Okay, I'm feeling a little cranky today, so take these comments in that
vein.
I got one of those big ol' new "hospital-grade" pumps too, along with the
five kits to allow me to do the marketing research for Playtex on my time.
A colleague got her box, as did the hospital where we both do contract IBCLC
work. They sure are getting the pumps distributed.
My colleague asked the Playtex folks how they expected five mothers to trial
the pump when the box so clearly states that only one person is supposed to
be using it. The stumped Customer Relations person said she'd have to "ask
Corporate" for an answer. We are waiting for the reply.
A few of us played with the pump. It is quite noisy, wheezing and rasping
as you increase suction. The admittedly-cool-looking flanges crinkled and
gargled as they worked to "plump" the nipples (I'm quoting the pamphlet
here. I must have missed the study telling us nipples need to plump in
order to transfer milk).
We didn't have any moms around to ask to use it. Indeed, the Playtex
materials say the pump is to be studied by mothers whose milk supplies are
already well established ... and those moms are in short supply on the
post-partum floor.
Big flaw: the tubing comes out of the packaging kinked, and the suction
power does NOT "iron it out." Only one out of three of us figured out why
the pump didn't seem to be working at all .... we had to manually pinch
about five kinks out before the machine started wheezing and gargling. Now,
we work with pumps all day every day. What would a stressed post-partum
mother do?
The information materials are too heavy on the use of pictures of babies
drinking from bottles to suit my taste ... although someone seems to have
tried very hard to make the information WHO-Code-friendly. (Bottles aren't
called bottles. They are "breast milk storage systems." And guess who just
happens to have a breast milk storage system to sell you?)
I might offer mine to an experienced pumping mom, to get at least one mom's
view of how well it works, compared to a Medela or Hollister pump. If the
pumps express the same, and they all sell for about $300 (!!), I don't think
I'd choose this noisy model.
The consumer advocate in me is a bit peeved with the packaging. It clearly
states the pump cannot be returned once it is opened. Most moms will buy
it, realize it is noisy (and maybe even lousy), but think they are stuck.
I'm willing to bet most mothers don't understand that the USA's Uniform
Commerical Code's warranty of merchantability would supercede the
manufacturer's self-serving exclusions. (For those of you saying 'Huh?',
that means: If you bought it, and it doesn't perform to the level you
expected, you can still return it .... even if it is not broken.)
I will give the design department a gold star: the black bag and its inner
baglets are quite nice.
Liz Brooks, JD, IBCLC
Wyndmoor, PA, USA
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