I used to buy the non-sterile kits, assemble for the mom, and on those
occasions when she was in immediate need of pumping (eg engorgement),
would tell her the company policy of boiling first, explain that it was
probably a policy born of liability concerns, and that the kit was clean
but not sterile.  Most moms opted to use it on the spot without boiling.

All the talk about liability (interestingly, not about pathogens) at an
LC conference made me switch to the sterile kits.

But I still usually put them together for the mother.  I have *her* press
the valves on tightly, and have *her* insert or remove the flange inserts,
because those parts touch milk or breast, but I do the rest of the assembling
myself with freshly washed hands.

I've always felt what Jan said, that clean is good enough for healthy
people.  Am I ok on this one?  I'm not after "liability clean";  I'm after
"effectively clean", figuring that if I protect the mother from real-world
pathogens I've automatically protected myself from real-world liability.

Again, your thoughts?

Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL  Ithaca, NY