I was about to post to Lactnet with exactly the concerns Rachel Myr has just
expressed - pun unintended. (See below)  A mother in overcrowded conditions
and with little personal space can lift her shirt and breastfeed a lot more
unobtrusively than she can pump!!!  Pumping is so obvious. This would surely
make pumps a *barrier* to breastfeeding for these Mums, wouldn't it?

I find it very curious that people are thinking pumps.  At first I thought
they were being suggested to help Mums stimulate the breasts while
relactating  I would suspect that mothers exclusively pumping their milk and
bottle-feeding it would be a very small minority.  However, from some posts
it is becoming obvious there is an assumption that if mothers are
breastfeeding they "need" pumps.  Perhaps this is cultural; certainly it
is not biologically based.  Pumps, as Rachel wrote, are another way to
introduce contamination - and to avoid contamination, there is the necessity
of getting to limited facilities where a mother can dismantle, clean and
sterilise the pump parts adequately.  In emergency situations, *less*
technology, rather than more, is de rigeur.

If people are donating or collecting pumps, may I suggest there is some sort
of proviso - that they be delivered only to aid stations were there are
facilities for their use?

Virginia - who has been in emergency situations herself
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Wed, 7 Sep 2005 Rachel Myr wrote:

"It seems to me that where sanitation is a challenge, like where there is
little personal space for washing up or washing and sterilizing bottles,
then pumps are just one more item that would need adequate cleaning in order
to be safe.  To me, talking about sending pumps just clouds the issue.  It
is not just about the milk, it is about a food source and mode of feeding
that are inextricably connected.  The milk is kept in perfect condition
until the moment of consumption BECAUSE IT COMES STRAIGHT FROM INSIDE A
BREAST.  Once it is pumped out, it needs to be stored.  I understand it is
considerably warmer in most of the affected region than the temperatures
cited for safe storage of freshly expressed milk for more than a short time.
The expressed milk needs to be given to the baby, from a scrupulously clean
container....
"If a woman does not have enough privacy to feel comfortable breastfeeding,
where is she going to find the privacy to pump, even if she had access to
adequate facilities to clean her pump?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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