Hello all,
Phyllis writes: "How did we get stuck on the term "hospital grade"? and
Liz wrote:
"There is no such thing as a "hospital-grade breastpump", which is a suave
marketing term (that absolutely *works* because I used that phrase for
years). This link is to a nice, accurate article from the U. S. Food & Drug
Administration (which oversees pump safety/effectiveness). Pumps are better
described as single- or multi-user."
~~~
I've been thinking about this every day since the original post. From the
hospital point of view, the terms "single user" vs. "multi-user" make
sense. From the point of view of moms at home, not so much. The point in
suggesting a "multi-user" pump to a mom at home with little or no milk, or a baby
who cannot transfer it, is not that she is using a pump that can be used by
different mothers safely ( closed system) although that is a good thing of
course, but more about using a pump that is strong enough to support,
maintain, or especially, build a supply that the baby cannot/has not for some
reason. These are pumps that can not only be rented and used safely by
different mothers over time, but have been designed to work well when used as
often as baby might nurse( 8-14/24ish.) Personal use or "single-user"
pumps seem to be designed to remove milk well and comfortably when used a few
times a day, or even more occasionally, while a healthy, efficiently nursing
baby drives the supply. These are not the moms I see, or the babies they
have. So even though the "single user" pumps are only being used by one
single mom, they don't have the oomph, either right away, or over time, to do
the job these moms need them to do. I may be alone, but the term
"hospital-grade" makes a kind of sense to me. IF our world actually viewed
breastfeeding as truly normal, then no baby who could not breastfeed comfortably and
effectively, either for their own reasons, or because their moms supplies
have not been "normal" in a timely fashion, would be discharged from the
hospital without supportive interventions, including appropriate pumps if
needed, to help them get there and support them on the way. We don't normally
send adults home after being in a hospital if they cannot eat safely and
comfortably, without some interventions to help them, but every day we send
infants home who cannot get enough to eat safely, comfortably and/'or
effectively. ( Yes most of them can formula feed from a bottle, which is a
substandard feeding skill, pattern, and "substitute," biologically speaking in
the view I am proposing. I am not talking about infants who could not under
any circumstances be in healthy, exclusive breastfeeding relationships for
some reason any more than I would talk about every baby will grow up to
walk freely and functionally without assistive devices. Some won't, but
walking independently still remains the normative goal for most.) If we truly
viewed breastfeeding as the expected and always worked-for norm, then no
mother/baby pair would be discharged if the feeding relationship was not well
established, without some support interventions to help them, like a
"hospital"-grade pump, the kind hospitals have. In a way it would be like sending
home a child of walking age, who isn't walking, without a wheelchair. For
children who need it, a "casual stroller" would not do, they need a
"hospital-grade" assistive device.
Anyway, just more thoughts on things that circulate in my head. Can we come
up with better terminology that actually meets the needs of mothers and
others by being clear, as well as descriptive of the reasons pumps differ in
terms of the single mother/baby dyad's needs ( building vs maintaining a
supply, taking a baby's place a few times a day for separation or
non-medical reasons vs taking a baby's place at most/all feedings because the
feeding relationship doesn't "work" yet., etc.)
Peace,
Judy
Judy LeVan Fram, PT, IBCLC, LLLL
Brooklyn, NY, USA
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