I think this article and reaction to it is a little skewed.  I went to a presentation by some of the physicians in the Breastfeeding Laboratory.  There is not a breast pump that does all that - ultrasound, breathing monitor, etc.  There is a lab set up that has all these factors.  It can be used to evaluate a breastfeeding problem to determine what is going on and to offer solutions for issues.  This is not really about pump technology but doing "basic research" on breastfeeding.  Their research helps me to understand and explain to moms why a baby who compresses the nipple can gradually decrease milk supply, why a frenotomy is helpful, etc.  It is SO important that basic research is done on breastfeeding to help us understand how to help moms better.  I'm looking forward to seeing more published on mastitis which this lab is also looking at - ways to prevent, ways to properly treat.  Remember, all media reports are not necessarily spot-on about what is happening - and I the research being done can be quite daunting to understand! 

-----Original Message-----
From: Lactation Information and Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rachel Myr
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2008 4:29 AM
Subject: Brave new world of pump technology

Nina Berry alerted me to this article, from a West Australian paper, on a new pump being 'road-tested' by the Hartmann group.  The manufacturer is not given, but since Hartmann's research until now has been funded by Medela, I expect this is a new Medela 'breakthrough'. 
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=2&ContentID=103908
From the article: 
"Perth researchers are using worldfirst technology to help unravel the cause of a dilemma faced by many new mothers - why they cannot breastfeed their baby.
  
King Edward Memorial Hospital's breastfeeding centre is road-testing a $1 million breast pump which uses ultrasound and video images to monitor exactly what happens when a baby breastfeeds, including changes to its heart rate and breathing.
  
They hope this will help them better understand how milk is produced and flows, known as the let-down, so they can see if they can improve advice for women who are having breastfeeding problems, including instructions on how to position the baby....

... "For the first time we will have simultaneous data on infant feeding, including milk flow, the baby's respiration rate and heart rate and an assessment of the baby's attachment to the breast by ultrasound and video imaging," he said. "The major advantage of this breast pump is that all measurements will be precisely synchronised so that cause and effect analysis can be carried out." "

Nearly twenty years ago I heard a Danish midwife give a talk in which she claimed that obstetricians' lack of interest in the postpartum period would turn to eager attention the moment someone invented a machine that could be hooked up to the breasts and measure production in ml per minute.  She died not long after that, but I fear her prophecy is about to be fulfilled.

Here is the part that sets my teeth on edge:  Hartmann added that the information gleaned from their work could be used to 'monitor' women with breastfeeding problems, and could be used to design 'more efficient domestic pumps'.  

While there is a small group of women for whom the information from the use of such a pump will be helpful, the vast majority of mothers who encounter problems breastfeeding need only very simple measures requiring nothing more than some practical help from a knowledgeable, caring person with time to be there for them.

After seeing how Medela already markets its products to mothers and to us, I dread the day when this pump's features are implemented in a model intended for individual purchase.  'Now, at last, you can learn just how long your baby needs to stay at the breast to get fed, and avoid letting it use you as a pacifier!'  Perhaps we can even expect pocket-sized handbooks to carry around at work, like the ones for interpreting CTG traces, with norms for how fast a mother should produce a requisite volume and which volume should satisfy the baby, so we can diagnose as deviant the ones who don't keep to the curves, and intervene.  

The point is, without a human being who understands the entire phenomenon of breastfeeding, including its myriad social aspects, all the equipment in the world will not help, no matter how exact the data produced are.  We have suffered immeasurably in birth care because of the mistaken idea that the things we can measure are more important than the things we cannot.  I would hate to see us go down the same dead-end path in breastfeeding.  Harumph.

Rachel Myr
Feeling exceptionally curmudgeony today in Kristiansand, Norway

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