Answering FAQ's About Breast Milk Storage
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Breastfeeding Sites:
- La Leche League
La Leche League has a rich history and an established philosophy of mothering through breastfeeding. Learn more about who we are and what we do. - Kelly Mom
This website was developed to provide evidence-based information on breastfeeding, sleep and parenting. - Mothering
We address contemporary health, personal, environmental, medical, and lifestyle issues in an upbeat, intelligent, compassionate, and courageous way.
Many mothers wonder about storing breast milk. Is it safe to store breastmilk? How can I store it? How long can breastmilk sit out? How long can breastmilk stay in the fridge? How long is considered safe to store breastmilk? I will do my best to answer those questions here, but if you don't find answers that satisfy you, or you have additional questions, please talk to a lactation consultant or visit some of the links to the right.
It is safe to store FRESH breastmilk. However, the temperature of the place you plan on storing your breast milk is what makes all the difference. The cooler the environment, the longer you can store it, the warmer the environment, the shorter. Any breastmilk that has been stored and not used in the specified time frames should be disposed of. Please find the basic guidelines for storing breastmilk below...
Mommy's Minute - Storing Breast Milk
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Safely Storing Breastmilk at Room Temperature
After pumping or expressing, breastmilk can sit out or be stored at room temperature for about 6-10 hours, although the average recommendation is 8 hours. You should not let breastmilk sit out for longer than 6 hours in rooms that have a temperature higher than 79 degrees fahrenheit.
If you have thawed your breastmilk at room temperature or under running water, you should use the stored breastmilk within 4 hours.
Quick note: NEVER thaw breastmilk out in a microwave! Items heated in the microwave do not heat evenly. This could result in dangerous hot spots and may burn the baby's mouth. Also, the microwave destroys some of the valuable nutrients in breastmilk. It takes a little more discipline and dedication, but it is always safest to thaw breastmilk out (if you are needing to do it quickly) by putting the container in a pot of boiling or hot water. Then, just to be safe, make sure to shake the breastmilk to mix it and help to evenly distribute the temperature.
Safely Storing Breastmilk in the Refrigerator
When refrigerating breastmilk, it is safe to store the breastmilk in the refrigerator for an average of 5-8 days. If you are using the refrigerator to thaw your breastmilk, you should use the stored breastmilk within 24 hours.
Tips On Breast Milk Storage
Safely Storing Breastmilk in the Freezer
If you plan on freezing your breastmilk, you should know that the guidelines on storing the milk in the freezer vary depending on the type of freezer you have and the temperature. On average, frozen breastmilk can be stored for 3-12 months.
If you are storing your breastmilk in a fridge/freezer combo, stay within the shorter time span of 3 months. Also, be sure NOT to store the breastmilk on the freezer door because the temperature will vary too often on the door. And NEVER refreeze thawed breastmilk.
If you are storing the breastmilk in a deep freezer or chest freezer, you can pretty much feel safe with storing your breastmilk for the longer recommended time of 6-12 months. These types of freezers usually have a lower temperature and the temperature usually remains consistent. The temperature must be at 0 degrees fahrenheit or lower to store for the longer period of time of 12 months. For any temperatures above that, I do not recommend storing the breastmilk for longer than 6 months.
Final Notes
When storing your breastmilk, you do not need to collect all the milk at one time. If you are storing the breastmilk in a bottle or container, keep the bottle or container in the freezer and add to it until it has about 2-4 ounces in it. Be sure to cool the breastmilk before adding it to the frozen breastmilk. Even if you collect the milk on different days, you can still add it to the already frozen milk. It will freeze in layers and the layers may even be different colors. Don't worry about the different colors (the color of the milk varies according to what you eat). Simply shaking the bottle after thawing the breastmilk will mix it.
You should alway label the breastmilk with the date, and sometimes time. Be sure to use the oldest breastmilk first, saving the freshest breastmilk for last.
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Breastmilk Storage
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Medela Breastmilk Storage & Feeding Set Bottles NIB
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- Find and Compare the Best Breast Milk Storage Containers
What type of Container is Best for Storing My Breatstmilk? There are many different bottles or breastmilk storage containers on the market for storing breastmilk. This can make the decision a lot more complicated than you anticipated when the time co - Low Breastmilk Supply? How To Increase Your Breastmilk Supply
Learn about a few different methods that may be effective in increasing your breastmilk supply. Many women who breastfeed, at one point or another, have a problem with low breastmilk supply and look for or need a way to help increase their breastmil
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Comments
Great information, I hope others read it, it is both helpful for the baby as well as the mother.
yep this is helpful. thks
Thanks for your comments. I'm glad the information is useful and I truly do hope it can help those looking for it!
So very good informations! I had to much milk so the hospital wanted to have for babys that was to small, or to early born. They were storing it in the freezer. About not having milk enough, I had that problem with my first baby. After two or three weeks I had to breastfeed every half hour. But after a week or toI had more than enoght. So don't give up.
This helped so much! I am a first time mother just brought him home five days ago :) and I have had problems breatfeeding as far as questions go, but this answered my question and then some!!
Something all pumping moms need to know. Exhaustive guidelines. Why don't you add a link to pumpingmoms.com?
@Yasmina - That was so nice of you to leave extra milk for the babies in the hospital! I wish I had the too much milk problem, but so far I've always had just enough :) It does vary from child to child though.
@peace&love - Aww, well congrats on your newest addition. I'm glad this info was helpful to you. I just found out I'm pregnant with my third! And my 1 1/2 yr. old is still nursing - this should be fun...
@Mousey - I had never heard of that sire and I just checked it out, but there's nothing but ads on it. Maybe you included the wrong link?
Sorry- I meant pumpingmoms.org
I have a question about refreezing or rerefrigerating breast milk. If i defrost breast milk in fridge from freezer and warm it up and my child only uses 2 out of 4 ounces is ok to put the remaining amount in the fridge for later use.Or if i use the breast milk from the freezer straight to warming it up and she uses only 2 out of 4 oz can i refrigerate it. Basically can breast milk be used refrigered after use to use again.
From what I understand, frozen and then thawed breastmilk should be used within 4 hours of defrosting, regardless of if it was all used or not. In the case you mentioned with your child only drinking some and then re-refrigerating the rest for later use, you should know you run the risk of contaminating the breast milk, so I would just dispose of it. That's not to say I haven't done it in the past, and if you have don't worry too much - but based on info I've researched on it, it's not a good idea to do it that way just to keep baby safe.
I know it sucks to waste breastmilk, so if you think that it may not all get used in one feeding, use only what you need or try to freeze in smaller quantities so that you don't waste any. One ounce breastmilk storage containers are great for that reason. But especially after you've warmed the milk, from what I understand, you really shouldn't re-refrigerate and try to reuse it. But, should you try, it needs to be used within 4 hours, max.
I am not a lactation consultant, only a mother who has and is still breastfeeding, so if you can, contact a consultant to be sure. Most hospitals keep one on staff in their mother-baby unit and you can generally call your local one and ask for free any questions or concerns you may have. WIC also staffs consultants that are happy to answer your questions. Here's a link where you can find one by your state: http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/Contacts/cooralpha.htm
Hope that helps!
Thanks for this hub. It has great info for mommas who are new to breastfeeding.
















HippieMama says:
2 years ago
Great article! I think it's cool that we've got hubs that are resources for moms. Keep 'em coming! Cheers, HippieMama (PS My hub "Weaning Mama" might be interesting for you....I don't usually plug my own hubs - really! - but it seems so related!) Cheers, HippieMama