On Thursday, Jun 12, 2003, at 02:43 Australia/Perth, Connor Widner
IBCLC wrote:

> Listmates,  We have a level 1 nursery and it is infrequent that we
> have a
> mother pumping and storing breastmilk. When we do, we label and store
> her
> milk at the nurses station in a frig with a few medications.  Pharmacy
> is
> concerned with this practice and we are wondering about purchasing a
> small
> frig for the nursery.

Are Pharmacy concerned about anything in particular? Milk is not
considered a "body fluid" for the purpose of biohazard precautions.

This information from the LLL site may help:

===
A lactating mother should face no restrictions storing her milk
somewhere other than her own home, such as a workplace or day-care
refrigerator. No special precautions apply. If an employed mother does
encounter resistance from co-workers, it may be lessened if the milk is
placed in an opaque, secondary container, suggests Laurie Nommsen-
Rivers in the Journal of Human Lactation (1997). There are several
sources of information a mother can use to            educate others
not only about the benefits of human milk but to alleviate any concerns
they may have about safe storage of a "body fluid."

In an Oct. 1995 press release, the Center for Breastfeeding Information
at LLLI stated, "As of this date, human milk is not (nor has it ever
been) included in federal health agencies' listings of body fluids
governed by universal precautions            for blood borne pathogens
which would mandate handling and feeding with rubber gloves or storage
in a separate refrigerator as a biohazardous material. This continues
to be the current policy of the United States Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA).
===
http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBJulAug98p109.html

Lara Hopkins
family doc in Perth, Western Australia
exclusively pumping for Luke, eight months and two days

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