Medela Manualectric
After creating and launching rugged electricity-driven pumps such as Lactina and Classic in the market, Medela began receiving feedback from their valued customer - the breastfeeding mother - about their efficacy. A need was felt, they surmised from the results, of an accessory machine that was independently manually operable, and yet, could function as an accessory kit for single breast pumping for the heavy duty models. The Manualectric model was born out of such an idea.
The beauty of Manualectric is that it has all the features packed into it that are the hallmark of
Medela machines. The equipment has an adjustable vacuum level that can be manually altered
by the mother to mimic the natural, two-phase suck-release-relax cycle that the child operates.
It has the versatile power of the ExpressSpring mechanism in its cylinder/piston assembly. This spring
allows the mother to have higher frequency and more efficient vacuum levels. Plus, if the mother
has to upgrade to a daily-usage-model such as the Lactina or the Classic, the Manualectric comes
in handy there, too.
Manualelectric is quite useful in scenarios where the mother has to leave the child only occasionally. If she has to go away from the child for an extended period of time, and is not quite sure whether she will be able to return before the child starts getting hungry, this model comes in handy for expressing milk and storing it in containers. However, if the mother has to express milk several times, may be four to five or more, in a day, then it is advisable to go in for the electricity- or battery-driven options available from Medela. Similarly, a working mom, who might be spending upto eight hours or more at her workplace, will not find this model very useful, since, being manual, a lot of her valuable time will be spent in expressing milk.
The Manualectric is quite useful for children who are born premature or are weak at birth. Such children are normally not advised by doctors to nurse at the mother's breast. Sometimes, such infants do not have even the requisite energy to suckle at the breast to get their stomach-fill, and get exhausted soon. In such cases, the manual pump might be of help. There are a few other cases where the child has some condition in its jaw which prevents it from latching on to the breast properly. Any attempts at making such a child suckle at the breast may only lead to injury to the breast tissues. Till such time that the condition is resolved, Manualectric can be deployed for expressing the milk.
When the child has grown to the age when it has to be moved towards fully solid foods, and dependence on breast milk is to be discontinued, Manualectric comes in handy to express all the milk that continues filling the breasts. After some time, the mother's body automatically senses that the milk is no longer required, and lactation stops totally.
Cleaning of the machine is quite easy. All the parts that come in direct contact with the breast and the milk may be disassembled and placed in a pan of water, and boiled for about half an hour. The parts may then be rinsed and allowed to dry in the air. Medela offers Anti-Bacterial Wipes that can disinfect the parts quite effectively, too.