Dear Jeanne,

This is deplorable! 

What is happening in Houston, TX is that several hospitals have opened pump rental stations with Symphony pumps. This is causing those IBCLCs in private practice who rent pumps to lose a lot of business. Many are finding their profits and consultation bookings are way down. There is no way an individual pump station can compete with the free or low cost Symphonies offered to the hospitals. At least one private practice IBCLC has gone out of business totally (working in another field now). Others are considering whether to stay in or not. With formula being "king" here, breastfeeding is not highly valued. I think we are going to lose some of our valuable breastfeeding advocates. 

Kathy Eng, BSW, IBCLC

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