BreastPump Mama, manufacturer of the VersaPed® foot-powered breast pump, welcomes Hygeia in joining us in questioning the reasonableness (and possible ulterior motives) of major electric breast pump companies banning the return of very pricey breast pumps. There is, of course, no way to test drive a breast pump, and if a mother lays out good hard earned money, up to several hundred dollars, for a table top electric model, she has a right to expect it to work for her, or to return it if it doesn't.
BreastPump Mama has been questioning for years now the subtle smear campaign (even legal petitions) by major breast pump companies against used breast pumps. It not only affects ineffective new breast pumps, but also the after market of used breast pumps on sites like eBay and Craigslist, where mothers try to recover some of their money. Because even if an overpriced breast pump works perfectly well for a mom, it is unlikely she will need it for more than a few months.
What most new mothers and politicians new to the field might not realize is that breast pumps have been manufactured for many years to be repeatedly sterilized, over and over again. What began long ago as a successful health marketing feature, repeated sterilization, is now standard in all modern breast pumps. Any part that comes in contact with the mother, any part that comes in contact with the breast milk, and any part that comes in contact with the baby, goes right into a dishwasher, stove-top boiling pot, or hot steam sterilizer. Even breast pumps designated as "single user" breast pumps are manufactured to be repeatedly sterilized between each use. So we know that even the term "single user breast pump" is an artificial designation. There is no believable reason for this, if the item can be repeatedly sterilized.
What appears to be happening is that major breast pump companies are feeling financially threatened by the success of their very own hygienically designed products' ability to be reused.
We at BreastPump Mama believe in mothers' own common sense in choosing their own breast pumps, be they new, used, or requiring a return.
