“…Studies conducted in NICU settings have found no relationship between bacteria levels in mothers’ own milk or presence of common pathogens and adverse preterm infant outcomes (Law, Urias, Lertzman, Robson, & Romance, 1989; Schanler et al, 2011); therefore, screening and pasteurizing this milk is not a typical NICU practice. Until recently, neonatal units in France routinely pasteurized mothers’ own milk; however, a 2018 review recommended pasteurization only after cultures indicate the presence of pathogenic bacteria, due to evidence of improved growth rates in preterm infants receiving raw mothers’ milk (Masson et al, 2018; Montjaux-Régis et al, 2011; Picaud et al, 2018). Nonetheless, a recent report from the CDC’s Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Repor t traced a Cronobacter sakazakki infection in a preterm infant to a breast pump and home sink, indicating that infections from poor hygiene are possible and underscoring the importance of proper hygiene for milk expression (Bowen, Wiesenfeld, & Kloesz, 2017).…”