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AAP: Pregnant women, young children should avoid raw milk
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A recent AAP policy statement recommends that pregnant women, infants and young children avoid raw or unpasteurized milk and milk products, and only consume pasteurized products.
“We have no scientific evidence that consuming raw milk provides any advantages over pasteurized milk and milk products,” Yvonne Maldonado, MD, professor of pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine, said in a press release. “But relative to the amount of raw-milk products on the market, we do see a disproportionately large number of diseases and illnesses from raw milk.”
The policy statement, published in Pediatrics, also addresses the AAP endorsement of a ban on the sale of raw or unpasteurized milk and milk products currently sold throughout the United States.
Raw milk and milk products continue to be a source of bacterial infections that are especially dangerous to pregnant women, fetuses, the elderly, young children and people with compromised immune systems, according to the policy statement.
“There have been recent studies demonstrating that even healthy dairy animals in good facilities carry some of these organisms on their udders, or the organisms are somewhere in their environment, and the milk can be contaminated with them,” Maldonado said. “When these organisms are ingested, especially by young babies or pregnant women, they can cause severe illness.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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