I am a breastfeeding mother of a six month old baby boy, and have been using a Medela Pump-in-Style breastpump since he was born in February 2009. When I found out that I was going to have to start traveling on day trips for work, and unwilling to give up breastfeeding, I decided to go ahead and spend the extra money (nearly $400) to purchase a Medela FreeStyle breastpump. I really liked the idea of the FreeStyle because it had many great features such as 2-stage -pumping, small size, and the ability to pump hands-free using a connection kit.
I purchased the FreeStyle at Babies-R-Us, aware of the no-return policy for breastpumps. I took all of the parts out of the box, sterlized them, and proceeded to pump. I was immediately concerned because of the lack of suction. I pumped for approximately 20 minutes and only got 3 ounces. My normal amount was 10 ounces, so I was very concerned, and broke out “old reliable,” my Pump-in-Style, which has great suction.
I called Medela Customer Service and told them about the lack of suction, so they sent me a new pump and I sent the original one back to them. The next day I tried to pump with the FreeStyle again and got the same results. Thinking that maybe I was doing something wrong with the setup, I called a friend who is also using the FreeStyle. I drove to her house and she checked my setup, watched me use it, and all was done perfectly, but for some reason I still was not getting enough suction, although she did mention that it was the same amount of suction that she was getting (she stopped breastfeeding shortly thereafter due to low milk production).
I called the Lactation Consultants at the hospital where I delivered because they have been very helpful and supportive of me in my efforts to breastfeed. I went in for a consultation since they also sell the FreeStyle. They checked the suction on the pump and it had phenomenal suction – even higher than the hospital-grade pumps. They watched me pump, checked my connections, and they were perplexed as to why I wasn’t getting more milk. The suction on my breasts was almost non-existent, and if I were to rely on the FreeStyle to pump regularly, I would definitely have supply issues.
I called Medela Customer Service again, and told them that I just flat-out wanted my money back. Having a pump to travel with was useless if I couldn’t even get any milk, and ending up with supply issues would not help me achieve my goal of breastfeeding long-term. Medela said that they could not give me a refund, but if I sent them my entire pump and kit, they would send me a brand-new pump, sealed in the box so I could return it to Babies-R-Us. It took about a week for me to receive the new one, but I was able to take it and my receipt to the store and get a full refund.
In short, I don’t believe the FreeStyle phlanges were designed right. The pump itself is very powerful, but since pumps can’t be returned once they’ve been opened, you can’t try before you buy. So, BUYER BEWARE! Kudos to Medela’s Customer Support for helping me return it.
