Hi, all,
 In response to Deb K's question about what others do in their NICU's about
cleaning equipment, how to store, etc.  We are following the advice given by
Mary Rose Tully (Raleigh, NC - Mother's Milk Bank) when she presented an 8
hour conference in Salt Lake in 1999 about Breastfeeding in the NICU.

She said that rinsing pump parts with cold water right away, and washing
with hot soapy water, followed by rinsing twice to remove detergent residue
is adequate cleaning.  No research says sterilization of pump parts is
necessary.  The dishwasher is fine.

Put dried pump parts in a clean quart-size ziplock bag after every
pumping/washing.  Pump parts should not air dry in proximity to a sink where
handwashing takes place.

She suggests clean (not sterile) volufeeds for storage.  She also mentioned
sterile water bottles emptied, or urine specimen containers (which ARE
sterile).  She discouraged milk in plastic bags for the NICU because it
tends to be the "dirtiest" (bacterially contaminated) milk that they receive
in the milk bank.

We have found that if the instructions are simple, the mothers are very
compliant.  The more difficult the instructions become, and the more
complicated the process, the more frequently those poor stressed-out moms
just give up and don't do any of it.

Hope this helps.
Deanne, R.N.  IBCLC
NICU    Utah Valley Regional Medical Center

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