I work in a 46 bed NICU at a Children's Hospital and need help from the
group in regards to washing breastpump equipment, silicone bottle nipples,
nipple shields,etc.

According our Infection Control dept, anything that contains even a drop of
breast milk should not be washed at a handwashing sink, due to the chance of
transmission of blood-borne microorganisms.

After an in-depth discussion with the Infection Control nurse specialist,
our hospital still "treats" breastmilk as a body fluid capable of
transmitting blood borne viruses, even if OSHA and CDC do not.
Where and how to wash silicone nipples used for bottle feeding was the
original issue in question.  Our unit is 80% breastfeeding/breastmilk.  We
have 2 "pump rooms" which are busy with waiting lines.  To offset this, we
have 4 additional pumps that can be taken to the bedside.  Thus when mothers
are finished pumping they will wash their equipment at the bedside at sinks
"designated" for handwashing. In addition, the nurses feed babies breastmilk
with reusable silicone nipples that need to be cleaned with soap and water
between use. The infection control specialist states that breastmilk(and
thus potential viral proteins) can survive and grow in sinks/drains, if not
properly disinfected between handwashings, thus be splashed back into the
hands of all those washing at the sink.  Has anyone heard of this ?

Barring long discussions of promoting more actual breastfeeding (a topic of
greater priority and ultimately more inherent merit) as opposed to bottle
feeding the pumped milk, does anyone have experience with this issue in
their NICU?  Where do the mothers or nurses wash equipment that contains
breast milk?

All suggestions are greatly appreciated,
Cathy Carnaby, RNC, IBCLC
NICU
Children's Hospital
Omaha, Nebraska

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