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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Best (cheapest) place to rent a breast pump

14 replies

lucysnowe · 08/01/2008 13:34

Hi all

I had a breast reduction and so my b/f consultant recommended that I rent a super aces extra sucky hospital grade breast pump for when I give birth in March.

I've contacted my NCT and LLL but they haven't got back to me yet - can anyone recommend anyone else I can contact?

(Also if anyone who's had a reduction can give me an advice about pumping would be much appreciated!)

Thanks!

OP posts:
BooBooFlip · 08/01/2008 14:09

Do you know of any breastfeeding support groups near to you? They will usually have the details of a local breast pump agent who can talk you through your options. If not, Medela and Ameda both rent out hospital grade pumps and will be able to let you know who is your nearest agent:-

?Medela ? www.medela.com 01538 399541
?Ameda ? www.ameda.com 01823 336362

With regard to the breastfeeding after reduction, this website might be useful to you - www.bfar.org. There's also a book called 'Defining your own Success: Breastfeeding after Breast Reduction Surgery' (Diana West).

Hope some of that helps!

Original poster
lucysnowe · 08/01/2008 17:15

Thanks for the phone nos! I did subscribe to the BFAR site - it is useful but obv is more about the US experience (as far as I can tell).

OP posts:
orangina · 08/01/2008 17:16

I rented a breast pump direct from medela... I knew which one I wanted (the double whammy one they have in SCBU breast pumping rooms, might be called the symphony...), and it was cheapest fromt them direct.

orangina · 08/01/2008 17:17

I did it through the website I think (memory a bit hazy!)

Emmyem · 17/01/2008 14:22

Am facing the same situation, due date is early next month. Does anyone have any experience of breast feeding after breast reduction surgery?

Original poster
lucysnowe · 18/01/2008 13:18

Hi Emmyem

You might want to do what I did and go to a b/f dropin session if there is one nearby to have a chat with a consultant before your LO is born. Mine said that these days surgeons are very careful not to cut out duct tissue when they do their surgery so even if you've had a reduction the chances of breastfeeding are very good. However because fat cells and ducts tend to be mixed together it might be harder to have the milk come through initially.

You just need to be prepared - by hand expressing after 37 weeks (but this is quite a new idea so you should check with your m/w etc) and by ensuring that your birth plan focuses on getting the b/f started as soon as possible by skin to skin contact, keep the LO with you etc.

OP posts:
cmotdibbler · 18/01/2008 14:39

Express yourself mums rent out pumps, and apparently their service is excellent. I've bought things from them and they are very helpful

Emmyem · 18/01/2008 19:05

Thanks for the info. Hadn't heard of hand expressing after 37 weeks. Have been told that in some instances doctors will subscribe something that will make your milk come in faster? Have contacted a b/f support lady who will see me next week so hopefully will be as prepared for the unknown as is possible!

Original poster
lucysnowe · 20/01/2008 10:54

Thanks for the link cmot! Will check it out. Still haven't got around to renting one yet...

Emmy have read I think that you can get domperidone (which improves milk production) over the counter - however you shouldn't take it before you give birth. Otherwise it can be prescribed. I'm new to all this tho so def worth checking with b/f support.

OP posts:
Kaaren · 15/02/2008 16:21

Hi All,

I've just had my first baby and had a breast reduction 15 years ago. My daughter is now two weeks old and breast feeding has been a real struggle. I am producing milk, but my supply is low and I am having to "top up" with formula. I'm really impressed by all of you planning ahead in detail. I did ask for advice about breast feeding following surgery but everyone said it would probably be fine, so I didn't do too much research myself. In light of my experience I would advise anyone about to have a baby to get as much information in advance (not really necessary to say here!), and to get your information from people who really know what the impact of breast surgery can be. My experience has been that although everyone (midwives, NCT) has been supportive, only one specialist breast feeding midwife has really understood that breast surgery actually can impact on milk production. After giving birth I repeatedly asked for advice as I was comcerned about my supply, but was told not to worry, everything would be okay etc. I began to feel like a neurotic mother (easy to feel anyway with the baby blues kicking in!) and did not do anything "extra". When our daughter was weighed on Day 5 she had lost too much weight and had to be admitted to hospital. Even after that some people have been very unsupportive about formula top-ups (a necessity for us). I am sure that the emotional stress this caused did not help my supply at all.

Another thing I would definitely advise is to take your own breast pump into hospital as although they do have them there, it is often not possible to get hold of one. I feel that I missed a window of opportunity in the first few days to maximise my production, although I do have a Medela pump now which is great and means that some of our top-ups can be of breast milk.

Anyway, I hope that this is helpful - I don't mean to sound as though it is impossible as I am sure that things would have been easier for me had I known more from the beginning. Good luck to all of you!

Emmyem · 06/03/2008 20:49

Hi,
My experience has been almost exactly the same as Kaarens. I am actually happy with topping up, as otherwise my husband would have very little to do with our son! It means that he can be involved, and we have a bit of routine and normality as the formula settles ds and I can spend time with my 3 year old. Health Visitor was not impressed.....but she just spouted all the NHS approved stuff which I feel does not apply to me as I have had surgery. I had a fab midwife who suggested the mixed-feeding when I was blubbing on the couch after the baby-blues kicked in. I am really pleased that I can partly breast feed at all! I feed ds for about 45/50 mins and then top up with 1-2oz formula. Loads of people mix-feed, despite what some midwives and health visitors say, and it does work!

thaliablogs · 06/03/2008 23:39

I strongly recommend a symphony. I've been pumping ever since my daughter was born in september (low supply/weak suck) and it made all the difference when I finally shelled out for it in December. I rented it from Medela but via www.expressyourselfmums.co.uk, where you can get all the other stuff you need. You MUST get a couple of hands free bras from them, otherwise pumping is a nightmare. Plus I'd recommend the soft fit breast shields over the ones that come with the pump. Plus get about 3 complete sets of pumping stuff so that you aren't constantly stressing about washing it. I have three sets and about 10 collection bottles, plus 6 feeding bottles, makes life a lot easier.

Good luck and I hope you don't need all this stuff...

vInTaGeVioLeT · 06/03/2008 23:56

my local surestart {for whom i'm a b/f peer support worker} lend out breastpumps free of charge so it's worthwhile giving your local surestart a ring. HTH

Emmyem · 12/03/2008 19:54

Thaliablogs....did the pumping improve your supply? How are you feeding? Is it a mixture of bottle and breast?

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