Breast pump- buy or rent? which brand?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know where you can rent a breast pump in the NW Wash DC area? Are all the electric ones the same, or are there ones that do different things? Out of all the baby stuff I am trying to get before I deliver this is the most mysterious and difficult to understand. Does anyone have a strong opinion about buying v. renting?

[Anonymous]

Most of the hospitals around here rent them, but you can also rent one from the Washington Breastfeeding Center at 2141 K St NW. They also sell breast pumps and just about everything you could possibly think of to support breastfeeding. They also offer classes and do private consultations. You can check out each of the pumps there and talk to the people there about the pros and cons.

I ended up renting one before I bought and I'm very glad that I did. The rentals are much better at extracting milk and are much kinder on tender (translation: sore as all hell) breasts. Lactation consultants recommend them for women who need to increase their supply (me) or women who need to do lots of pumping at the beginning (such as moms with babies in the NICU). I rented for a few months (on and off) and ended up deciding I only needed to purchase a manual pump after that. Long story short, renting gives you the opportunity to figure out what you want/need before making a big purchase.

[Anonymous]

I rented a hospital grade pump from Georgetown. I had problems with low supply, and the hospital grade pump was the only way I could get anything out. I'm glad I didn't buy ahead of time, it would have been a waste of money. I agree with PP - you are better off renting and figuring out what you want/need etc.