

I am using a used PIS given to me by my cousin, who used it for her four kids. At the hospital I received a kit with my own tubes, bottles, and "horns." I only use it once a day to pump a bottle for DH to feed to baby, so I wasn't too worried about the motor giving out. And because she is family and I know her, the sharing/sanitation issue was also not a huge concern, though I did consider it. I also have a backup manual pump (Avent Isis), which I sometimes use if I don't feel like putting together all the electric parts. That is a great pump, too, and not too expensive. If I can get a letdown (easiest when engorged or full) I can get 4 or 5 ounces with that pump in a matter of minutes.

Good luck!

Diana
Mom to Owen 3/13/06

[gmallios]

Thank you to you and everyone else who responded to my question. I love the help on this forum! Best of luck and I will use the feedback to figure out what pump to purchase and used/new in the coming weeks.

Thank you again,
Gretchen

[shilo]

hi gretchen,

just to add to what PP's have said, the hospital grade pumps are specially made for long term, multiple user use. they are also the strongest pumps on the market and will help if you're having trouble building up your supply in the beginning. they are very expensive (more than 1K each) and so most people wind up renting them. you rent the pump itself and then buy a 'kit' which contains all of the parts that are for your use only (bottles, horns, tubes and valves). the kits also come with a piston part that gets hooked onto the pump motor. i think we spent somewhere between $60 and $80 for the kit and the rental, but that time is a fog and we live in an expensive area, so your local hospital may be quite a bit cheaper.

the mechanical double pumps that a lot of mom's choose are supposed to be 'the next best thing' after the hospital grade pumps. like PP's have said, the major brands are either medella or ameda. although the medella seems to be more widely used/available, the ameda is a great pump and has a better price new (not sure about used, since there are fewer of them out there/demand higher, maybe the used price is too? i'm just guessing on that one - i have not looked into it myself). ameda will tell you the same thing as medella, it is a 'single user' pump and not to buy one used, but pp's are right. mine is a completely closed system and short of turning the bottles upside down and blowing on the tubes for about 10 minutes, i don't think i could back milk up far enough into the tubes to get anywhere near the motor.

so anyway, a common thing to do (what we wound up doing) is renting the hospital grade pump for a short period of time in the beginning to help build up your supply and then switching over to either a medella (PIS) or ameda (PY) for routine use. another thing to consider is how much you will need to be pumping long term. if you are going back to work and plan to pump, then you will most definitely probably want/need a PIS or PY. if you're just going to be pumping once a day for a relief bottle (which you usually don't start until about 4-6weeks old once the baby and you have a good routine down) you could probably go either way - sure a PIS or a PY would be nice, but you could probably make do with a good manual pump like an isis or maybe even one of the cheaper electrics. if you are only going to be pumping as an every-once-in-a-while thing, then a manual or one of the cheaper electrics would be fine.

FWIW, even if you decide to buy a used pump now, to have on hand for when your baby comes, if i had it to do again, i would have looked into lactation consultants and rentals before i delivered and had the name and number on a cheat sheet for my DH all ready to go. we wound up floundering for an extra two days unnecessarily because no one had told me this was something i should have looked into _before_ we got into trouble. two days doesn't seem like a long time, but with your first newborn at home, feeling like you might be starving your child, in agony yourself, it's an eternity. it doesn't have to be like that :).

good luck and bravo to you for doing your homework ahead of time!
lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.