Abstract
Breast milk is the only milk that meets both the nutritional and immunitary needs of infants. Since breastfeeding is widely promoted, public health measures to preserve the nutritional qualities of expressed breast milk (EBM) should be applied in hospital care settings. The Health Technology Assessment Unit (HTAU) of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec was requested by the Neonatal Care Unit to assess the acceptability of a plastic specimen container, designed to harvest tissues and body fluids, for storing collected EBM. An evidence-based public health perspective approach was taken to evaluate the safety of the specimen container. The HTAU recommended that plastic specimen containers no longer be used for storing EBM and that other options should be evaluated for neonatal care units. These recommendations are in accordance with the public health precaution principle and with legal considerations.
Key Words: Expressed breast milk, storage, plastic container, neonatal care unit, safety and chemical innocuity, precautionary principle
Résumé
Le lait maternel est le seul lait qui comble à la fois tous les besoins nutritionnels et immunitaires du nourrisson. Puisque la pratique de l’allaitement est fortement encouragée en milieu hospitalier, il importe d’appliquer correctement les mesures de santé publique en vigueur en matière de conservation du lait maternel exprimé. L’Unité d’évaluation des technologies et des modes d’intervention en santé (UETMIS) du CHU de Québec a été sollicitée par des cliniciens de l’unité néonatale afin d’évaluer l’acceptabilité d’utiliser pour la conservation du lait maternel exprimé, un contenant de plastique normalement prévu pour la collecte des tissus ou des fluides corporels. Dans cette démarche, une évaluation systématique des données probantes disponibles a été réalisée. L’UETMIS a recommandé de cesser l’utilisation du contenant actuel et d’envisager d’autres options pour la conservation du lait maternel exprimé à l’unité néonatale. Ces recommandations sont cohérentes avec l’application du principe de précaution utilisé en santé publique de même que des considérations d’ordre légales.
Mots Clés: lait maternel exprimé, conservation, contenant de plastique, unité de soins néonatale, sécurité et innocuité chimique, principe de precaution
Footnotes
Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
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