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. 2024 Mar 8;18(3):e01755.
doi: 10.1213/XAA.0000000000001755. eCollection 2024 Mar 1.

Survey of Lactating Anesthesiologists Using Wearable Breast Milk Pumps While Working in Operating Rooms and Other Clinical Settings

Sarah S Titler  1 , Franklin Dexter  2
Affiliations

Survey of Lactating Anesthesiologists Using Wearable Breast Milk Pumps While Working in Operating Rooms and Other Clinical Settings

Sarah S Titler et al. A A Pract. .

Abstract

We performed a prospective Internet survey study of anesthesiologists lactating in 2022 or 2023. Approximately half (48%, 75 of 156) lacked convenient dedicated lactation space and approximately half (55%, 86 of 155) used a wearable breast pump. The vast majority using a wearable pump did so in clinical settings, including operating rooms (88%, 76 of 86). When using during cases, approximately half reported that milk production was sufficient to substitute for lactation pumping sessions (52%, 39 of 75). Based on probability distributions of surgical times, future research can evaluate the usefulness of wearable pumps based on the objective of reducing anesthesiologists' durations of lactation sessions to <15 minutes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Titler SS, Pearson ACS. Supporting lactation within an academic anesthesia department: obstacles and opportunities. Anesth Analg. 2020;131:1304–1307.
    1. Kraus MB, Thomson HM, Dexter F, et al. Pregnancy and motherhood for trainees in anesthesiology: a survey of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. J Educ Perioper Med. 2021;23:E656.
    1. Titler SS, Dexter F. Low prevalence of designated lactation spaces at hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers in Iowa: an educational tool for graduates’ job selection. A A Pract. 2021;15:e01544.
    1. Titler S, Dexter F, Epstein RH. Percentages of cases in operating rooms of sufficient duration to accommodate a 30-minute breast milk pumping session by anesthesia residents or nurse anesthetists. Cureus. 2021;13:e12519.
    1. Titler SS, Dexter F, Epstein RH. Suggested work guidelines, based on operating room data, for departments with a breast milk pumping supervising anesthesiologist. Breastfeed Med. 2021;16:573–578.

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