You have a comfortable mother’s room with all the amenities including private pumping stations, a refrigerator, and sink available for your employees at your family friendly company. Portable electric pumps are covered through your company’s health insurance plan, so you’re probably thinking that mothers have everything they need to pump breastmilk at work. However, there is one more item you can provide that will benefit your company and make a positive difference to mothers at work who pump milk. Providing hospital grade pumps in your mother’s rooms will not only help moms provide the milk they need for their babies, but will also improve the work productivity of your employees.
What’s a hospital grade breastpump?
The term “hospital-grade” does not have a specific designation by the FDA and some companies have different meanings when they talk about a hospital grade pump. However, when lactation consultants and doctors refer to a “hospital grade” pump they specifically mean a pump that is meant for multiple users that is used in hospitals for new mothers. These pumps are meant for heavy-duty use so they are made with more powerful motors and more reliable technology than pumps meant for personal use only. Because they are heavy-duty, they are larger and heavier, so they are not ideal to carry around. They are good to keep at fixed stations with accessible outlets where mothers can go to pump.
How does a hospital grade breastpump compare with a personal pump or insurance pump?
Because hospital grade pumps have more powerful motors, they typically have stronger suction levels than pumps meant for personal use. As a result, these pumps are much more efficient at expressing breastmilk. Some mothers find that pumps from insurance companies or other types of personal pumps are too weak to adequately express milk in a reasonable amount of time. With a hospital grade pump, mothers are able to more completely empty the breast in less time than a personal pump. The stronger suction and more powerful motor reduces the pumping time by half, facilitating the let-down sooner and more efficiently expresses the milk once the let down occurs. This helps mothers maintain their milk supply and prevent medical problems and complications from occurring.
How does my company benefit by providing hospital grade breastpumps?
Shorter Break Times
Because a hospital grade pump is more efficient at expressing milk, it reduces the amount of time a mother needs to spend pumping to completely express all her milk. Setting up to pump takes less time for a mother who only needs to set up her breastpump attachment kit, as opposed to also needing to bring her personal pump. With a personal pump, a mother needs to find a space to put her pump and an outlet within reach. She has to unpack and then repack her pump for each session. If a hospital grade pump is provided, it is already set up at a station and plugged in, so a mom would only need to bring her milk collection kit and attach it to the pump. It is much faster for a mother to get through a pumping session by only needing to hook up her kit to a hospital grade pump than having to set up and put away a personal pump for every session. By reducing the time for setup, pumping, and packing up, a mother can significantly reduce her time away from work and increase her productivity.
Fewer Medical Expenses and Doctor Visits
Working mothers who pump milk may find they develop low supply issues or other medical problems like engorgement or plugged ducts if they are not able to completely empty the breast after each session. This can lead to needing to take more pump breaks at work or longer pump sessions, missed days at work due to doctor visits, increased medical costs, and a stressed out mother who is worried about providing enough milk for her baby. Having your employees use a hospital grade pump will help prevent them from needing to take time away from work to address these complications.
Do hospital grade breastpumps last? Are they reliable?
Hospital grade pumps durable and reliable so they will last longer than single user pumps. For example, the warranty of the motor on the hospital grade Medela Symphony is 3 years while it is only 1 year for the personal use Medela double electric PIS. In addition, the motor of the Symphony can last 6,000 running hours before it may require a repair, although many last longer. Having a more durable pump available means less chance that your employee will need to find a replacement pump, and it helps keep your employee’s productivity up. It also means these pumps require low maintenance for long periods so they are ideal to keep in your mother’s rooms.
How do I go about providing a pump for my employees and which brand should I get?
At Healthy Horizons we highly recommend buying the Medela Symphony or the Ameda Platinum.
There is high demand for these two pumps because mothers are highly satisfied with the results. Healthy Horizons has selected the Symphony and Platinum as the top breastpumps because they’re efficient, comfortable, and the most reliable technology for mothers. They are the highest-powered and best quality breastpumps that allow mothers to customize their suction, speed, and let-down routines. Both these machines have a 3-year warranty and a motor lifetime of at least 6,000 hours.
Help your employees by providing them with hospital grade pumps in your mother’s room. Your company will greatly benefit from improving their productivity and reducing time away from work. Your employees will appreciate being able to efficiently provide milk for their babies and the reduced stress. Contact Healthy Horizons to rent or purchase a hospital-grade breastpump.