Practice Recommendations for Handling of Expressed Human Milk in Healthcare Facilities

BACKGROUNDHuman milk is an important source of nutrition and immunological protection for an infant.It can also be a source of infection [1][2][3][4][5].Since human milk is a body fluid, many aspects of handling human milk in healthcare facilities are guided by practices used for other body fluids, e.g., blood, blood transfusions [3,4,6]. INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HANDLING OF EXPRESSED HUMAN MILK IN HEALTHCARE FACILITIESTo minimize the risk of spreading infection in healthcare facilities, the principles listed below should be followed.Each facility should take these principles into consideration when making policy decisions regarding the safe handling of expressed human milk.