Breast Pump- to Rent or Buy?

I bought, but if I had it to do over again I would rent one. You get a better pump and its cheaper.

I rented one from the hospital. It was a top of the line pump. So easy to use! And it was covered by my insurance.

I was going to borrow one from my sister in law. & when the lactation consultant at the hospital was checking it out for me, she popped open the front side & ther was mold all in the incasing. She said it's usually always better to just buy your own. My sister in law hadn't used it in years... I was going to be using it at work so I bought a Medela advanced pump in style. It was well worth the $279 dollars. I was able to exclusively give breastmilk the first 6 months. I never had to buy formula. So I feel like the cost kinda evens out. So I say unless you borrow or rent from the hospital, I would buy my own especially if your going to have more kids & you'll use it again. Just my opinion. Good Luck & congrats!!!

First of all Congrats!

I would recommend renting until you know how it's going to work for you. I rented for around 4 months and I'm glad I did instead of buying. The rented pump is a much higher grade than what you can buy and worked wonderful for me. You are only renting the motor part and you get all new tubing and other parts. We rented the pump from a place outside the hospital, but got the new parts from the hospital and they put it on our bill (so insurance paid for it). That was a tip I received from my nurse. Good luck making your decision!

Rent.

You'll get 2 different oppinions. Those that think its yucky to rent and those that don't.

I rented and it's perfectly clean. The part you rent is the motor. The rest you buy. The motor is very good, expensive and best rented.

But buy a small hand held pump for other times (like when you're driving down the road - passenger, not driver - and really need to pump). Those are cheap enough and won't last forever, but they're cheap.

Hi J.,

I own an Avent hand held pump and I rented a Medela Symphony from the hospital. I also rented one with my first child. I just think its better to rent. A little less expensive (and I don't have it sitting around my house for 3 years collecting dust between kids!). I do think its important to have a hand held pump though for those times when you can't get to the double pump but you NEED to pump. Good luck in your decision.

I would rent until you know it's going to work out for you. I had planned to breastfeed - but my milk never really came in - I could pump for 20 minutes and not get an ounce! The hospital I went to rented us a pump for $40 or $50 for two weeks - so I was so glad we did that instead of buying a $300 pump that I couldn't have used! Good luck - and hope you're feeling better soon!

When I was working and having kids, I just purchased an Avent hand pump and it did just fine but it is total prefernce. Depending on if you are pumping to build up supply for when you return to work or if you are pumping for supplemental feedings during the day while you are away or at night.

I rented one. The hospital where I delivered let me borrower theirs and they gave me all the tubing and containers (brand new package) to use in the hospital. They also had a relationship with a lactation consultant that sold and rented machines. She brought the one I rented to the hospital for me before I left. The rental is big and doesn't travel well - just be advised. It is clean, no problems there cause you wash all the necessary parts anyway.

Don't know if that helps much. Congrats on the pregnancy!

I rented a pump with both of my children. It was a lot less expensive than purchasing one and like another poster mentioned the only thing you are renting is the pump. The rest is new that you buy. We rented ours through a lactation consultant and she even delivered it and did a little mini consultation. Another positive was that the first type of pump I tried didn't work well for me so I was able to call her and switch to a different type for no extra charge which you can't do if you buy it. The consultant I used was in the Garland/Richardson area. I don't have her information right now, but if you need a reference send me a pm.

I don't really have an opinion one way or another, however....if you do buy, don't go cheap. I bought one for about $120, and part of it broke. I didn't even use it very often, b/c my son was at the same daycare I worked at. With my next child, I will definitely spend the extra money!

PS...congrats on the pregnancy!