Breast Pump Review (Indian Market) -- Core

Renu did a great job in summarizing her experience in buying and using the pump, I will do mine.

Pumps in India that are available to common man are like auto horns and are as crude in extraction milk.. it is not wrong if I say the pain getting milk out with that is a 100 times more than the delivery pains itself. No matter what people say there is not much awareness still about breastfeeding and the importance of it in India. We hear more instances of no milk or very less milk in India, especially in the middle class or rich social strata.. the poor have no choice but try their best and I sometimes envy the kids for their luck to be able to feed on the purest form of feeding, fresh milk from mom.

I feel that a breastfed kid is truly the luckiest kid but no issues, the formulas available are just about equal if not more good for the kid. The cleaning, sterilizing, the pain, the agony, nothing is a match to the BM feeding.

There are still a lot of misconceptions about pumping, no one really asks us to go for them, unless we are aware ourselves I hardly know any hospital which suggests the use. The nipple shield, the auto horn pump, manual extraction but not the pump.. strange.. but thanks to the world being a global village, a lot of us know what our counterparts in the west use and by our own choice we go for it..

The ones available in the market are from Germany, Singapore/Malaysia, and US.. Pigeon also has one but I havent really checked on it. I chose Core, the German made product, dual mode operation, with 2 contains costing somewhere around 3K, cost effective and good to use. The cleaning equipment and suction material are good. The sucking feel that comes with the pump is said to enhance the supply by giving the baby suckling feeling. The suction works good. However, it works good with real full potential only in an electric socket or a brand new battery setting. So, even when there is battery support feature, I had to rely completely on the AC option.

My mom and uncle had gotten it for me when I was is the hospital and there were not much choices in the store, but I am told time and again by moms in US that Medela is the best option.

Per my experience, Core is good, affordable, compact but then again I havent used Medela to compare to it.. Let us wait for Keerthi's review on it.

I also saw Pigeon and Tolly Joy pumps but did not either like the features, pump, or the accessories that come with it. Tolly Joy and Pigeon give you around 6 months to 1 year warranty but Core comes with no warranty whatsoever. I used it and passed it on to my friend, she is using it currently and will hopefully pass it on to another mother just changing the containers.. no issues so far (tw).

Breast Pump options - (Indian Market) Apple, Pigeon, JustBorn

Buying and using breast pumps abroad is easy and a normal everyday task because there is a lot of awareness and help. Medela is one good brand everyone suggests but buying it in India falls into an expensive item list.

Challenge I - People who sell pumps, they themselves do not know the total functionality. in one shop, they didn't tell me how to clean the pump. In other shop, they showed the cleaning process, but didn't show me how to release the vaccuum. Manual available is most of the times not suited for the needs.

II - Our parents do not know about it to be able to advice. The count of experienced mothers is also very less. So, you get near to zero knowledge transferred from tried & tested people (again...its for me. But thanks to sree, she helped me out)

III - No privacy place in office for pumping, so you can't pump at work place, no pumping zone in short.

IV - Not all offices have fridges, or we feel a little shy to keep the milk in cafeteria fridge. I did work in big branded companies, but no office maintained fridge for employees. All the refrigerators are maintained by cafeteria people for their purposes.

V - Even if offices do have fridges, commute is another headache. My ped suggested not to keep the extracted milk outside for more than 1hr & refrigerated milk for more than 15-20mins. So, in Hyd, i do not think any one can reach home from office in less than 20mins :)

VI - They are costly as per our thinking. I did debate over whether to buy one or not, because after spending much money, i didn't want it to go waste bcoz i cant pump at work.

having all these challenges considered, i at one point, thought let the life go on its own way. No pumps, nothing. Let me go work and let the kid be managed how yesteryear's kids got managed when their moms worked. But, now i say a big NO. Please, Please do buy breast pump and make use of it as it is the best thing anyone has ever invented for working moms and babies and moms with babies having latching concerns.

I work between 9-3pm and the commute is of 1hr each side. So, all in all, its more than 8hrs. At present, i'm pumping everyday after i return from work. As soon as i return, i take a quick bath and get back to the pumping routine. I'm able to get about 6oz during the session. My kid drinks close to 5oz per feed when she is absolutely hungry.

before work, i make sure that i nurse the kid. If the kid is in deep sleep and not interested to take milk, i pump.

Because i nurse the kid before leaving, its mostly one feed before i return that is between 12:30 to 1PM. I return home between 4 to 4:30, pump the milk first and go ahead with nursing again. What an easy way to get away with lumps.

With the help of breast pump, kid is rarely on formula. For the people who are away from kid for more than 9-10hrs, 1 formula feed might be needed. But thats is till the baby completes 4mths, after that anyway in India, we introduce them to cerelac (I do)

So, finally i suggest do not have a second thought on buying breast pump even though you are not pumping at work. Just go ahead and you will easily be able to draw the routine based on your baby needs and your body style.

Which breast pump to choose:

• If pumping is a daily routine, do not choose manual one. Go for electric. Manual is very stressful. To tell you people. i bought one manual and two electric pumps (with this money, i could have got medala). Using manual pump for 3 days, my hand muscles pained like hell.
• Go for the one which has speed rotator, so you can adjust it and get near to child sucking pattern.
• Test it on your palm. Test the pressure the machine is releasing. Keep the shield on palm & ON the machine. If the shield is stuck to your palm, then its enough.
• Check the containers as well. Few will come up with their own range of containers. so, if need to buy the containers only which suit the pump, check for their availability and quality before you buy it. If they dont set properly in the slot given, the equipment doesnt work well, so go for the ones which can be set with any other feeding bottle that is available in the market. Also, since it is an expensive item you can pass it on to your friends or relatives and they can just throw away the old containers and by the new ones.
• Go for electronic or dual mode both battery and current operated ones, usage however is good and has good results when done in an electric socket.

My Experience on pump:
I bought one manual pump which is Apple (600rs). Sorry Apple, couldn't use it with the stress you are causing. I'm basically a person who can take strain pushing the comfort to back chair. Still, i couldn't do away with it. Its so much stressful.

I bought one electric pump - Pigeon (2,200rs). I'm almost mad with it. It is basically a battery operated one, which is compatible with power adopter as well. It didnt come with one though. I bought one for it. It worked Okay for first 1wk-10days. and then, it started slowing down. Air pressure is very very less. And there is no speed rotator as well. I had hard time pumping the milk. So, warranty undi kada ani shop ki teesukuni velthe, he said as long as it is working it does not come under warranty limits anta. Its working, but not meeting my needs. Its almost waste. He also said that it is my fault that i didn't take enough precautions in cleaning the pump and water might have gone inside. What the hell?? Machine loki water velthe, poorthiga pani cheyyakoodadu kanee, performance enduku tagguthundi...dont know.

I landed up with JustBorn pump(2000rs) which is my darling now :) Its meeting all my requirements. It has speed rotator, massaging nipple shield, power adopter, compatible with any branded bottle feeder (johnsons, hello baby, wipro...) It is compact in size aswell. I'm 200% satisfied with it.

Pneumococcal Vaccine

Pneumococcal vaccine is basically for prevention of pneumonia in children below 5 years primarily.
Pneumonia in children is caused by many infections including viral and bacterial. One third of pneumonia is caused by pneumococcus in children. Out of many strains of pneumococcus, this vaccine prevents half of those caused by pneumococcus.
So, in simple words, this vaccine will be able to prevent one sixth (1/6th) cause for pneumonia, even after vaccination, 5/6th causes still remains uncovered for which no vaccine is available.
So, In India, here comes cost factor, single dose will cost around 3000/- Rs, you need 4 doses for primary vaccination, so, we have to see, is that much cost is worth spending.
Because of less cost effectiveness, we don’t usually advise it for everyone here in India, but if someone can afford that, no harm.
Since you are living in a developed country, so cost will not be a problem for you. So, u can take that for your children, as advised by your doctor.

Frequent Cold and Cough

Cough and cold are not uncommon in such small children, esp. when they go out to crowded places.
To prevent such infections, we can just suggest good balanced diet (including fruits), good general hygiene (washing hands at least 3-4 times a day & try to avoid outings unnecessarily, if possible. I understand many things you can’t avoid, still, if cold and cough starts, avoid things like cold drinks, ice creams and ice, as it may worsen the situation. If things don’t improve in initial 2-3 days, you must discuss with your doctor, nothing less than this. I don’t think there are any medicines, which can prevent the onset of such infection in children. Its only with age, when they grow up, their immunity improves and things get better.

Chewing Food

Sometimes it’s really difficult make children understand the importance of chewing foods rightly, that to such a small child.

Still try some simple tips, may be that may help:
1. Explain to your child the importance of chewing their food. Let them understand, if they will not chew food enough, they are likely to produce more sounds from rear, may be an embarrassment will make him chew more.
2. Make a game of it for younger children. Have the kids chew their food 15-20 times before swallowing and taking another bite. If he follows that for a meal, his incentives are valid. May be incentives help him to learn the habit.
3. Make sure you all eat one meal together. While eating, bring up the subject of chewing and let your kids see you slowly eating the food before swallowing.
I am sure; gradually they will start eating food better. Here incentives work a lot. If they follow give incentives, if they dont, may be don’t talk him for some time, any sort of mild reproach nothing harsh, so they do understand mom is not happy with what I do.

Capillary Hemangioma

WHAT IS INFANTILE HEMANGIOMA?
- Infantile haemangioma is a benign condition affecting skin blood vessels.
- They usually develop shortly after birth.
- Over 80% of infantile haemangioma occur on head and neck area.
- They grow to 80% of maximum size in the first three months and most stop growing at 5 months, but some may keep growing for up to 18 months, after that they starts regressing, which may take as long as 3-10 years.
- Most of them have a natural course and don’t need any treatment.
- Only if they are very large in size may leave a thin scar in some cases.
- These are more commonly seen in preterm and low-birth weight babies, but can occur in normal babies too.
- Actual cause for it is still not clear.
WHEN IS THE TREATMENT NEEDED?
- If they are very large in size.
- If they are ulcerating.
- If affecting vision, hearing, breathing or feeding (internal haemangioma)
- If they doesn’t start resolving by school age.
So, I feel you should not worry for them, as they naturally regresses.

Diaper Rash

Nappy rash is common in some children ESP when the skin remains wet for longer time. So, in India, we advise to avoid branded nappies as much as possible (use them only when going out, at home you can use something homemade like we use in India, made of cotton, more ventilation, try it doesn’t remain wet for longer time). These home made one are really good esp. till the time she recovers from these rashes. Use whatever cream advised by your doctor. Understand the basic principle, the skin need more ventilation, it should be more airy not wet.