I agree with Jeanne, as she stated below:

    This does not negate my passion for what I do, but reflects what I feel is
     reasonable compensation for the education and professional experience I
     bring to the table.    Do we expect top-notch surgeons to perform surgery
     for little or no compensation "for the love of healing"?   

I would also like to state that this is not in contradiction to what Ilene stated and not meant to argue with her. She made some excellent points about how passionate we are about our work, and I agree there too. But I have to state my concern over putting labels on pumps with information about where to find help with the pump rented from Babies R Us and the judgment that may be passed on those of us who cannot participate in this charity to Babies R Us. By the time the mother calls someone for help with that pump, there's a very good chance that the question is not "How do I operate this pump?" but is a very complex situation that could involve a compromised milk supply, latch issues, milk storage questions, general breastfeeding questions, general baby care questions, etc. These situations can easily take up a huge amount of time, all while Babies R Us gets $130 for five minutes of paperwork to rent a pump and sell some parts, offering no assitance with the real issues that led the mother to rent the pump in the first place. 

In my very small business, I already give away a great deal of my time to customers who have rented pumps from me. I simply cannot afford to give away my time to people who have already taken their business elsewhere and gotten themselves in a mess as a result of doing so. This does not mean that I don't feel passionately about helping mothers. It means that if I don't watch how I spend my time, I'll put myself OUT of business entirely due to unwise business practices. When that happens, where will those mothers go on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve to rent their pumps or replace the parts they so desperately need? (Currently they come to me and are incredibly appreciative of my availability and willingness to help them.) I DO indeed feel strongly about doing what I do, and if I don't cover my costs, I'll be forced to shut down and not do anything at all. Who benefits there?

Jeanne asked if doctors should do what they do without expectation of being paid? Of course not. Nor would any other business. Because many of us started as volunteers and/or because of the nature of our work, we're often criticized for trying to make a profit out of it. What other business is seen as evil for trying to make money? I do not understand that line of thinking. 

Similarly, Medela is a business, as someone (don't remember who) mentioned. And Medela is doing what it takes to increase the bottom line for Medela. That does not make it a GOOD decision, as we can all clearly see by the horrible misinformation and lack of information accompanying these rentals by Babies R Us. It is my suspicion that this will prove to be such a disaster that Medela will abandon it sooner rather than later. It won't be good for Medela when word gets out that their product is not "effective" or pleasant to use or whatever, simply because it was rented by someone ignorant of how or why or when to use it. 

I do not call another doctor and expect a second opinion for free after consulting with my own doctor. I do not take my car to a second mechanic and expect more details for free about what I paid the first mechanic to do to it. My husband, who is a portfolio advisor/wealth manager, couldn't dream of giving away his time. He is paid well for the many initials behind his name, the extensive education, training and experience he has, and the excellent results he yields. He'd be out of business if he gave it away. Trust me, he does give a good chunk of advice for free, AS DO I, but he has limits, as do I.

Anyway, back to my point. There are some among us who are unwilling and unable to donate the time (to Babies R Us, to Medela, to moms and babies??) to clean up the errors committed by Babies R Us when renting these pumps. I would hope that everyone, including those who have the luxury of donating more time than others (I'm sure we all give away a lot of our resources already), would be considerate of others' situations when passing judgment. I would also hope that it would be recognized that many of us are running businesses and families at the same time and must make decisions to benefit them both.

Amy Brown, IBCLC

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