Is it unhygienic to buy a secondhand breast pump?

[LoveInAColdClimate]

I have found the pump I think I'd like on eBay for a fraction of the price of new, apparently only used a handful of times. Is this unhygienic and icky? I have advanced pregnancy brain and am no longer capable of making rational decisions, it seems... Thanks.

Ah, that changes everything, Truth. It's pre-baby prep - I am hoping to be able to express enough for DH to do night weekend feeds. Would a manual pump be better, then? Any recommendations? Thanks.

Would you be getting up in the night to express while DH does the night feeds? As if you are (and it would be recommended so to not leave long gaps between bfs in the early weeks/months) an electric would be best - quicker and less labour intensive then manual pumping - so you get back to sleep quicker.

If you are just planning on the occasional night out, then a good manual, like Medela or Ardo or Ameda (I'm wary of Tommee Tippee and the very cheap own brand type as I'm not convinced they are any good - plus you can't take back a pump once opened for obvious reasons!).

i found the avent hand pump very easy and effective to use, i could express off 11oz from one breast!! and i have friends that use them and have found them good.

Am I being wildly naive to think that I will be able to express during the day between feeds, do a feed at, say, 11pm, let DH do a couple of night bottle feeds at the weekend (using the milk I expressed during the day) and then not feed again until, say 6am? Not so much about nights out as the occasional night with a stretch of unbroken sleep... Or will this cause my boobs to either become appallingly engorged or me not to make enough milk? Oh dear, I clearly don't know enough about this!

Ummm, I'd not say wildly naive, just slightly over-hopeful....

You need to remove milk regularly as long stretches without removing milk tells your breast to slow down on milk production (there is a protein called FIL that switches off the milk producing cells temporarily as it builds up in the breast).

It's a bit like an overflow switch - you have to slow down milk production if you aren't getting the milk out as otherwise you'd just explode!

Generally speaking even one night feed by bottle can be problematic during the early weeks (also there is a chance that baby may prefer the way milk comes out of a bottle) due to the way milk production works - use it or lose it to be blunt. You could also run the risk of plugged ducts/mastitis as you would be spending nearly a 3rd of the day not bfing/removing milk.

There are ways to cope with the night feeds - learning to feed lying down (so you don't fall asleep sitting up bfing - not safe), bed sharing safely - you can bf with out hardly waking up like this!, having your partner take the baby when they wake in the morning after their first feed, or going to bed with baby a bit earlier in the evening a few times a week to recharge.

Thanks, Truth. I'd rather be prepared now than have this come as a dreadful shock when the baby arrives! So might I be better off not buying a pump at all initially so I can't be tempted, like not having formula in the house? Or should I still get one on the basis that if I am going to snap and get DH to do a night feed, I'm better off with that being expressed milk than formula? Thanks.

By the way, we have gone for a sidecar cot so hoping night feeds won't be too awful... suspect I am again being overly hopeful!

There's nothing wrong with having a pump in the house (it's not crack ) and it can be a very useful tool if you are having problems after your milk comes in (prior to that hand expressing is best given how small the volumes of milk are).

It's certainly better for your body to express then bottle feed than not, but it's something that if you don't need to do it, why bother? You'll only have to sterilise the pump, the milk container/bottle, teats, pump the milk (may take a while to start with as it's a learnt skill to let down for pump nit baby), feed the baby, rinse, repeat....

It's good that this is coming out now while you are still pg not on day 2 when you are weepy (baby blues can hit on day 2 quite hard!) and baby is having a fussy day 2 (they all seem to have a fussy day then) and you can't get more than a few drops out (which is very normal).

Is there a bfing class your MW runs or check out Kellymom.com here for lots of info on bfing newborns, what to expect etc.

Thanks so much for the advice! I haven't had my NCT breastfeeding session yet, and my NCT lady is also a breastfeeding counsellor if I need extra help, plus there is apparently a good drop in clinic nearby. I am starting to realise how little I know now that the baby is nearly here... hopefully the above will help...

You'll do fine - I'm feeding my first baby too and i love it! We've worked it out between us. The first few weeks are so hard but once you crack it it's great. NCT helped us a lot. Don't worry about not knowing this, that and the other in advance. Breastfeeding for me was like learning a new motor skill - can't really be learnt from a book or a class as you and the baby need to practice.

I'd planned to express for some night feeds too but IME it's just not worth it. I didn't want to give a bottle for the first 6 weeks to avoid risk of nipple confusion and now DD will take a bottle but she makes a right meal of it if you excuse the pun! She makes it very clear she is not amused.

By 6 weeks she was doing 10.30pm - 3am - 6.30am so it wasn't too bad and I was used to being up. I can feed her in 15 minutes flat in the night but when she has had a bottle from DH if I've been out it has taken him 40 minutes to get her to drink it plus he has to warm it too. Also she is relaxed with BF and goes straight back down with no winding where as the bottle makes her cross and therefore awake.

She has just started going right through some nights and I wake up in pain with soaking wet sheets where the breast pad has slipped or got too full.

I'd sooner just get on with it and at weekends DH will take her after 6.30 feed and I'll go back to sleep for a few hours. That's a tip that's often mentioned on this forum and it works well - time for dad and baby and sleep for mum. Also, he changes her nappy first thing and presents her to me before getting ready for work which is really helpful.

It may be different for your baby but for DD a bottle and a boob have never been interchangeable hence why I feel it's not worth it.

Just to bring the thread back to it's original topic I'm a bit unsure if it is ok to use a secondhand pump as I'm not sure you can get rid of viruses by sterilisation. I think any virus present in the blood would also be present in breast milk (to what degree I'm not sure). But if this is so I'm not sure how they get away with using sterilised ones in hospitals.

I bought a SH pump with an enclosed motor and bought new parts, chucking the parts that the previous owners milk had touched. I'm not sure if this was over kill (please someone tell me if I'm wrong) but it was still a hell of a lot cheaper than buying one new. Hope that helps.

Thanks, PastaBee - glad it's worked so well for you! Very reassuring.

Thanks, Monkey. I didn't know sterilising didn't always kill viruses, good to know! I wonder if it makes a difference what method you use - ie a hospital has an autoclave which weirdly isn't on my to buy list .

Hospitals now use disposable breast shields (use for 24hr or 8 pumps then throw away). Well our local one does anyway

Why wouldn't you be able to get rid of viruses by sterilisation? You can't get rid of thrush by cold water sterilisation (milton tablets or similar) but you can by boiling on the hob in a sauce pan of water or steam sterilisation. Viruses aren't indestructible (luckily!)

Not over kill on the replacing the milk collection kit - that's what they are designed for (you can also replace them for the next baby if stored for very long periods).

The Ameda is closed system and you can buy new flange etc for about £18 from manufacture. Saw a double pump like mine go really cheap on eBay.

I'd just like to say thanks for starting this thread and all the info in it. I'm due in March, have been given both an electric and a manual breast pump by a friend as she no longer needs them. I was thinking about the same things. I've learnt a lot here. The brilliance of mumsnet. Thanks all.