This pump is one that is available to all Medicaid mothers in Illinois; I go through about twenty of these per month.  My clients have not had problems with them; for the most part they are very durable when used appropriately (personal use, not more than 4 times a day, for mothers with an already established supply).  Most issues are user error--have only had a couple in the last few years that had mechanical issues (one due to a brownout while pumping, the other due to a malfunctioning power supply), and those were swiftly replaced by Medela.  

By providing education on how to use the pump, we've been able to avoid a lot of problems.  Prior to WIC distribution, a most moms were getting these pumps at a local pharmacy and then overusing them and quitting breastfeeding.  Education and support/troubleshooting locally has been key to ensuring proper use and maximum output.  Even though the 'expression phase' feature isn't available, and while the speed is not able to be adjusted, it can be mimicked manually by toggling between the minimal suck (low) to elicit letdown and the deeper suck (med-high) once the letdown has been triggered.  

Long and short of it: when use and care of the machine is demonstrated, and storage and collection information reviewed one-on-one, there tend to be very few issues.  The most common things I've seen have nothing to do with the quality of the machine itself; it's issues like not plugging one of the air intake holes when single pumping or a membrane/tubing piece that has been destroyed, in which case we troubleshoot and replace them.


Brandy J. Hansen
WIC Peer Counselor, IBCLC

                                                               

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

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome