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breast pump rental - which is best?

  1. #1
    muriel is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
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    hong kong
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    breast pump rental - which is best?

    I have seen that Meridian rents breast pumps from Medela. Which is best/fastest: the Lactina or the Symphony?

    Also, is this the cheapest/best place to rent them from? I know Annerley Midwives also rents them, but maybe someone knows of another place that is good too?

    Any suggestions are appreciated!

    Muriel


  2. #2
    LLL_Sarah is offline Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    757

    Meridian Trading is part of the Celki Medical Company and they are the Medela agent in Hong Kong. Because of this it is unlikely that you will be able to find a better price.

    The Lactina breast pump (the blue one) is a hospital grade pump that has been serving mothers for years in Hong Kong. The Symphony pump (a cream colour) is also a hospital grade pump but is a new model that was developed with the help of Dr. Peter Hartmann. Dr. Hartmann is the person leading the research into how the breast works and how to make more efficient pumps.

    When a baby breastfeeds it is able to change the way it sucks to get different reactions from the mother. Generally babies suck in three ways. The first is a gulping type action which is a signal to the breast to deliver the milk. The second is a suck, suck, swallow type suck which draws the milk from the breast into the baby’s mouth. As the baby begins to get tried he will suck more and swallow less and finally his suck will be just the lips moving, like a flutter suck.

    Most pumps have only one type of suck – the suck, suck, swallow type – this draws the milk from the breast into the pump. The big problem with this is that the initial suck which signals the body hasn’t taken place. This can be a problem for some mothers and they may have to use some other way to signal the body. Other methods include massage, hand expressing, nipple stimulation and feeding the baby on the other side while pumping.

    The Symphony pump has two types of suck, the first used to signal the body and the second to draw the milk out. I have not yet read any unbiased reviews of this pump so I can’t tell you if the theory works well or not. If you have used the Symphony pump please let me know what you thought of it.

    There are many reasons why it is harder to get milk when pumping than when breastfeeding directly. It is not only the different types of suck (and remember the baby can easily change between these type of suck if he wants to get a second, third or fourth let-down).

    Other reasons include a difference in hormone levels. When the baby feeds directly the Oxytocin levels are much higher than when you pump. Oxytocin helps the body to deliver the milk into the baby’s mouth.

    Also when the baby feeds it milks the breast with the action of the tongue and jaws as well as using the suction. The breast pump can’t to this. So the bottom line is that the baby gets a lot more milk when he feeds directly then the amount you can pump. This is important to remember because new mothers often worry that they don’t have enough milk because they can’t pump much.

    Best wishes,
    SARAH


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