Laura asked about storage of breastmilk - at room temperature or in the
fridge. NMAA recommendations are to immediately refrigerate expressed
breastmilk. This is being on the cautious side, which never hurts, I guess.

However, I think it's important to remember that breastmilk contains many
anti-infective agents, and in some tests I believe that bacteria introduced
into samples actually reduce in number, rather than multiply in fresh EBM
left at room temperature. An interesting snippet of information I learnt in
Melbourne last week was about cow's milk containing micro-organisms. These
are necesary for the calf, to innoculate its rumen ready to digest grass.
So cow's or any other ruminant's milk for human consumption presumably
would need pasteurisation. I wonder if these micro-organisms cause problems
to people drinking raw cow's milk????

I am glad Jan Barger and Pat Bull said something about storage of
breastmilk at room temperature, as I was about to quote from their article
from the International Lactation Conference in 1988, and then saw that they
had beaten me to it.

Somewhere, but I can't find it now, I thought I read of a study done in one
of the tropical developing countries, where they did not have general
access to refrigeration, where they left breastmilk samples on the bench
for 9 days and still couldn't get anything to grow in them. Does anyone
else recall this study, or did I dream it? ;-)

Anyway I feel we should be perhaps on the cautious side, but shouldn't be
too paranoid about bugs growing in EBM - we don't want mothers chucking out
perfectly good EBM and substituting ABM.

I would like also to hear what others think.

Joy Anderson IBCLC
Perth Western Australia