A breast pump not only helps you pump out excess milk to store but also helps with regulating or increasing your milk supply as it tricks the body into producing more milk for baby demands. Using a breast pump is very easy but how do you clean one? Let’s talk about it in detail.
Breast pumps may come with few or many parts depending on the type you are buying. In general, these are the steps you need to follow in order to maintain hygiene while using a breast pump:
Start by cleaning the pumping area. You can take anti-bacterial wipes, dishwashing soap or baby product cleaning liquid with some warm water to clean parts such as power switch, dials and main body.
Next step is to clean all parts that have come in contact with milk like connectors, tubes, membranes and milk bottle. Rinse all these parts to remove any breast milk and then clean by using scrubs, your hands, soap and warm water. Allow all the parts to completely dry before next use. For extra protection, you can sterilize or boil removable parts that come in contact with breast milk.
In case you use electrical breast pump, you can avoid washing or cleaning the parts that have never come in contact with milk like caps, tubes and main body. For the parts that do come in contact with breast milk, you can use cleaning methods like boiling, sterilizing, soap solutions, dishwashing liquid and scrubbing. The idea is to remove any traces of milk that could lead to bacterial growth and health hazards for your little munchkin. After cleaning, always dry the parts on a clean towel and store safely for next use.
There are chances of mold formation inside breast pump tubing. You must always make sure you inspect your pump for any such growth before use. If you see any mold you can follow the steps:
In case you are a working mom, you would have this question in mind for sure. Well, it’s easy:
While some parts are completely dishwasher safe, others are not. Parts like pumping machine, breast shield, inserts, cylinders etc are not dishwasher safe. Also, it is not necessary to clean them regularly. Simply using a wet wipe would do the trick. However, parts like tubes, bottles are safe and should be kept on top row of dishwasher.
There is no harm in being extra cautious when it concerns your baby’s health which is why we recommend speaking to your doctor when using such products so that you can be sure about the safety and hygiene of your little bundle of joy!
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