hand me down pump

06162006bride · July 2010

My sister in laws neighbor insisted on giving me her used medela breast pump and said I only need to change out the tubes. Does this not sound right? If it were my sister or something maybe, but kind of a stranger really. What to do?

AlphaKat · July 2010

You only need to change the part that actually touched her nipples and carried them milk, LOL. I'm trying to find a hand me down so I don't have to spend $400 on one!!! Yikes!

06162006bride · July 2010

I get that, but what about the bottles that stored her milk and the tubes? Those aren't exactly easy to clean?

CelticWife · July 2010

It depends on which one it is. lol.

If it is the Medela Pump in Style, I would consider it. That is the pump I have. You would want to replace the tubes, the valves, and the nipple shields; it shouldn't be too expensive and most hospitals will give you a Medela kit to take with you if you ask that has most of that in it. (Free second set!)

But it is really up to you. Medela doesn't recommend it. There is a slight chance that milk could end up going through the tubes and getting into the pump. I haven't seen that with my pump, but I don't discount the possibility. Whether you are comfortable with that, is up to you.

Several people offered to sell me their used pumps, but I knew I wanted at least 2 kids so purchasing a pump new was worth it to me. That and I can be a germaphobe about things like that. (It was $350 originally, then I had a 20% off coupon and the 10% completion discount on my registry. So it really wasn't that bad. And I didn't buy it until several days after DS was born, and BF was working for us.) I will give it to my SIL once I am done.

06162006bride · July 2010

That is useful info Celtic wife! Thanks!

CelticWife · July 2010

06162006bride:
I get that, but what about the bottles that stored her milk and the tubes? Those aren't exactly easy to clean?

You can sterlize the bottles, or buy new ones. They aren't very expensive. I would use those.

You really can't clean the tubes, and they aren't very expensive at all. I think a new set is about $4. The valves are $5 for a set of 2. The nipple shields vary in price; they have different sizes and materials.

scorch · July 2010

there was a post about this on 1st tri and all those ladies were freaking out about not getting a used pump. I had to be a the voice of reason. If you replace all the replace-able parts, there is nothing to worry about. No milk ever passes through the pump on the Medela Pump in Style. And it is a very good pump. I borrowed one from a friend for about 7 months and it was a life saver.

swimming47 · July 2010

I used a friend's pump in style but replaced all of the tubing and parts with Ameda tubing, flanges, etc since they are more closed than the medela. I'm not sure if I would use one from a stranger but a friend who I know, no problem.

divasociety · July 2010

My cousin gave me her pump n style. I already have new tubes for it but will look into the other replacable parts!

NewFamily09 · July 2010

Definitely take her up on this! You can purchase a kit that will have all new tubes and stuff. I think it's called a "hygieni-kit." That way, anything that touched her doesn't touch you. Medela is a good, and expensive brand. If someone wants to give you one for free, take it! The kit for my pump (Ameda) was something like $40. Not sure how much it is with medela.

Murdock12 · July 2010

CelticWife:
It depends on which one it is. lol.

If it is the Medela Pump in Style, I would consider it. That is the pump I have. You would want to replace the tubes, the valves, and the nipple shields; it shouldn't be too expensive and most hospitals will give you a Medela kit to take with you if you ask that has most of that in it. (Free second set!)

But it is really up to you. Medela doesn't recommend it. There is a slight chance that milk could end up going through the tubes and getting into the pump. I haven't seen that with my pump, but I don't discount the possibility. Whether you are comfortable with that, is up to you.

Several people offered to sell me their used pumps, but I knew I wanted at least 2 kids so purchasing a pump new was worth it to me. That and I can be a germaphobe about things like that. (It was $350 originally, then I had a 20% off coupon and the 10% completion discount on my registry. So it really wasn't that bad. And I didn't buy it until several days after DS was born, and BF was working for us.) I will give it to my SIL once I am done.

This but I even asked my OB and she told me not to worry about it, it was fine and safe.

jennychrm · July 2010

I thought that most pumps had the possibility of milk backing up and therefore should not be shared? Even if you change the tubes etc, I really thought that there was a chance that parts that could not be cleaned could be contaminated. If I am wrong, that is great!!!

~*Sarah*~ · July 2010

i bought mine from a friend and she only used it twice so i just boiled all the parts but if it was used more i would have just replaced the shields. and bottles. thats all that the milk goes through and that stuff is not expensive compared to a $300 brand new pump. I would take it, the motor is the most expensive part

wife1014 · July 2010

There is always a chance that the pump can be contaminated with breastmilk which could carry an infection which was unknown. (If you google used breast pumps, you will find lots of info on this from the manufacturers, as well as health depts) It is not recommended. There isn't a chance in hell that is worth that to me. I wouldn't take a used pump unless it was a hospital grade which is the only type of breast pump that is recommended as a multi-user pump. Obviously you can see from the responses you've gotten, this is strictly personal. If you can afford to buy a new pump, I say buy it and cut corners elsewhere.

LLRT · July 2010

I was given one myself but I was a little weirded out about it all because of unknown contamination. Plus, I was only given the motor and had to buy everything else to go with it which was adding up... valves, membranes, tubing, cooling kit, etc. I ended up finding a 2010 Medela Freestyle on Ebay for 278 bucks versus retail of 379.99 in BRU and target. So it was a great deal which included shipping! I bought from a legitimate source: Lactation consultant and Medela authorized dealer who sells with a warranty and factory seal on it.

Do your research on a used pump. It wasn't worth the risk to me.

wife1014 · July 2010

LLRT:

I was given one myself but I was a little weirded out about it all because of unknown contamination. Plus, I was only given the motor and had to buy everything else to go with it which was adding up... valves, membranes, tubing, cooling kit, etc. I ended up finding a 2010 Medela Freestyle on Ebay for 278 bucks versus retail of 379.99 in BRU and target. So it was a great deal which included shipping! I bought from a legitimate source: Lactation consultant and Medela authorized dealer who sells with a warranty and factory seal on it.

Do your research on a used pump. It wasn't worth the risk to me.

I was beginning to think I was the only one who felt this way...thank you!

OliveBaby · July 2010

I'm getting a used pump from a friend and am getting the tubing, etc. off Amazon.

If it really weirds you out, pass the pump on to someone else who's OK with it.

em_713 · July 2010

My BF is going to give me hers and I'm happy to take it. I will just be taking the basic part and get all new replacable items and bottles. It is perfectly safe and free is awesome for a Medela pump. At the same time, I'm not sure how I would feel about taking it from a stranger....

KJmashup · July 2010

wife1014:
There is always a chance that the pump can be contaminated with breastmilk which could carry an infection which was unknown. (If you google used breast pumps, you will find lots of info on this from the manufacturers, as well as health depts) It is not recommended. There isn't a chance in hell that is worth that to me. I wouldn't take a used pump unless it was a hospital grade which is the only type of breast pump that is recommended as a multi-user pump. Obviously you can see from the responses you've gotten, this is strictly personal. If you can afford to buy a new pump, I say buy it and cut corners elsewhere.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. Here's one of the many things I found during my research that helped me make up my mind about this issue:

https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/HomeHealthandConsumer/ConsumerProducts/BreastPumps/ucm061939.htm#4

Check out the very last section on this Web page.

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