Medela PedalPump
When it comes to variety of designs and models for breastpumps, Medela, Inc, has few equals. The company has a mind-boggling range of equipment, each with its own unique features, and each geared towards the breastfeeding mother with specific requirements. It has perhaps not excluded any situation that any woman in a post-partal situation, with a baby at her breasts, might find herself in.
The Medela PedalPump is one such model. As the name suggests, the pump is not powered by the arm or hand, but by the leg and foot. The strong muscles in the leg and foot make the pumping work quite easy. In case of a single pump, only one hand is occupied in holding the breastshield, leaving the other hand free. In fact, because of the pedal, this is the only manual pump that allows both the breasts to be pumped simultaneously!
The PedalPump kit comes with a special-purpose spring, trademarked as ExpressSpring by the company. This ExpressSpring is inserted into the cylinder/piston assembly, which is then fastened on the pedal.
The breastshields can be connected to bottles or CSF bags. For nipples that are smaller or medium size, inserts of the appropriate size may be placed in the shields. One end of the tubing is connected to the back of the breastshield, and its other end is connected to the pump connector fastened to the pedal. There are appropriate settings on the cylinder that can be adjusted for single as well as double pumping.
While sitting in a relaxed position, the foot should be positioned on the pedal. By raising and
lowering the pedal, pumping operation starts. Initially, the vacuum level should be set to minimum.
Gradually, this level may be increased; and with each change in the level, you will feel that the pull of
the breast towards the shield has also gone up. Without compromising on comfort, the vacuum level
should be increased to the extent possible. This ensures better milk flow and more copious collection.
Such a pump is quite useful when the frequency of expression is not very high. When the mother is around most of the time, available to nurse the child at its beck and call; but needs to get away for a few hours once in while; the PedalPump comes in handy. All that the mother has to do is to pump a few ounces of milk in a container, and keep it in the refrigerator, with instructions to the person taking care of the infant to feed it on time. It is advisable to store the milk at ordinary room temperature, only if it is surely going to be consumed within the next few hours; otherwise there is always the risk of bacterial contamination.
PedalPump also comes to the rescue of mothers with mastitis and engorgement. In both these
situations, breastfeeding becomes quite painful. Also, in cases where the child is born premature or
weak, it is not able to nurse for a sufficiently long period of time, and can get tired easily. In such
circumstances, the child can be fed with milk expressed from the breasts, with the help of the
PedalPump.
The PedalPump is an answer to prayers of the modern breastfeeding mother of today - always on the lookout for solutions that maximize ease and comfort in day-to-day tasks.