>From:    "Lisa Marasco, IBCLC" <[log in to unmask]>
<snip>
>One
>of the explanations that I was given is that they wanted to address the
>plight of the women who don't have easy access to refrigeration, such as
>migrant field workers. If breastmilk can be safely kept out for several
>hours, then we could empower these women to pump and save for their babies
>instead of having to opt for ABM. The good outweighs the risks, right?

Why can't they stick to the good ole traditional method of having baby in
a sling just like traditional field workers all the world over? Because
the only difference is location. Well how about a local child care centre,
lactaion breaks (according to ILO convention set in 1915!! ), or local
eskies and chiller blocks?

>To
>balance this out, we do also specify that this info is good for milk that
>has been kept at a reasonable room temperature. It does not apply to milk
>left out in the sun, or in a hot car, etc. Personally, I think that the
>smell & taste tests are good criteria when in doubt, because
>environmental conditions can and do influence perishability.

I wonder about some of these studies that suggest an "expiry" time
for breastmilk. Surely that would be dependent on the actual concentration
of antibodies etc? Which we know varies with age of baby, time of day...

I would suspect that if ou got a huge batch of breastmilk, *gently*
shook it up to equilibrise the concentrations of the constituent
particles then dispensed it into set volumes, left them a) in the sun,
b) on the "sample" kitchen table c) in the fridge, d) in the freezer
and sampled them at regular intervals you would be able to categorically
say what the "expiry" date/time was. If you knew what to test for...

I suppose bacterial count would do for starters. But does that include
the difference between *active* bacterium or not? What did the other tests
actually look for?

Narelle BAppSc etc NMAA C'ty Educator
who misses lactnet due to volume of work *and* absorbing reading
as sysadmin to parent-l... but doesn't really miss being a scientist
well not much... sort of... got my lab coat out and looked at it
today...

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