Heather ~

Let me preface with the fact that I do not work for Medela and my
experience/thoughts do not speak for the company.  I am a former engineer
though and I LOVE all the little technical aspects of pumps and how and why
they work.

The reason that the pump without the angle adapter did not have as much
vacuum as the one with the angle adapter is likely to be that there was a
vacuum leak.  The next time you are around a classic, look carefully at both
the angle adapter and the tubing attached to it.  The angle adapter is made
from a hard plastic and the tubing is made from a soft silicone.  As parts
are repeatedly taken in and out of the soft tubing, it will gradually
stretch until it no longer makes a tight seal.  (Think of how a balloon will
stretch if blown up and deflated repeatedly until it will not go back to its
original size.)  Because the angle adapter is a hard plastic, it will not
stretch appreciably and will not loose as much vacuum over time.

Both reps are right in a way.  The angle adapter is needed to avoid loosing
suction over repeated connections with the parts but the first few times
there should be a good seal and no problem.

Keep in mind too that the second pump may not have been well calibrated and
might have too much vacuum which would explain why she could not increase
the vacuum as high.  I do tell moms that "If it hurts, something is wrong."
This seems to be a good guideline for most moms.

Linda Pohl, RLC, IBCLC
www.eBESTFed.com
Phoenix and Mesa AZ

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html