[Maternal lactation. I. Resistance of maternal milk to bacterial contamination]

Bacteriologic studies in hands, nipples and milk in 10 wet-nurses were done in order to establish regulation for the recollection of breast milk to be used in low -birth-weight infants. The same studies were done in the hands of 10 nurse-aids, that help in the recollection of breast milk. The results depicts that the breast milk has bacteriostatic and bactericidal properties enough to protect against contamination by germs of the mother's bacterial flora. It does not have the same property against germs that are not of their own flora: those of the nurse-aids's hands. The protection is such that is possible to maintain the breast milk at environmental temperature of 4 degrees C, for 72 hours, without having the developing of germs not isolated previously, and even with the disappearance of some strains present in the initial cultures.