I don't see that I need to have a stance on this at all.  I generally advise
reading the instructions before using any kind of equipment.  I'm not a
dealer in new or used pumps myself, nor do I rent out equipment, and I don't
see that it concerns me whether someone buys a pump new or inherits it from
her sister-in-law or steals it off the back of a truck.  If someone asked me
what I thought I would say I just plain don't care.  It's up to the woman to
decide whether to follow the manufacturer's recommendations.  All I am
worried about is that she get hold of an effective pump if she needs to
express milk and can't do it all by hand expression.

I'm seeing a new wave of single-user pumps hitting the market here, and I'm
not sure why.  Well, I can see why the shops are pushing them, but I am not
sure why women are falling for it.  Women seeking to buy a manual pump are
now being pressured to buy electric models that are touted as being 'as good
as the hospital pumps'.  This has happened at the local Medela dealer and at
the leading baby furnishings store, who are pushing Medela and Avent,
respectively.  I've seen both in use and was not impressed, and they both
make a real racket, but completely different sounds.  The Medela thing looks
like a giant M&M, but it sounds like an old guy that ate a major feast of
beans yesterday, or maybe just an old guy sleeping one off.  Kind of rude
noises and certainly not something you'd want to be using while at work if
you were taking phone calls, or if you could be overheard.  The Avent one is
more like the whine of a jet motor at some distance.  Neither one was
particularly effective for the mothers who bought them, at double the price
of the manual pump they originally planned to purchase.  It was not possible
to double pump with the Medela model either, I don't know about the Avent
one.

I have a sentimental attachment to our fifty year old Egnell prototype
pumps.  I think of all the gallons of milk that have come through them, and
all the tears that have been shed over them in the decades they've been in
use on our ward, and I know the pump salesmen really want to get their hands
on them and palm off some fancy new model on us, but I am sure these things
will still be in perfect working order when my still unborn grandchildren
need a pump, and I doubt any of the current models will still be around five
years from now.  They make a pleasant, soothing sound and they are so homely
they're beautiful.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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