Customer Service

Dear Customer Service,

I can count on my hand the number of times I have contacted a company to complain about a product. I'm generally a satisfied customer. But I have been so severely disappointed with your product, I can no longer remain silent.

I recently had my first child, and I was eager to build up a stash of frozen breast milk. After much research, the consensus appeared to be that the Lansinoh breast milk bags were the best due to the thicker plastic and double zipper. I also liked the way they froze flat in the freezer for easy storage. I quickly went through two 50-count boxes and was so pleased with my growing stash of milk for my baby girl.

Then I went to thaw a bag to leave with the babysitter. To my shock and horror, the bag had a leak. The tear was unnoticeable to the eye when I examined the bag, and was only discovered after I left it in
the refrigerator to gently thaw overnight. I pulled out a new bag, but the same tragedy occurred. I have estimated that three out of every four bags have this problem. Since I'm not sure if the milk has become contaminated or not, I've been forced to dump these bags. Now I have a freezer full of breast milk that will most likely go to waste. Every time I pull a bag out of the freezer it is with trepidation, and usually it ends with  heartbreak. Overdramatic? Perhaps. But when I am my child's sole source of nourishment and spend several hours a day pumping milk for her, it is unbearable to watch it go to waste. I feel like I have to start back at square one, building up my supply of frozen milk all over again. The wasted milk and hours spent pumping it are devastating.

I've followed the storage directions that come on the product carefully, including not overfilling the bags and handling them with care. Yet these small, unnoticeable tears continue to occur in the
corners of the bags, regardless of what I do. I am extremely disappointed with your product, especially since I had such high hopes to begin with. If you have any advice on what to do differently to
attempt and fix this problem, I'll be happy to hear it. But there is no way I could recommend your product to any of my friends or family members.


Kristine Loughman

8:39 a.m.
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9:19 a.m.

Kristine,

First I would like to extend my sincerest apology to you for the unpleasant experience you are having with our Milk Storage Bags.  Thank you very much for notifying us of this problem.   I can only imagine how frustrating and disappointing this must have been for you.  This company was founded over 20 years ago by a breastfeeding mother for the sole purpose of supporting breastfeeding and I am so sorry that one of our products has not only failed to make things easier for you but has created quite the opposite.  It takes an enormous commitment to breastfeed, even more of a commitment to provide
breastmilk in your absence.  To know that a product of ours has challenged you even further is a terrible thing for you and for all of us here at Lansinoh.

I would like to try and explain what might be the problem:  Our biggest challenge is to make a bag that is strong enough while using a completely safe plastic.  There are many types of plastic, most of which would be more pliable and more durable.  Unfortunately, this plastic has components in it (called plasticizers) that could leach through into the milk.  Only when using virgin plastic (which we do) can we be assured that the milk can be stored safely with no possibility of an undesired element being released from the plastic.  Virgin plastic is more rigid and when the milk freezes, it places more stress on the plastic.  The development of a breastmilk storage bag has been a long and costly project for us, but we are determined to deliver a quality bag made of virgin plastic.

Do you normally freeze the bags standing up or laying flat?  Do you by chance still have the inspection code that would have been printed on the outside of the white pouch? Also, do you still have the defective bags? If so, I would like to send you a self-addressed stamped envelope to return the
defective bags so that we may forward them to our manufacturer.

I would like to try and help you salvage the milk you have frozen now.   I can get a supply of our bags sent to you for you to use to 'double bag' the milk you are defrosting so that if they do continue to leak, you can at least catch your milk in something sterile so that it does not go to waste. I just need to know approximately how many bags you currently have frozen and you mailing address.  Again, I am sorry for the trouble this has caused and if you have any questions or if I could be of any further assistance
please feel free to contact me.  I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

M. Hasty
Lansinoh Laboratories
Consumer Relations
800-292-4794