Breast Pumps is becoming invaluable in the day and age of ‘Modern Motherhood’. Breast Pumps help feeding mothers to continue feeding their breast milk to their child/children. A Breast pump has many parts which come in contact with the mother’s body parts and the milk the child is going to intake, which makes the cleaning of Breast Pumps really important.
There are numerous Viruses and Bacteria present in Adult Human Systems, which are very harmful toinfants.Unclean or carelessly cleansed Breast Pumps may harbor such germs and prove to be a very costly mistake if used with the baby.
Before First Use:
Even though the Breast Pumps are Thoroughly Washed and Sterilized before packaging them, it is strongly recommended they be cleansed before the first use. Remove and clean and wash all the removable parts of a breast pump before it’s used for the first time and everytime after it is used there on. Use Cleaning Instruction that follow to clean your breast pumps.
How to Clean Breast Pumps
All the parts exposed to the mother’s body and baby should be washed in hot water and very mild soap. Thorough Rinsing is required to make sure there is no soap residue in the washed parts as this can contaminate the Mother’s milk.
After washing with soap and rinsing thoroughly with hot water, please dry the parts in air, under a fan or blower, then towel dry the parts.
The products should not be exposed to brushes and any strong soaps or chemicals as it may damage the product and prove harmful for the mother and child. If any parts of the pump become scratched or damaged, please DO NOT use the parts again.
In case you are not unable to do thorough washing sometimes immediately after using the Breast pump, just rinse the breast pump parts in hot waster thoroughly to remove any residue breast milk.
In open milk collection model, the milk collection tube has to be detached and washed with hot water and dry it as mentioned above.
Cleaning hands thoroughly before and after the usage of breast pumps is very very important to prevent any infection or contamination.
Borrowing Breast Pumps and / or Using Second Hand Breast Pumps
While in India, we have the habit of handing over slightly used items to other members of the family or friends. This is true especially for baby products, where toys , cradles, etc., and other baby items are handed over to cousins and other newly born in the family.
But as far as breast pumps are concerned, this is practice of using already used Best breast pump for a different child is not at all accepted. Breast Pumps are clearly marked as personal hygiene/use products and they are not to be used by more than one mother or child.
Infections and Risks of Borrowing Breast Pumps:
Home cleaning and sterilization is not enough to remove all viruses and bacteria from the Breast Pumps and hence the baby is put under a risk of getting infected.
Cytomegalovirus, Human Immuno-deficiency virus(HIV), human T-cell Leukaemia Virus(HTLY-1) are some of the most common viruses that are transferred through breast feeding. Thrush contaminations from pervious users through risks such as cracked nipples, or bleeding nibbles, fungal infections, can be transferred via Breast Pumps while using someone else’s breast pump.