Do I need a breast pump?

if you are on state medical like medicaid(kids connections) they will pay for it. i had a breast pump for my last 2 and state paid for it. and i liked the pump i just hated having my baby nurse on me. also nice to be able let someone else feed baby the good stuff(breast milk)

It depends on the medicaide you have, mine wouldn't pay for it uless there was a medicla reason I needed it. My son couln't latch on so I had to buy one. You can rent them from the hospital, it's not as gross as it sounds. All the parts that come incontact with the milk are new. It will be up to you and your baby whether or not you need it. I would recomend not getting the cheep one, I got a $40 one from walmart and I broke it in about a week.

It isn't a must exactly, but If you want to be able to leave the baby with a sitter or your family, you may want one. You can rent them also.

yeah i rented mine from milkworks and medicaid made the payments. sorry i should of been more clear.

Not for everyone, no. If you're just going to be pumping sometimes you can hand express. Some women actually do MUCH better hand expressing than pumping and can express enough by hand to work full time and not have to supplement. I was not one of those women so I did need a pump. Generally speaking though - if you're going to be away from baby when baby needs to eat on more than a rare occasion, yes.

What TYPE of pump you'll need depends on how long/often you'll be gone. You may be able to do just a manual pump, you may need a double electric.

Where can you rent them?

ask your OB about places in your area. the hospital has them and Milkworks is one in nebraska...

A local lactation consultant and/or LLL will be able to tell you exactly where locally rents. Most hospitals do as well as some Babies R Us stores and other baby/mother stores.

Thanks ladies.

If you are a working mom, ABSOLUTELY. However, if you are on medicaid, it will cover the pump rental for a period of time. Your local WIC office or La Leche League can help you with getting a pump. If you don't qualify for medicaid or WIC and would like to buy one, don't bother getting one from like Walmart. They are lame. Get a NICE brand, such as a Medela. Yes, they are quite pricey at around 250-350, but if you work they help keep your milk supply up. Breast pumps for SAHM really help initially to help establish breast milk supply if it isn't coming in adequately on its own.