I am a breastfeeding mother to a six month old baby boy and have been using the Medela Pump-in-Style bra since he was born in February 2009. When I found out that I was going to be going on a day trip for work, and the breasts didn’t want to give up, I decided to go ahead and spend the extra money (almost $400) to buy a Medela FreeStyle bra. I really liked the idea of the FreeStyle because it had many great features such as 2-stage-umping, small size, and the ability to use a hands-free pump connection kit.
I purchased FreeStyle at Babies-R-Us, aware of the public non-return policy for the bra. I took all the parts out of the box, sterilized them, and went to the pump. I was immediately concerned about the lack of suction. I pumped for about 20 minutes and only got 3 ounces. My normal size was 10 inches, so I was very worried, and broke out my “old reliable” Pump-in-Style, which has great suction.
I called Medela Customer Service and told them about the suction failure, so they sent me a new pump and I sent them the original one. I tried the pump again the next day with FreeStyle and got the same results. Thinking that maybe I was doing something wrong with the setup, I called a friend who also used FreeStyle. I drove it home and let me use it. (stopped breastfeeding shortly after due to low milk production).
I called the Lactation Consultants at the hospital because they were very helpful and supportive in my efforts to breastfeed. I went into consulting when they were also selling FreeStyle. They checked the suction on the pump and it had phenomenal suction – even higher than hospital grade pumps. They saw me pump, checked my guests, and wondered why I wasn’t getting more milk. There was almost no suction on my breasts, and if I felt like relying on FreeStyle regularly, I would definitely have plenty of issues.
I called Medela Customer Service again and told them I just want my money flat-out. Having a pump to travel with was pointless if I couldn’t even get milk, and ending up with supply issues wasn’t going to help me achieve my long-term breastfeeding goal. Medela said they couldn’t give me a refund, but if I sent them my entire pump and kit, they would send me a new pump in a sealed box so I could return it to Babies-R-Us. It took me about a week to receive the new one, but I was able to take it back and get my receipt in store and a full refund.
In summary, I don’t believe the FreeStyle Phlanges are designed correctly. The pump itself is very powerful, but since the pumps cannot be returned once they are opened, you cannot try before you buy. So, BUYER BEWARE! Kudos to Medela.
