Borrow a breast pump?

Question: "I'm in the market for an electric breast pump and a friend offered to loan me hers. Should I take it? It would save me about $300."

While it's a gracious offer, you're better off declining. That's because most breast pumps (unless they're a hospital-grade rental), are designed for one user only. It's largely a hygiene issue. Using a pre-owned pump can put your baby's health at risk because breast milk can carry bacteria and viruses. These potentially bad bugs can lodge in the pump's internal mechanism — the part that connects to the tubing — which can't be removed, replaced, or fully sterilized. With each suction and release, these contaminants can be microscopically blown into the milk you're expressing and possibly infect your baby. That's why breast pump manufacturers encourage nursing moms to think of a breast pump like any personal-use item you wouldn't loan, such as a toothbrush or lipstick.

There's one exception and that's the Purely Yours Breast Pump by Ameda; it's the only personal-use pump on the market to date that features a patented silicone diaphragm that provides a barrier against contamination. That same diaphgragm is also used in Ameda's rental pumps, which are designed for multi-users. But the Ameda Purely Yours isn't marketed as a multi-user pump because its motor isn't the heavy-duty, "industrial-strength" motor their rental pumps offer. Besides the risk of contamination, there's nothing worse than borrowing someone's pump or buying a secondhand one that conks out as soon as you start using it.

So, don't borrow or buy used; buy new or consider renting. A lot depends on how often and where you'll be pumping. If you're going back to work, buy an electric, personal use double pump, such as the Medela Pump In Style. You'll need the power and efficiency to get the job done quickly and keep up your milk supply. A price tag in the range of $300 can be tough on the budget, but consider how much money you're saving by not having to buy formula. If you're not going back to work, but want to pump occasionally, you can get by with a lesser pump, and you'll pay less, too. Small electric or battery-operated units range from $65 to $130. Or consider renting a breast pump for your hospital or local lactation center. These units don't tend to be portable, so they're not really an option for outside the home. But they can make sense if you only plan to pump for three months or less, or aren't sure how much you'll use a breast pump. After three months or so, cost-wise, buying generally becomes a better deal, though.

See our buying advice for baby bottles and nipples.

Comments

[Abigael]

Anyone hear of the pumpstation? I love that place, they have all sorts of products and stand by them. They test everytihng so its safe. it helped me alot.

Abigail

[Brent]

Just a note for those still interested in this topic: although Lori is very passionate in her argument, she is completely mistaken. Many viruses and a few bacteria can survive months outside the human body. Months. Hospital infection control protocols incorporate multi-minute contact times for the expensive, dangerous solvents required to kill these things; if you think a little home handwash in the sink is going to do it, you've got a lot to learn. You can not trust other people to fully disclose the infectious diseases they carry, and you should never trust another person's word when it comes to your child's health. Ever.

If it's not new, don't use it.

[Jimi]

Hello every body,

I have a one important comment please read it.
Good for evenflo who is showing support for breastfeeding mothers. Medela mainly supports the big box companies by their unfair policies on advertising. They have gone from selling their pumps to only distributors who are lactation specialists, to supporting baby's us and target.

[lori]

I'm sorry, but what a bunch of hooey.

1. Bacteria and viruses that would be communicable via milk can not survive outside the human body for very long.

2. There are no internal mechanisms (for the Medela Pump In Style, anyway) that can not be disassembled and sterilized.

My best friend is adamant about the health risks of used pumps. Once I actually looked at the mechanics of the Medela Pump In Style breast pump, she and I had a rather lively discussion about this issue.

Theoretically, there is a serious health issue, but when you apply the theory to the actual mechanics, the reality of a health threat does not hold true. She and I have agreed to disagree and I decided to go ahead and purchase a used one. The woman that I purchased it from was a neat freak, which helped ease any remaining hesitation on my part. I used it for 9 months and am SO GLAD that I decided not to let germ phobia sway my decision.

I have now had hundreds of opportunities to examine and re-examine the mechanics of the pump and am sure that the possibility of cross contamination is almost impossible, assuming that two people do not use the pump within a short period of time (hours). When using the pump in an air conditioned space, milk is warmer than the ambient air, so a small amount of moisture/condensation collects in the tubing (and potentially in the pump diaphragm). This moisture is the only real means of contamination. Within a few hours, the moisture/condensation has cooled and evaporated in the tubing and pump diaphragm and any pathogens that might have survived in the warm moist environment will have died. Human pathogens do not survive for long outside of the human body.

That said, I would not suggest two women use the same pump concurrently.

[marie]

in response to the last comment regarding re-use of a breast pump for siblings. obviously the germs could transmit. one may be willing to expose their child to common bacteria like staph and strep, but you would not be risking pathogens like HIV and Hepatitis B, unless you were the carrier.

[P]

Don't women reuse a pump with a laterchild? Would the second child not be at the same risk as a child whose mother borrowed a pump? It seems like it should be all or nothing.