First, I want to say that I understand the frustration about WICs and breastpumps. There are some counties near me who are bad at providing pumps and I hear this from the moms. But I would like to offer some insights into the other side of the issue.

I work for a large county WIC in Texas that is committed to breastfeeding and truly serving these moms. We have Elite breast pumps for premies and hospitalized babies or other special breastfeeding situations in the early days. Our protocol says that the single user electric pumps (in our case, Ameda Purely Yours) are for when the milk supply is established at about 4 weeks post partum. This is based on what the manufacturer says the pump is to be used for. 

For example, a mom with a premie in the hospital needs a hospital quality pump, not a single user pump. We have a contract the mom has to sign that the state provides, we have to show her how to use the pump, clean the pump and parts, and how often to pump. We try to make contact with her by phone weekly and pick up the pump when her baby comes home. This is a valuable service, but it is time consuming and takes money. 

Many mothers are exceptionally grateful to borrow an Elite pump and are responsible about returning it -- but not all are this way. Our LCs often spend a lot of time trying to get the Elite pumps back from moms who are either done pumping, or who have gone to full formula from WIC and want both the pump and the formula (are not even breastfeeding or trying to resolve a problem). If she were renting it herself, and purchasing formula, she would probably have a different attitude about where her money is going. 

The state says we can not give out the Ameda Purely Yours before 4 weeks. And the guidelines are for breastfeeding moms who can pump at work or school, and perhaps some special situations. Two main reasons, it is not the right pump for establishing the milk supply, and  we want to make sure she will sustain the breastfeeding. We have to be careful of our resources to help the most moms possible. 

There are guidelines for how much formula a mom can be getting to recieve the Purely Yours. Manual or hand pumps (by Ameda) are given out for just about any reason to breastfeeding moms. 

Finally, I have found that WIC moms who are given the manual pump tend to get that baby back to the breast and do more breastfeeding. Unfortunately, when they borrow the Elite pump many don't work on the breastfeeding, even after having a free consult with an IBCLC. So, I also look at the issue of breastpumps as will an electric pump encourage her to get the baby to the breast or not? 

Kathy Eng, BSW, IBCLC



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