Bring breast pump to hospital????

May_31_2008 · September 2011

Hi ladies ...

I'm just wondering what your opinion is on bringing your own breast pump to the hospital when you give birth. I ask because in reading some of the "Top 10 items to bring to the hospital" some people say to bring the breast pump to the hospital, while a few said not to bring it.

I think I would like to bring my own pump so that the lactation consultant could show me how to use it, clean it, etc, and I imagine it will be better to start pumping right away to help my milk to come in .... Opinions please! What did you do??

Thanks for your time!

blueLu25 · September 2011

I would bring it just in case! You probably wont need it, but if something happened and you werent able to nurse, at least your baby could get your BM and it would help your milk come in too.

babyfished · September 2011

My LO was underweight, my milk took FOREVER to come in, we ended up having to supplement because I listened to the hospital's lactation consultant when she said on the very first day "Could you pump to get the milk to come in faster? I guess you could, but your daughter's got a decent latch. Don't mess with it."

My biased, embittered, still-working-through-it self says yes, bring your pump! Worst case scenario, you don't end up using it. Best case scenario, you save yourself a lot of heartache.

JodiLinn503 · September 2011

My milk didn't come in until I was home (even though I stayed in the hospital for 3 days). There wasn't any reason to bring my pump. It might be helpful for the LC to show you how to use/clean it, but it seems more important to spend that valuable time with her talking about and practicing breastfeeding.

maryg6707 · September 2011

I was at Swedish First Hill and they had Medela pumps there for me to use while DD was in the NICU overnight. Personally, I don't think you need to bring a pump. Your initial focus (and the LC's) will likely be on latching and getting baby to breast. Pumping comes a little later unless you have latching or nursing issues. But generally they will have good pumps you can use.

Seattle_JiLLn · September 2011

Evergreen has pumps in every room I think... you don't need to bring your own.

doublem · September 2011

Seattle_JiLLn:
Evergreen has pumps in every room I think... you don't need to bring your own.

Same with UWMC. I suppose you could always stick it in the trunk and have it there in case you want to send your DH out to get it for some reason, but I wouldn't lug it all the way into your hospital room until you're sure you need it. You'll accumulate enough other stuff in there.

However, I would recommend going to Evergreen's baby boutique and getting fitted for the proper size flanges for your pump, if the one you have doesn't come with multiple sizes. It made a world of difference for me as far as comfort and efficiency goes.

MrsH_08 · September 2011

I brought mine but did not use it to pump. I was glad I'd brought it, though, because I was very nervous about it (even after a BF-ing class) and the LC was able to give me a really quick overview and select breast shields.

cmcmillan · September 2011

Providence Pavillion also has the large medala pumps for you to use, if necessary. While my son was in nicu a lactation specialist showed up with one, and had me start pumping while he was there. I didnt take mine with either of my births, and never felt like i wished i had. If you really need help you can always set up an appt with them outside of your l & d.

KNemo · September 2011

Overlake also has Medela pumps in every room. I used one often during the 32 hours that my little guy was in the Special Care Nursery. My milk didn't come in for 5 days, so I don't think that pumping helped my milk come in, but I was able to pump a lot of colostrum for my LO. I can't think of a hospital that doesn't have them for patients to use during their stay. You should check with your hospital to see if they have them. The LCs will show you how to use their hospital-grade pumps, and once you get the hang of those, yours will be easy to learn.

clineak · September 2011

I brought mine (I delivered at Swedish/Edmonds) and was glad I did, even though my milk didn't come in until the day after I left the hospital. The lactation consultants were able to show me how to use it properly. Also, it turned out the breast shield I had bought was too small, so they were able to fit me for the correct size.

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