Jessica, I hear what you are saying about sharing pumps -- that too often it
is an excuse for not really thinking about what a pump costs, what its value
is, or whether this old used pump is the best answer for the mother involved.

At the same time, though, your post suggests to me a couple of follow up
questions.  One is:  how do you distinguish these cases from that of, say, a
Lactina rental that may have been through multiple users?   Are rental pumps
made differently in some way that makes your problems with used PIS pumps not
a problem with rentals?   I know that with a Lactina I have had to replace
some of the plastic parts that wear down and seem to decrease the pressure
after a while.  I thought PIS parts were supposed to be more durable -- is
that not so?  or do they wear down slower but can't be replaced?  or what?
How old do they have to get before they are taken out of service and "the
newer model" brought in to replace them? (that is, how old relative to the
purchase-pumps you are describing?)

A second question might be, are these really concerns with pump sharing or
just with old pumps?  To put it another way, why is an old PIS that she
bought from her friend who got it five years ago and used it for four kids
different from a PIS that this mom herself may have bought from you several
years ago, and since then used for multiple kids, stored in the basement,
etc?  Would you also politely decline to help *that* mom sterilize her old
pump, just because you are entitled to get paid for your work after all; or
is there something specific to multiple mothers sharing that goes beyond old
and dirty to make this more of a problem?

 I had been under the impression that part of the appeal of buying a PIS was
that it is durable -- that you buy it once and then can use it for as many
kids as you have, in contrast to rental charges that just keep adding up and
adding up with the passing months and years.   Is this not really so?  If
these pumps wear out or become problematic after a year or so, is that
something that manufacterers or dealers like you routinely make known to
purchasers at the time of sale?  Otherwise it would be counter-intuitive to
many buyers, I think.

I am thinking of a couple of pairs of mothers I know who have shared PIS
pumps by passing them back and forth as they alternated babies.  Mom #1 was
definitely planning to re-use the pump in two years for her second child; but
since she had a year off pumping after her first baby was a little older, she
was pregnant, etc, she meanwhile did her friend a favor and loaned the pump
to her for the in-between months.   This pump was not as old, after all, than
it would be when Mom #1 got it back and used it again with her 2nd baby; it
had been stored badly for less time and cleaned more often because it was
never packed away in the dusty attic.   How should these moms (and I) be
thinking about a) reuse by the same mom, and b) use in the same time frame by
another mom?

Any light you (or other pump dealers out there) can shed on this would be
informative.  Thanks.

Elisheva Urbas in NYC
who has no financial interest in any pump company except for the large
investments in Medela equipment she has made already this lifetime and the
similar expenditure she sees coming up again, God willing, in her medium-term
future!

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