Can you imaging 1,560 breasts?! Now picture the 780 adults and babies attached to those breasts in the last 5 years who have benefited from Milk Mechanics' pump redistribution program, the Robin Hood Breast Pump Exchange (RBE). 

A Pump For Every Person In Need

The exchange is a grassroots movement that provides "a pump for every person in need". Some breast pumps are not intended to be shared between families, because they can harbor insects, mildew or other yucky stuff inside. This program tears pumps apart and carefully tests and inspects to preserve only parts that are worthy of passing on. The rest goes to electronics recyclers.

RBE begins with graciously donated pumps from families who have completed their own breastfeeding journey. Donated pumps can be dropped off at various locations across the metro-Denver area. The donations are then sifted through and organized.

Aside from the pumps themselves, people often donate 5-10 bottles, multiple sets of tubing, flanges, duckbills, valves, bottle necks, bottle caps, sealing discs, breast-shields, back flow protectors, bras, breast pads, and cleaning bags (just to name a few). Volunteers must determine "keep" items that will then be thoroughly sanitized in a three-step method: steam, chemical soak bath, and a dishwasher sanitizing cycle.

The tube cleaning process is the real treat to watch as veteran "whipper" Kelly whips the tubes repeatedly around her head to get them thoroughly dry after they have been carefully washed. The pumps themselves get a grade and are sanitized. The "A+" pumps can then be distributed first to families with the highest level of medical need.

Many families experience hardships while trying to procure this medically necessary device.

Under the Affordable Care act, the "majority" of health insurance plans cover the cost of a pump for families in need. Unfortunately, many families experience hardships while trying to procure this medically necessary device. The spectrum of hardships is vast but some of the most common are the requirement to "earn" pumps with multiple office visits resulting in loss of workable hours, subpar pumps being provided by insurance (especially in multiple infant families who often experience lengthy hospital stays), many plans only covering manual or hand pumps, families experiencing childbearing loss with the desire to donate breast milk, and some insurances requiring a return to work before the benefit kicks in.

The RBE provides a safety net and gear for these families who are slipping through the cracks of the healthcare system. We believe no family should be without these critical medical devices.