Pumping breast milk to infants is not safe .. How to convey the risk to your baby?

About 85% of lactating mothers use a breastfeeding pump at times, but there is almost no research on this issue.

In her report published by Atlantic magazine, writer Annie Loreb reported that 6% of breastfeeding mothers pump their milk and give it to their babies instead of breastfeeding, noting that this percentage is gradually increasing. Currently, 85% of women use the pump, which researchers see as a revolution in human nutrition.

Milk commodity mothers
By using these pumps, breast milk became a commodity, with mothers becoming products while infants became consumers, making breastfeeding seem unnecessary byproduct.

In fact, this may be good, especially if the pumping helps children get more breast milk or enables the mother and child to maintain a normal and satisfying relationship longer. Pumping may help women achieve this, especially if they work full-time. However, this issue may have some disadvantages.

"We have a lack of information about how many women use the milk pump and how often, and we don't have any information about how clean these pumps are," said Kathleen Rasmussen, a professor of maternal and child nutrition at Cornell University.

Rasmussen said there are many questions about best practices for pump use and their importance to maternal and infant health.

Decreased breastfeeding

According to the author, there are economic, technological and political factors behind this revolution. In the mid-20th century, once American women participated in the workforce, the proportion of women breastfeeding fell, with breastfeeding rates at their lowest levels in the early 1970s.

With working women unable to breastfeed their children, electric pumps emerged in the early 1990s, one of the most practical options.

The US government does not require employers to provide paid leave to new parents, but in turn urges women to breastfeed, and in the past decade has called on them to use a breastfeeding pump.

The US Health Care Act of 2010 requires insurance companies to provide a pump and visits to breastfeeding specialists and has asked employers to give mothers time and space to use the breastfeeding pump.

Effects of indirect breastfeeding
The researchers found that the microbiome found in expressing breast milk differs from other milk types. It should be noted that indirect breastfeeding is often associated with increased prevalence of pathogens, which can increase the risk of respiratory disease in the infant. Shirin Mousavi of the University of Manitoba says this explains why children who are not breastfed have an increased risk of asthma.

Moreover, breast milk decomposes when cooled, increasing the risk of contamination due to the dangerous bacteria that accumulate on the pump parts. The researchers also believe that the experience of breastfeeding and visual and physical communication between mother and infant increases the benefits of breastfeeding for both the child and mother.

Many mothers are unaware of how to use the pump and often wonder how long more pumping sessions should be added and how important they are, the writer said. "I don't have clear answers to these questions. In general, there is not enough research on breastfeeding," said Fiona Jardin, a lactation expert and PhD candidate at the University of Maryland.

In fact, there are not enough good sources to get enough information about how to use breast pumps. Many mothers use Facebook as a source of information. Amanda Glenn said there are few doctors who are very knowledgeable about breast milk pumps, which means that there are not many sources of counseling for new mothers.

May transmit infection
Although the pump has become more efficient and efficient than before, its use is relatively complex.Using the pump means assembling several plastic parts with a special bra wearing and using for 15 to 20 minutes. When pumping is completed, the parts must be disassembled, washed and then disinfected.

No matter how good this machine is, it is only used at home. Some workplaces provide special spaces for pumping breast milk to new mothers, but not all workplaces. Sometimes mothers use the pump inside dirty bathrooms or in the car.

However, many women believe that using the pump is worth it. They want to give their babies breast milk instead of formula.