Marie,
I'm doing okay right now, but I'm not exactly raking in the big bucks. I
charge way below the suggested rate, but someone else in my community
charges even lower, and I'm not sure that it would be worth it to me to
do it that way. I give a lot of my time, and I'm worth it! Fortunately
for me, she has a full time job, and so I get many moms by my
availability, and also by word-of-mouth recommendation. And, of course,
my "infamous" pump trials which allow them to know for sure that their
money is well spent..... but I know that you don't have the same kind of
time, and I may not, either, down the road!  A third LC has put her pumps
into a used kids outlet, and the convenience is a plus, but the quality
of service leaves a lot to be desired. I have more integrity than to rent
a pump to anyone asking for one without screening them first. So many
moms are told that the pump can solve practically *any* problem.

I absolutely agree that the pump companies need to be more sensitive to
this issue. If we all lose heart and the business goes to the best
"business man" rather than the people who can provide the best quality of
help, the mothers will ultimately suffer in the name of profits.
Supporting breastfeeding *must* be viewed as more than a way to make
money; if the primary vision is not to help, then everyone will lose out
in the end because breastfeeding will again decline. We need a lobby.....

-Lisa

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Lisa A. Marasco, IBCLC                                /  [log in to unmask]
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant    /  [log in to unmask]

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