Dear Mary Kay,

Your wrote:

> [I] wonder if anyone has a respectful explanation to share with parents and
> staff. The only
> comparisons I can think up are hand saw vs. chain saw and appliance  metaphors!

I like to use a transportation analogy.  I explain that there are many
ways to get
milk out, just as there are many ways to get from one place to another. 
You can
walk/express by hand, you can use a bicycle/manual pump, a scooter/mini-electric,
or a conventional electric pump/car.  Of the conventional pumps, I
further explain
that there are levels there, too, from the economy car to a top-of-the
line SUV or
BMW.  Then we can liken their circumstance/need to the kind of transportation
model.  For example, I get inappropriate questions from both ends of the
scale -
moms at home wanting to rent for that occasional separation and the
mothers with
premies who want to buy their pump at Walmart.  For the first, I would
ask if they
just need a car for occasional trips to the store or movies, do they
need the most
expensive car?  They can then decide if they would be happy "walking" or
having a
motor to help get them to their goal.  If they have a baby in the NICU,
I will ask
them if they needed to travel somewhere with their baby several times a
day, every
day, as part of their work or to get food for their family, would they
want to rely
on walking or a small economy car or would they prefer to have something
they can
depend on to get them there in comfort everytime.  It seems to get the
point across
fairly easily.

Cindy Garrison, BS, IBCLC
(A non-RN working in a hospital)
Canonsburg, PA

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