title: Patterns of bacterial colonization of human milk.
abstract: Bacterial studies on breast milk collected by an electric suction pump from 44 postpartum mothers were conducted. All samples had bacterial growth, while 84% had organisms identical to those cultured from the mother's nipple. Colony counts varied greatly, with a median of 8700 and mean of nearly 20,000. In 30% of the milk samples, potentially pathogenic organisms were recovered. The significance of these results and collection techniques that might modify these results are discussed.
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000382:microbiology*; D009558:Nipples / Q000382:microbiology; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification