Daily cleaning – Thoroughly cleaning your breast pump’s washable parts after use is an important step in keeping your baby healthy. All parts that are exposed to breastmilk or your breast should be washed in hot soapy water, rinsed and air-dried after each use.
Sterilizing – Most breast pump manufacturers recommend sterilizing all the washable parts of your breast pump once a day. There are several sterilization methods available including boiling parts on the stove, sterilizing in a dishwasher that reaches 140 degrees, using a microwave sterilizer or an electric sterilizer.
Used breast pumps – Borrowing or buying a used breast pump is not recommended because breast pumps are considered personal hygiene items. Several potential health risks associated with using a previously used breast pump. Some of these risks include the presence of cytomegalovirus (CMV), hepatitis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) or other viruses on the pump parts that were exposed to the previous mother’s breastmilk.
If you are considering borrowing or buying a used breast pump, you should be aware that not all pump parts can be washed and sterilized. The best way to avoid these potential risks is to only use a new, unused personal breast pump. Although personal use breast pumps are not safe to share, hospital grade rental pumps are approved for multiple users as long as each mother uses her own collection kit.
