Safety of Breast Pumps and Expressed Breast Milk Use Amongst Nursing Mothers and Healthy Term Babies: A Narrative Review

The growing awareness of the benefits of exclusive breast feeding is reason why many nursing mothers are opting to adopt the practice. Emerging barriers, however, threaten adherence to its required duration and exclusivity. A possible strategy that could address most of the commonly reported complaints is the use of breast pumps by nursing mothers and expressed breast milk for healthy term babies. This review of scientific literature which examined its safety shows that in spite of the huge benefits and positive roles that the device could play in supporting exclusive breast feeding, significant number of users suffer discomfort, breast pain, and tissue damage. Also, its effectiveness in supporting nursing mothers to achieving the required duration and exclusivity has not been confirmed. In addition, bottle feeding puts babies at higher risks of developing Maloclusions and other forms of oral diseases while the mechanism by which bottle-fed infants tends to overfeed is unclear. Therefore, training sessions on hand expression of breast milk and personal hygiene are recommended for inclussion into ante and post natal clinics as an alternative for nursing mothers who might have serious complaints with the device. Moreover, further studies to refine the dynamics of breast pump operation so as to address complaints by nursing mothers are also advocated.