Sterilising: is it necessary for breastfeeding materials?

I am going to reveal a somewhat embarassing and contraversial truth:

I do not sterilise my pump, and do not always sterilise my the baby bottles before using them for breastmilk.

After suggesting to a friend that it may not be necessary to sterilise bottles, she was appalled.  Of course it is necessary to sterilise them, she said: after all, all the bottle and equipment manufacturers say so.  I myself believed them for the first few weeks. 

But then I read the fine print in one of my many books about breastfeeding.  According to the la leche league, one must only sterilise bottles and equipment if you are using formula.  When using formula, it is mandatory.  But when you are breastfeeding, and simply using the pump and bottles for breastmilk, no special sterilisiation procedures need to be followed. 

After three months of this, my baby has yet to get sick with anything.  I can only conclude that the la leche experts are right, even though the concept of not sterilising sounds so foreign to today's mothers who have been taught that a steriliser is a necessary piece of equipment.

But please note that I do wash the things thoroughly.  I may not be the most detail-oriented of mothers, but I am not a dirty one. 

**Please note that it is indeed necessary to sterilise all equipment when using formula**