buying a used breast pump

[shubiedoo]

According to Medela's website, only hospital grade pumps are safe to pass on. Really?! I was going to sell mine (I got it used in the first place!) I think you may as well not pass on baby bottles either, or sippy cups.

Works better for medela if everyone buys new?

Of course if it wasn't cleaned properly, the ebm could get infected, or if you had a cracked nipple then bacteria could possibly pass into your bloodstream, but surely that's true of a new one too?

Am highly sceptical but would be interested if anyone knows better as I know the nct have same advice.

tosh

if it's ok for the mother who purchased it then why on earth wouldn't it be ok for someone else?

plus, breastmilk is anti-bacterial and when left at room temperature for several hours ends up with less bacteria than it started with.
so i can't imagine why it would cause a problem in a well-cleaned breast pump!

My friend gave me her Medela pump and I bought replacement parts for it from Medela and it only cost something like £6. Just the bits that you would ordinarily clean.

I was a freaky and squeamish first time mother then. Wouldn't bother now, good wash and sterilise, surely.

I bought mine second hand and used it for two children, both of whom are fine

I got my Medela Swing used and plan to sell it on (so I can get a dual pump). You can replace all the bits that come into contact with breast milk, or just wash and sterilise if you are comfortable with that!

Hi Yank

I did the same,same pump too unfortunatly i'm an incredibly lazy mummy and I never actually use it, oh well guess that how it ended up on ebay in the 1st place. oops what no steriliser...

Home sterilisation does not kill off all pathogens, HIV, hepatitis & other diseases can be passed through equipment though obviously it's rare. Also, hospital grade pumps have closed mechanisms so that the motor cannot be contaminated.

My initial reaction to thread title was ewww gross but actually if properly cleaned and sterilised, replacement parts where required, no reason not to really (except irrational squeamishness)

My pump is second hand. I plan to sell it on. Can't understand why anyone would be squeamish about it.

Check this out re sterilisation,

HERE

Thanks everyone. I think shops consider them "personal care items" and you can't return once opened. But that would be the case for bottles too, right?

taramuddle, things like HIV do not live very long outside the human body though.

so unless a mother with HIV used it then immediately gave it to someone else who used it straight away it's really not going to get passed on

The risk may be small is it worth the risk, medical bodies advise against it.

www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/HomeHealthandConsumer/ConsumerProduct s/BreastPumps/ucm061939.htm

link doesn't work sorry,

the risk of HIV infection isn't small, it's non-existent. The HIV virus is incredibly fragile outside of the human body

wiki.answers.com/Q/How_long_does_HIV_live_outside_the_body

and a better one here

hep B and C, possibly. but not HIV

Hep C can survive for no longer than 4 days outside the body, and is also not transmitted via breastmilk.
normally only transmitted by blood, but occassionally by sexual intercourse

so very unlikely to end up on a breastpump!

and a weak bleach solution will kill it

and hep b, which can survive for up to a week, but no longer

www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/HomeHealthandConsumer/ConsumerProduct s/BreastPumps/ucm061939.htm#4

Sorry don't know what happened to the last link.

do you have to be a member or something to view it? not sure, still says it can't be found? strange!

IIRC the Ameda is the only pump outside of hospital grade that uses a closed system and is therefore safe to be passed on.

I got mine from freecycle. It had hardly been used, and I washed it up first of course. The lady also gave me a big bag of storage bottles.

In some cultures women feed others' babies, so I'm sure it's fine!