> Phyllis writes: Can someone who is experienced with purchased pumps straighten out my
> faulty pump-conspiracy reasoning?
After reading your post, I'm not quite sure where the "conspiracy" fits in. When I was in
private practice and renting and selling pumps, I often did the cost analysis with parents
when they were deciding between renting and buying. As you said, there's no question that
even if a purchase pump truly only lasted for one year (which is not usually the case),
parents come out ahead financially by buying rather than renting. That's one reason why
the purchase pumps are so popular.
That said, however, I don't think it's reasonable to expect that a small, lightweight
single-user pump will have the longevity of a 5 lb., 11 lb, 16 lb. or 22 lb. rental pump.
The rental pumps cost more because they are heavy duty enough to go from person to person
to person for many years. The single user pumps are less expensive and more portable, and
they tend to wear out faster than a rental pump. I don't see anything nefarious about
that. These pumps are simply designed to serve a different purpose. I can also tell you
after running a rental station for 10 years that even those 5 lb., 11 lb., 16 lb. and 22 lb
pumps sometimes break down. Nothing mechanical lasts forever.
I have never heard anywhere that the purchase pumps are engineered to last 300 hours. In
fact, the last time I heard a specific number from those in Hollister's Research and
Development department, the current incarnation of the Purely Yours was still running after
500 hoiurs of testing. (To answer your other question, the Purely Yours without carry bag
retails for about $200 US.)
Regarding the mold and milk-back-up issues (and resulting questions about whether the same
mother shoudl reuse her purchase pump with another baby), the best way to avoid dealing
with that is to choose a pump that does not allow milk back-up in the tubing and into the
pump. Not all of the bettter pumps have that design flaw. If you'd like more information
on this, please e-mail me privately.
Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC
Lactation Education Specialist, Hollister, Inc.
Chicago suburbs, Illinois USA
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