When the time came to stock up on purchases for our son’s arrival, I was determined to exercise minimalism.
“C’mon, how much crap do we actually need?” I asked my husband. “As long as we have sleepers, diapers and a dresser drawer with a blanket, we’re golden!”
I was hell-bent to avoid the flurry of pre-baby consumerism.
“Wipe warmers? Seriously? I’m not raising Prince George! $2,000 for a luxury stroller? Why don’t we save that for his university fund or – better yet – the looming cost of child care?”
I didn’t mind fronting hundreds of dollars for items I thought would make for a happy family. A breast pump was one of them. It would give me a slight reprieve to wander the grocery store aisles alone or burn off some steam on a quick run; a necessity, I felt, with relatives living in different area codes.
Breast pumps can run parents a few hundred dollars and buying new isn’t always an option. As a result, some parents peruse hundreds posted for resale on sites like Kijiji or parent swap groups on Facebook.
The problem is, breast pumps with open, or single user systems – like the Medela Pump In Style Advanced or the Avent Comfort Double electric breast pump – aren’t meant to be shared. These kinds of pumps have an internal diaphragm that cannot be fully sterilized.
“Invisible milk particles can actually travel from the shield into the tubing and actually go into the pump diaphragm,” registered nurse and lactation consultant Trina Letniak explained. “It actually causes contamination in the pump itself.”
Letniak says, as a result, moms can pass on viruses like cytomegalovirus or HIV.
Watch below: Letniak explains the risk of sharing personal use breast pumps
U.S.-based baby gear expert Jamie Grayson warns that breast pumps also expire with use.
“The problem is, pumps only have a warranty for x amount of hours or like a year so if you’re pumping a whole lot at work, or exclusively pumping or you’re sharing your pump, your motor gets used over and over and over so it will lose strength,” Grayson said.
“If you buy a used pump, A: it’s not hygienic and B: it’s not going to be efficient, so it will have a huge impact on your supply and that’s what you want to avoid.”
Letniak says if affordability pushes parents to consider personal use breast pumps, they should look into renting or borrowing one. In-store pharmacies like London Drugs rent hospital-grade double breast pumps. Letniak says public health centres can also lend breast pumps for short periods of time.
“Those are safe pumps. Those are rental pumps. They’re safe. They’re closed systems.”
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