Breast Pumps- Rent vs Buy

slmayer1981

Has anyone rented (or thinking about renting) a breast pump? I'm a FTM, so I'm not sure how this whole BF thing is going to go for me. I'm really hopeful that I will be able to BF, but my mom had difficulties with milk production and I'm afraid I'll have troubles too. I'd hate to spend $350 on a nice breast pump and not be able to use it very long. IMO, it would be well worth the money if I knew that it would get lots of use. I'm in the process of buying all the baby necessities that we didn't receive at our showers- the breast pump is one of them. I figured I'd only need to rent for a month to determine if I'm able to produce enough milk for her. Thoughts? Am I being too paranoid about possibly not being able to BF?

michelle142

I'm in same boat right now.

My plan is to rent one for the first month or two to make sure everything is going to work out before I spend $$$ on my own pump. My hospital rents pumps for $40 a month, so I'm ok with that.

You might want to check how much a rental will cost you before deciding.

Happily Overwhelmed

My plan was to rent but I just found out that our hospital doesn't rent pumps out. But they do sell them much cheaper than stores.

I'm going to buy an emergency manual pump for the first few weeks. It seems like a waste of $30 but I'd rather waste $30 than $350 to learn that BFing might not be for us... If it ends up working then I'll probably buy a good pump.

kylayton

If you are nervous, I say wait and see how it goes when LO gets here.  My mom was a champion breast feeder and my sisters milk never came in.  There's no correlation so I wouldn't worry yourself.  

Also, you don't have to spend $350 for a good pump.  You can find good ones much cheaper.  

iluvmylab

kylayton:

If you are nervous, I say wait and see how it goes when LO gets here.  My mom was a champion breast feeder and my sisters milk never came in.  There's no correlation so I wouldn't worry yourself.  

Also, you don't have to spend $350 for a good pump.  You can find good ones much cheaper.  

This.  I plan on getting the Ameda.  It's around $160.  And it's a closed system so I can always sell it later on if I want.

Temp401037375003448

I rented one after DS was born and I'm glad I did. BFing only lasted 9 weeks last time due to complications. I will do the same this go around.

jchytil

I plan on renting to see how it works out. My hospital does not rent them but my Dr. said to check with a few home health care business's in my town.

asyph107

Check with your health insurance too, sometimes they provide discounted rates for rental and purchase of pumps. Give the number on the back of the card a call or check online.

precbaby3

I know my hospital was only 30 dollars a month and you can check other med places have them as well and Once upon a child here has them:)  I rented last time and it worked great for me, i only BF for two months due to his tummy issues, he had to go on soy.  This time i found a great deal on one from Craigs list and just bought the new tubes and such so i saved a TON of money...IMO renting is almost the same as buying one from craigslist that looks well taken care of and buyin new pieces...either way it was still used by someone else...but again that is just my opinion:)

 

indomesticbliss

With our 1st I bought a PISA, and wound up having to EP for 7 weeks until I stopped bf due to lack of milk and medical issues. At about 4 weeks out I rented a hospital grade pump to try and get a better supply-no luck. since my PISA was recalled last winter, I do not currently have a pump. Due to my history, we aren't buying one right away, but if needed, I will rent one again until I'm sure that bf will work out.

Just an FYI, check into renting before you have LO and see how much the rental place will charge you for attachments (tubing, bottles, etc... basically everything butthe pumping mechanism). Some places charge, some don't. I know ours cost $40 for the hospital grade accessories, which you keep when pump is returned, in addition to the rental fee (about $1.15/day)

chankins14

If you are going to be paying for it all out of pocket (no insurance coverage)  I would start with renting one.  Not only are the rentals hospital grade, it isn't that much (in my area) and you aren't out much if it doens't work out for you.

MesmrEwe

I purchased a used PIS and then tubing for it and am planning to EP this time around again.  The thing so many don't realize when they have issues with supply while pumping is that 98% of the time it's a pump maintenance issue.  With Medela the membranes need to be changed out pretty frequently in order to ensure that there is proper suction, but most LC's don't have a clue about this.  They're a $1.25 part that can be a million dollar headache/heartache to a new mom. 

With DD I rented a Lactina and if I'd have just put the money I spent on the rental into a pump, I'd have been about 2/3 of the way to owning my own Symphony and secondary to that I wouldn't have to purchase anything this time around. 

Some of these thrift baby rent the community center/fairgrounds building for the day sales have new/used pumps for SUPER cheap.  There were some that we saw there that weren't even opened up and had $100 on them.  Just something to consider as an option...

IMO, a good pump is well worth it especially if you're planning on having additional kiddos.  Just need to be a savvy shopper more than anything!