Jessica -

I don't have any answers for you about finding an article for your moms
renting/buying br. pumps & equip. I have done up a couple of them myself
when I was at WIC; often it seem to me that that's the only way to get what
you want (and avoid what you DON'T want) in materials.

But I did want to applaud you for your idea of being "encouraging and
proactive" to these moms! As a pharmacist, you're in a good position to help
& support women who need BF support. I would think that just having *anyone*
in your pharmacy who handles the pumps & stuff be well-trained and totally
warm & supportive to these moms could go a long way. A breast pump rental
shouldn't be handled like buying an Ace bandage or a bedpan; whoever handles
the transaction needs to be enthusiastic and warm (as well as
knowledgeable), so that as the customer goes away from the store they can
have that "boosted" feeling you get from a positive interaction and the
sense that "aha, here is someone who can potentially be of help, and who
knows how important it is for my child to get my breastmilk!". You don't
want it to be some slack-jawed kid who just takes the money & hands over the
stuff like a pack of Juicy-Fruit.

I'm sure that with you there, customers would get this kind of service - do
whatever you can to be sure than the same is true of any employee that would
handle these transactions. I think the other thing you "should" have readily
available, perhaps on tear-sheets where customers can easily see them, is a
list of local BF resources - IBCLCs, LLLLs, whatever is available. It
worries me when people just rent a pump without having access to good
advice. I know some moms don't need anything more than the equipment, but
many do, and they need to know who to contact if questions come up.

Our local BF coalition includes the pharm. that rents pumps on our mailing
list, so that when we send out an informational packet or an update on BF,
they get it too. (Don't know how effective this is, as I found one of those
ancient so-called "nipple shields" that's like a shot glass with a teat on
the end of it on their shelves recently, but we try...)

Cathy Bargar, RN, IBCLC Ithaca NY

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