I'm looking for any information on testing breastmilk itself with moms who have a history of drug abuse but want to breastfeed. After hearing many talks by Dr. Hale I had come away with the understanding that testing breastmilk was not a valid test to determine drug use. Equipment was made to test urine and therefore it would not be valid. We had been having the mother's case worker have random urine testing done with reporting provided to our social worker. Now they want to look at actually testing the milk. I'm looking for information on how you follow these moms and assure safe milk as well as any literature that may point to whether this testing would be valid and stand up legally. I have read that the only federally approved test is a urine test. This is primarily for our babies in the NICU where the moms are no longer patients in the hospital. Since we are a tertiary center these moms may come from a distance and their primary care is not with us which makes having someone responsible for their testing difficult.

Thnk you,
Lisa Enger RN BSN IBCLC
Boston, MA

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