Appropriate cleaning of breast milk pumps: Statement of the nutrition committees of the German Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ) and the Austrian Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine (ÖGKJ) after reports of severe infections in neonates after insufficient cleaning

Human breast milk is considered to be the gold standard for premature and mature infant nutrition. If breast feeding is not possible for various reasons or excess milk is to be collected for distribution, e.g. to a milk bank, it is common practice to use a breast milk pump. Severe infections in newborn infants fed on human milk collected by milk pumps were reported in the USA and Australia. Therefore, the committees on nutrition of the Austrian and German Societies of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine present a position paper on the appropriate hygiene measures when using milk pumps in the domestic and hospital environments. The various typical sources of pathogen contamination of pumped human milk are presented. Recommendations on the proper handling of milk pumps are provided. The aim of this publication is to sensitize to the possible risk of insufficient hygiene conditions of pumped breast milk and encourage the implementation of appropriate hygiene standards.