Susan Betz, your posting re: the mother expecting twins who wants to only
pump and bottle feed had me nodding my head and sharing your frustration. In
the HMO I work in we have a pump rental station, established primarily to
assist the high percentage of women in our practice who return to
employment. (My first choice is advocating for on-site care, but that is my
*fantasy* at this point).

BTW, the pump program has made a positive difference in the percentages of
babies who continue to receive breastmilk after the return to
employment/school.

However, the fallout from having pumps readily available in such a "closed"
community is that I have many, many women who call me before delivery to
arrange to have a full-sized electric pump on hand from Day 1. I feel like a
broken record (that's really a dated phrase! My 7 year old doesn't know what
a record is, in this world of CDs and cassettes...). I explain the
importance of getting off to a good start breastfeeding, etc. (all of you
can fill in the blanks here). Often I can see the parents merely are
"enduring" my spiel, much like one humors a senile relative. *They really
want that pump!* In the University population I work with a large number
want Dad to share in feeding, because Dad is very invested in parenting; I
am considered such a grinch when I give my talk about not giving bottles in
the early weeks, offering other ways Dad can nurture baby. Then, when
everyone is exhausted in the early days, they hear friends tell them how
easy giving bottles is...

Last month a student couple asked permission to take a pump to France for
the holidays. "Why?" I asked. Well, they needed to get photos of the various
relatives bottlefeeding their 3-week-old baby. "Oh, my mother would be
heartbroken if she could not feed the baby! We need to get at least a
picture!" This couple really thought I was nuts with my explanations.

I think many new parents see pumps as providing the "best of both worlds." I
don't know how helpful it is women to pump so others can bottle feed the
baby (how is this a time/energy savings??) but many seem attracted to it.
Breastpumps are now part of the layette!

This is a line we LCs are going to be walking for a looooong time, IMHO.

Margery Wilson, IBCLC
MIT Medical Department
Cambridge, Massachusetts