How to store and use expressed breast milk. How to store breast milk in a bottle after pumping: how long, what temperature and the best place to store it

12.09.2019

A mother who feeds her newborn baby with her own breast milk provides the baby with good immunity and frees herself up the time needed to sterilize the bottles. But there are situations when a woman needs to express milk for further feeding.

4 Reasons You Need to Pump

Use breast milk is much better than formula, but only if a responsible mother knows how to store expressed breast milk and observes all the nuances of storing natural and healthy food for the baby.

Naturally, breastfeeding directly is much more convenient for the mother and more emotionally beneficial for the baby. When it is necessary to express breast milk, a woman decides for a wide variety of reasons, the most common of which include:

Forced absence of mother for a long time. A woman can undergo treatment, go to work or leave home to resolve the necessary issues. In such situations, the burden of feeding rests with the next of kin, and if there are several bottles of mother's milk in stock, then you can not worry about the satiety of the baby and his health.
Problems with breasts and nipples in a nursing mother. Cracks in the nipples are very painful, and when the baby sucks the breast for half an hour or more, the wounds heal for a very long time. By transferring the baby to a bottle of breast milk, it will be possible to heal the nipples in two to three days.
Baby's refusal to breastfeed. Some babies have a weak sucking reflex and therefore it is easier for him to drink from a bottle.
Insufficient lactation. Constant pumping stimulates the mammary glands, which leads to the production of the required amount of milk. Having expressed even a few milliliters of milk, the mother will be able to supplement her child with it at the next feeding.

Expressed breast milk can be fed to the baby for several months. How long expressed milk is stored is the main issue that worries a nursing mother.

Subject to all storage conditions milk does not spoil in the freezer for up to six months and retains all the nutrients and trace elements necessary for the body.

On expressed milk, many mothers cook porridge for the baby.

6 important pumping steps

There are models of breast pumps that express milk directly into bottles.

Before storing milk, it must be properly expressed.

The quality of milk depends on compliance with all stages of pumping., its taste and sterility.

Breast milk can be expressed using hands or a breast pump. If you decide to use a breast pump, then you need to buy one that provides for boiling and sterilization.
Before expressing, hands and breasts should be washed with soap and dried well.
Express milk only into a clean, washed container.
Milk containers must be marked with the date and time. This is necessary in order not to make a mistake with the storage period in the future.
Do not fill the container to the brim. When frozen, milk expands and may overflow from the rim of the bottle.
There is no need to boil milk before freezing.

Where to store expressed breast milk?

If you decide to express and store milk, you need to choose the right container.

Plastic, ordinary bottles are not suitable for these purposes..

In order to maintain complete sterility, human milk is placed and stored:

In medical containers made of polypropylene with hermetically sealed lids. You can buy such containers in pharmacies or by looking at a specialized section of the online store.

These containers are labeled to indicate that food can be placed in them and frozen.

In glass bottles and baby food jars. Such containers must be sterile, and their lids must be tight.

Buy special packages produced specifically for storing mother's milk.

These bags are sold sterile, tightly sealed, and many types can be directly attached to a breast pump. On the outside of the packages there is a special information field for writing the date and time.

Another undoubted the advantage of such containers is the small volume of the freezer required for their storage.

Expressed milk is usually bluish in color, but may change to pink or greenish. Color change depends on .

You can not store milk if the mother is already on medication, since it is not known what processes will occur during long-term storage. They do not express or store milk if the mother is sick, has drunk alcohol before, or cannot give up the bad habit of smoking. It is also necessary to transfer pumping to prepare milk for storage when the milk becomes pinkish due to the ingress of blood microelements from cracks in the nipples.

Doctor Komarovsky advises choose different containers for storing expressed milk. If you only need to supplement your baby, you will need only 30 to 70 ml. If you plan to replace a whole feeding with expressed breast milk, then it should be from 120 to 180 ml in a bottle.

How and how much to store?

How to store expressed breast milk? Another issue that needs further clarification.

Cooked in containers milk can be stored directly in the room, in the refrigerator or freezer Naturally, the timing of its exposure will be different.

Expressed breast milk at room temperature up to 25 degrees, milk can be kept in a clean container for up to 6 hours. If the temperature is not higher than 22 degrees, then storage reaches 10 hours.
In the refrigerator, on the shelves, where the temperature is maintained at 0-4 degrees, milk is stored for up to 8 days. Remember no need to put it in the door.
In the freezer, located directly in the refrigerator, that is, without a separate door, human milk remains sterile for two weeks.
In freezers with a separate door, milk can be stored for up to 4 months.
In freezers with deep freezing and temperatures up to minus 19 degrees, human milk retains all its properties and sterility for six months.

If you need to take expressed breast milk with you on the road in the summer, then you need to purchase special portable refrigerators. Storage in such containers depends on the temperature inside the chamber.

Try to breastfeed your baby for as long as possible and the chances of seeing will be minimal.

The main parameter for the safe storage of expressed milk is the creation of the necessary conditions.

Before freezing in the freezer, the container with milk must first be cooled for two to three hours in the refrigerator and only then placed in the deep freezer.

How to prepare such milk for feeding?

Stored in the refrigerator or freezer milk before feeding must be warmed up and it must be done correctly.

Unfrozen milk is heated in a special heater or in a container with hot water. It is not recommended to do this in a microwave oven, as some of the beneficial microorganisms die, and individual layers of milk are very hot and can burn the baby.
Taken out of the freezer frozen milk is first kept in the refrigerator for it to melt. This will save all the useful trace elements. After the milk has melted, it is also heated directly in the container in water or in a heater.
After heating, the milk must be shaken well to mix all the particles homogeneously. When frozen, the fattest part of the milk collects on top of the bottle, and the liquid remains at the bottom. Stirring milk, achieve its uniformity.
After heating, you need to determine whether the milk is suitable for consumption. If the product has gone bad, it will have a sour smell.
In some cases, after freezing, the milk acquires a soapy smell that occurs due to the separation of fatty acids. You can get rid of this smell by boiling. Such milk will retain nutritional value, but will lose some of the necessary trace elements.

Thawed milk is not re-frozen, it is stored up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. If the baby did not drink the milk completely, then it must be drained immediately, not leaving it for the next feeding.

Storing human milk creates additional convenience for the mother and for the whole family.

When expressing and storing it is important to always observe cleanliness and all conditions for safe exposure product. Despite the convenience and sterility, pediatricians advise using frozen milk in cases where this is really necessary.

How to express breast milk, the better - with your hands or with a breast pump, how to store it, at what temperature - all these questions are important because wrong actions can cause difficulties and health problems for a mother or her child.

How long you can store expressed breast milk depends on temperature conditions. If we are talking about a freezer, then this is about six months. Since the temperature there is from 18 degrees below zero. But this is subject to the absence of defrosting. If the milk has been defrosted at least once, it is recommended to give it to the child immediately. You can't freeze again. How long frozen breast milk can be stored is also influenced by factors such as whether the freezer has its own door. In practice, it turns out that the most reliable and safe option is a separate freezer. By the way, in it you can also freeze fruits and vegetables for the winter for yourself and your child - recommended by doctors and economically from a financial point of view. And in this way, expressed breast milk in the freezer can be stored for more than six months. Such a long period of time is very suitable for “non-dairy” working mothers, they do not have too many milk supplies, and they often have to leave the house.

How to freeze expressed milk correctly? There is nothing complicated here. You only need a convenient and sterile container. It can be either a simple bottle or special bags. You can buy such packages at the pharmacy. It is clear that if you need to harvest a lot of milk, then you will not get enough bottles. The only option left is packages. How to defrost breast milk in bags from the freezer will also not cause difficulties. It is necessary to warm the bag under the tap. Or just put in warm water, and before feeding the baby, pour the milk into a bottle. The ideal breast milk temperature for bottle feeding is 37 degrees. "Measuring" the temperature is simple. Pour milk into a bottle, mix lightly (lightly because air bubbles can get into the milk, which will cause the baby to burp). Then put a little on the elbow. He should not feel warm or cold. That is, in this way the optimal temperature is determined - the body. Storing breast milk in the freezer can lead to some loss of nutrients, beneficial trace elements, so if there is no special need, it is better to do without freezing. If you still had to, then it is better to use it in the future for the manufacture of milk porridge.

And how long is breast milk stored after pumping in the refrigerator, at a standard temperature slightly above zero? In this matter, the opinions of our and foreign pediatricians differ. Our advise to leave no more than a day, and foreign say that storage is acceptable for eight days. In the refrigerator, expressed milk can be stored in any clean container. Even in a covered glass mug, if that's convenient.

And what to do when you need to feed a child outside the home, for example, in nature, where there are no cooling technical devices? Outside the refrigerator at room temperature, expressed breast milk can be stored for 10 hours, but only at favorable temperature readings - 22 degrees, or even lower. In hot weather - 4-6 hours. Although there is a way to slightly extend its shelf life - this is the use of a cooler bag. The period for which expressed milk can be stored without a refrigerator is important, because, as in any milk or sour-milk drink, pathogenic microorganisms begin to multiply when heated. Did you smell bad? Do not offer this bottle to your baby!

Breast milk is stored only in a sterile container. Wash it in advance with a safe detergent for children's dishes or laundry soap. Then sterilize. It is better to boil for a few minutes. Always follow the recommendations on how to store breast milk in the refrigerator, then your baby will not be at risk of intestinal infections. After all, it is not just that they say that cleanliness is the key to health.

As you can see, there are a lot of nuances. And if for you pumping breast milk is just a way to provide yourself with more freedom, not to tie the baby to the chest, think again - is it worth it? Bottled expressed milk for newborns is undoubtedly much healthier than formula. But with regular bottle feeding, the baby will most likely refuse to breastfeed. And on pumping, natural feeding will not last long. And even those significant periods of time that breast milk is stored at room temperature, in the refrigerator, in the freezer, will not save at least from supplementary feeding with a mixture, mixed nutrition. Lactation will fade. Yes, and a close emotional connection with the child will be lost. By the way, in practice, it turns out that giving a breast to a child is much easier than performing a lot of actions on pumping, sterilizing bottles, warming them up, and maintaining perfect cleanliness. Small children who eat from a bottle are more likely to suffer from colic, as they swallow a lot of air when feeding. And warming up milk does not have a positive effect on its properties. Rather, on the contrary. If you overdo it with warming up, vitamin C will be destroyed. And with regular such violations, the child's immunity may suffer.

Wean your baby from the breast only when natural feeding is not possible.

Everyone knows about the benefits of mother's milk for babies and a lot has been said about it, so there is no doubt that mother's milk cannot be replaced with the best infant formula. But what to do if the mother needs to leave for a couple of hours, and the child will soon be fed? Do not worry, your baby will not starve, because milk can be expressed and stored in a special container. But not everyone knows how to store expressed breast milk so that it does not lose its unique properties? We will talk about this and much more today in our article.

Some mothers forget about breastfeeding their baby if they have to leave the house for a short time or for a longer time. But why formula feed your baby when you can express your own milk? Many young mothers do not yet know how to properly express breast milk and therefore are afraid of such a process, thinking that they will harm either themselves or the baby. But for the female breast, there is nothing wrong with that.

Expressing milk from the breast is harmful only if the woman has cracks on the nipple. If you are so afraid of such a thing - consult a doctor and everything will fall into place.

Reasons why you need to express milk

Expression of breast milk is carried out in the following cases:

if the mother has too much milk. But it is not advised to get carried away with this, it is necessary to “unload” the chest only until relief comes. This is especially true immediately after childbirth, when there is a lot of it;
if milk, on the contrary, is too little. In this case, pumping is a kind of breast stimulation, it is better to use a breast pump for this or try to put the baby to the breast more often. There is one rule - the more milk you can express, the more it will be in your chest for the next feeding of the baby;
if the mother needs to leave the house somewhere and there is no way to feed the baby at the set time;
if milk remains in the breast after feeding;
during the fight against blockage of the mammary glands. This is expressed as suspicious seals;
mother became seriously ill. It is forbidden to breastfeed the baby for a while, but there are no contraindications for expressing breast milk.

What is the normal fat content of breast milk

Women's milk is completely different from cow's milk. It is heterogeneous and, when settled in a bottle, it has two layers: the upper yellowish layer is fatty milk, and the lower layer will be a bluish-white hue. If you shake the bottle, it becomes homogeneous. When a baby suckles, at first he gets a less fatty meal, which is a drink for him, and only then the fattest milk enters the baby’s body, it is much more nutritious, digested longer and it is with them that the baby is full.

Many mothers worry about whether they have enough fat in breast milk for a baby.

There are reasons for concern:

in a certain period of time, the baby stops gaining the weight necessary for his age;
the baby is more often applied to the breast and sucks it greedily;
when expressing, the mother notices that the milk is bluish and decides that the fat content should be increased.

Normally, 100 ml of breast milk should contain 1.3 g of protein, 4.2 g of fat and 7 g of carbohydrates. Its calorie content, in general, is 280 kJ, and the reason for the low fat content of breast milk is not always the woman's diet. Most often this is a hereditary factor and therefore there are mothers who have it fatter, while others have less fat content. But both of them, quite successfully will be able to feed their child.

Proper technique for hand expressing milk

What to do before pumping

During this process, the woman’s body is not at all what is happening during normal breastfeeding. The body will distinguish from the baby's breast pump and during pumping, the breast is not stimulated enough, so milk production may deteriorate.

To prevent this from happening, mom is recommended to “feed” the body with hot tea with milk before decanting. You can lay out a not very hot towel on your chest or just stand under a warm shower. Before expressing, it is useful to massage the chest, then the process will go faster.

Manual way to express breast milk

Many young mothers are interested in how to express breast milk with their hands. It's very simple and your steps are as follows:

wash your breasts and hands well and massage your breasts a little. Such actions will contribute to the release of the hormone oxytocin, it will expand the ducts and increase milk production;
with one hand grasp the chest from below and slowly press from the base to the nipple. Don't press hard. The thumb and index finger of the other hand are located above and below on the halo, respectively;
Start pumping with your fingers forward. Press on the edge of the nipple from both sides and see that it does not hurt.

Now you know how to express breast milk with your hands. It is worth noting that you need to get used to this process.

Using a breast pump

There are no special recommendations for choosing a breast pump, it all depends on financial capabilities and your desire. But it must necessarily be such that all its components can be sterilized. On some Chinese devices there is a mark “do not boil”, it is undesirable to buy such a breast pump, there is a high risk of infecting the baby.

Whether to buy an electric or conventional device is also up to you. A manual breast pump can be constantly monitored, and an electric device will free you from, albeit a little, but physical exertion. Some models of electric breast pumps can pump two breasts at the same time.

Now let's talk about how to properly express breast milk with a breast pump.

Do you want something interesting?

First of all, preparatory activities:

sterilize and dry all elements of the breast pump;
wash your hands well with soap;
wash your breasts with warm water and massage your nipples, a rush of milk will then be better.

Further, the pumping process differs depending on the model of the breast pump. But in any case, the device must be attached to the chest so that the nipple is in the center. The device must be firmly attached to the skin, otherwise a vacuum will not be created.

Now squeeze the pump of the device and press the piston handle or turn on the switch of the electrical device. Look at the flow of milk - if it is very strong, then you do not need to press the handle or pump the pump until the milk flow decreases. If you use an electric breast pump, be sure to adjust the pumping strength.

Before the end of the process, do another breast massage and direct the last milk droplets to the nipple, because they are the most nutritious. Now you can disconnect the bottle from the device and tightly cover it with a lid and then you will learn how the expressed breast milk is stored. Wash the pump with baby soap immediately after use and set it aside for the next use.

How a breast pump is used to express milk

An interesting way to express milk from the breast

This pumping technique was used by our grandmothers. Sterilize the bottle, cool it a little and apply its neck to your chest. Now you have to be patient and wait for the air to gradually begin to cool in the bottle, and the nipple will be slightly sucked inward into its neck, and the milk will slowly pour. Well, then, you just need to find out how breast milk is stored and stock it up.

It is clear that this pumping technique is absolutely safe, but it will take a long time to work and the bottle cannot be removed from the chest, since the air will immediately come out of it and the procedure will have to be started again.

Proper storage of expressed breast milk

You have already learned everything about the pumping process, and now let's try to figure out how to store breast milk, because even expressed it is much more useful than infant formula and can be stored for quite a long time.

Numerous studies have proven that expressed human milk, which was stored in the right conditions for six months, was far superior in its beneficial properties to many well-known milk formulas for babies. So draw your own conclusions.

Where should expressed milk be stored?

Glassware is considered the best option, followed by solid opaque plastic and opaque plastic vessels. But at the moment, the safest means are special bags for storing breast milk. They are made of dense quality material, very comfortable, they are easy to seal and a big plus is that the bags are sold already sterilized. These breast milk bags even have a special place where you can write the name of the crumbs and the time of pumping.

Storing expressed breast milk in bags

There are also special containers for storing breast milk made of polyethylene or plastic. The cleanest in terms of ecology are polyethylene, they are quite durable and do not emit any harmful substances. Glass containers are suitable for storing milk for a short time in the refrigerator, because such dishes take up a lot of space in the freezer.

Shelf life at room temperature

Many mothers are interested in: how much breast milk can be stored? It all depends on where it is stored.

It is worth noting that breast milk after direct expression will not deteriorate for six or even ten hours without placing it in the refrigerator.

And if mommy needs to leave for 3-4 hours and skip a couple of feedings, then you can have lunch or dinner for the baby and not put it in the cold, but just leave it in the room. A bottle of milk does not need to be heated, and all useful substances are completely preserved. It should be borne in mind that the storage of breast milk at different temperatures in the room will also be different in terms of shelf life, namely:

up to 25 degrees - up to six hours;
up to 20 degrees - up to ten hours;
up to 15 degrees - a day.

Based on these indicators, you can calculate how much expressed milk you can take with you on a trip with your baby and feed him there, and during a walk it is very convenient to use special thermoses for baby bottles that can keep the temperature of milk.

Shelf life in the refrigerator

Now let's figure out how much breast milk is stored in the refrigerator. If you need to leave the house for five or six hours, you can put some of the pumped milk in the refrigerator. Chilled in the refrigerator, it contains much more valuable substances than frozen, and at a temperature below 15 degrees it can be stored for two days.

The expressed milk is poured into portioned bottles and heated as usual before feeding. When heated, it is not devoid of its nutritional and beneficial properties, and you can safely prepare it for five to seven feedings, because you already know how breast milk is stored.

Storing frozen breast milk

If you are leaving for a long time or it was necessary to stock up on milk in order to express it less for a whole week, then you can freeze a certain part in the freezer. But you need to know how much breast milk is stored in the refrigerator in the freezer. After all, you can’t store it for a very long period of time either.

The storage time in a conventional freezer is up to three months, and in deep-freeze chambers it can be stored up to six months.

How to defrost breast milk and how long it can be stored later

The defrosting process proceeds gradually - first, let the milk container stand a little in the refrigerator after the freezer, then just in the room, and then take a container for storing breast milk or a bag and place it under the tap and send a stream of warm water to it. The highest heating temperature is 37 degrees and it is not advisable to exceed it.

There are specially designed heaters for this purpose, which will always be useful to parents when storing breast milk. It must not be thawed by boiling or heated in the microwave. On the container with milk, it is necessary to mark the date and time of pumping, so that when defrosting and freezing various portions, you should not make a mistake with the date. Of course, when frozen, breast milk will lose some of its nutrients, but in any case, it is more useful for the crumbs than infant formula.

Many are interested in how long can breast milk be stored after defrosting? It is stored no more than three days, and the second time it is impossible to freeze. It is normal that the frozen product will change its odor and color, thus certain non-fatty acids will show up when frozen. But you saw that it has a strong sour smell, then the product is spoiled, and immediately pour it out.

So you have learned how breast expressed milk is stored, and now you can, in case of urgent need, create a real milk supply for your baby. The most important thing is to follow all the rules for its storage and then the milk will fully retain all its useful and nutritious properties.

This material is for informational purposes only, before using the information provided, it is necessary to consult with a specialist.

Nature endowed women with the ability to continue the human race. This is not only the birth of children, but also their subsequent breastfeeding. Human milk contains most of the nutrients that are so necessary in the first months of a baby's life. Therefore, mothers are concerned about how to store the expressed milk so that it helps the child grow up healthy.

Why Express Breast Milk

Before moving on to storage, you need to understand why breast milk is expressed. Inexperienced mothers ignore pumping advice, but it helps to establish lactation (the formation of milk in the breast of a nursing woman and the receipt of nutrient fluid by a child). True, it is necessary to stop expressing immediately, as soon as the milk begins to arrive in sufficient quantities to saturate the child during each feeding. If initially there are no problems with lactation, you should not torture yourself once again.

Sometimes a nursing mother may develop lactostasis - the process of milk stagnation in the excretory ducts of the mammary gland. It is provoked by improper attachment of crumbs to the chest, tight clothing, sleeping on the stomach and psychological stress. Usually this pathology is accompanied by a deterioration in the health of the mother. Often the temperature rises up to 40 °C, pain from touching one's own skin. Subsequent feedings are difficult because clogged nipples prevent milk from entering the baby's mouth. Both mothers and hungry children suffer. It is better not to bring your body to such a state, but if trouble has happened, pumping is one of the methods for resuming normal lactation. Do not self-medicate, but seek medical help.

10 years ago, lactostasis caught me suddenly. In just two hours, the numbers on the thermometer jumped from 36.8 to 39.6 °C, chills and a terrible pain in the chest began. The son wanted to eat, but the milk did not come out, making my chest harder than stone. I will not describe the treatment process, but the previously expressed milk helped me a lot, and my son, and my husband, who ran between us, trying to help.

With excess milk production, you can use a manual breast pump, in other cases - its electric version

Just in case, keep a supply of breast milk at home. This helps a lot in unforeseen situations and allows mom to leave if the need arises.

My friend praised herself a thousand times for her forethought when she ended up in the hospital with an attack of cholecystitis when her 3-month-old daughter stayed at home. Firstly, the grandmother, looking after her granddaughter, used previously expressed milk. Secondly, the medicines used in the treatment of Tanya did not get to her daughter.

It is no secret that many modern mothers do not sit on maternity leave for a long time, and in this case, the issue of preserving milk is especially acute. Employers are not particularly eager to let their subordinates feed their children several times a day. Transferring a baby to artificial nutrition if there is milk in the mother's breast is wrong.

If there is a need for pumping during the working day, it is better to cool the milk in a portable thermo bag or in a common refrigerator. To avoid conflicts with colleagues (not everyone likes such a neighborhood with their products), additionally place a container with your breast milk in an opaque container. And don't forget to sign with your last name.

Another friend of mine, who already has four children, immediately after maternity leave starts working as an economist at a large enterprise. She expresses milk in the morning and works fruitfully, knowing that the nanny will give her youngest son a portion of milk in time.

Video: what a newborn loses without breast milk

In addition to all this, mom can set aside time to meet friends or go shopping. And dad - to talk with his baby alone.

How to express breast milk

Our mothers and grandmothers expressed milk with their own hands, sometimes for several hours. We are much more fortunate. Breast pumps, sold in special departments of children's stores and pharmacies, are easy to use and do their job in minutes.

The main thing is to observe sterility:

wash your hands thoroughly before and after pumping;
treat the breast pump with soapy water, rinsing thoroughly so that the soap does not remain on the device;
collect milk in high-quality plastic (made of medical polypropylene, sold in pharmacy chains);
do not forget to put marks on the milk container with the date and time of pumping.

The container with breast milk should be placed against the back wall of the refrigerator and do not forget to sign

Storing expressed breast milk

If we compare the qualitative composition of breast milk and adapted milk formula, it becomes obvious why breastfeeding should be maintained as long as possible. The storage of breast milk directly depends on how soon it will be used. If you plan to use it for several days (up to 8), it is better to simply refrigerate than to freeze. With prolonged exposure to cold, the content of nutrients that affect the formation of the immune system of children decreases. However, in the fight against many infections, frozen breast milk is more effective than artificial mixtures.

In what container should expressed milk be stored:

containers made of high-quality plastic or glass with dense walls;
specialist. bags for storing milk, which are sold in pharmacies.

Do not use disposable tableware, plastic bottles for juices or drinks and containers intended for everyday household needs (cups, mugs, ladles, plastic bags, and so on) for storage. You should not fill the container to the very top, because according to physical laws, when frozen, milk can break the container from the inside, increasing in volume.

Comparison of the compositions of mother's milk and adapted milk formula

How to store breast milk at room temperature

Expressed breast milk is stored at room temperature for up to 6 hours. But it is considered optimal to use within 4 hours after pumping. If the room is very warm, it should not be stored for more than 3 hours in any case. As a result of research, scientists have determined the ability of human milk to cope with the growth of bacteria and not deteriorate for a long time after pumping.

One notable study on this topic was published in 1987 in the International Journal of Childbirth Education. Mature milk was expressed into clean, but not sterile, vessels. The milk was divided into two portions: one portion was left at room temperature (19-22 °C or 66-72°F) and the other placed in the refrigerator for 10 hours. After 10 hours, a bacterial analysis of both portions was carried out. No statistically significant difference was observed in the levels of bacteria in milk from different portions stored at different temperatures.

How to store breast milk in the refrigerator

This method of storage allows you to postpone the use of mother's milk for up to 8 days. But it is better not to leave it in the refrigerator for longer than 3-5 days from the moment of pumping, but to use it earlier. You can not store containers with breast milk in the side compartment (on the door), it is better to put it in a cool area of \u200b\u200bthe refrigerator - towards the inner back wall.

After cooling for 30 minutes, you can add a little milk to the previous batch, making sure in advance that it does not melt the already cooled one. It should be no more than half the volume to which it is added. And no more than a day should pass from the first pumping into this container.

Table: Recommended storage conditions for breast milk for full-term babies

Type of milk	Storage conditions
	Temperature	Shelf life
Colostrum expressed no later than the seventh day after birth.	26–30 °C(room).	up to 12 hours, do not freeze
Mature milk.	up to 15 °C	24 hours
	19–22 °C	until 10 o'clock
	26 °C	5–6 hours
	0–4 °C(fridge).	up to 8 days
Frozen milk.	Up to 2 weeks on the freezer shelf of the refrigerator (without separate door).
	Up to 4 months in the freezer compartment with a separate door. Due to the frequent opening of the freezer, the temperature constantly fluctuates.
	From six months and longer in stationary freezers at constant -19 °C

How to store mother's milk in the freezer

Before being placed in the freezer, milk must be cooled first at room temperature, then in the refrigerator. Just expressed is not recommended to be frozen, like any warm product.

At very low temperatures, milk remains usable for up to 12 months from the time it was expressed. But it is advisable not to store it for more than six months. And be sure to pay attention to the dates on the container, which one to use first.

Special bags for storing breast milk lying in the freezer

Please note that with each day of freezing, the vitamin content in breast milk decreases. And with age, the child needs a new quality composition of milk. That is, by feeding a six-month-old peanut with milk expressed a month after his birth, you will not give him the necessary substances for development and growth.

A single case of such a replacement for fresh milk is not terrible, but the systematic feeding of long-frozen food is a concern. Although I have not yet heard of women who are so inattentive to the health of babies, I consider it my duty to warn.

It makes no sense to fill the camera with your milk, 5-6 servings are enough for unforeseen situations. It is preferable to place milk in the freezer in special storage bags, they do not take up much space.

Video: how to store breast milk

Reheating chilled or frozen breast milk

Breast milk from the freezer is usually thawed in the refrigerator and stored there for up to 12 hours. It can also be defrosted by placing the container in a container of hot water (maximum 60 °C, in no case boiling water).

Re-freezing breast milk is prohibited! Pour out the remains not eaten by the child without regret.

Resist the temptation to reheat or microwave. This method is bad because it is rarely possible to do without overheating, but the lion's share of useful components is guaranteed to be lost. If milk is urgently needed, defrost it under cool, then warm running water or place it in a bowl of warm water.

If a detachment of fat is detected, do not shake the container with milk, but shake it slightly and everything will return to its place.

Dr. Komarovsky about expressing milk by nursing mothers

The famous pediatrician Evgeny Komarovsky is an authority for many mothers. His opinion is valued, and his advice is listened to. In the program dedicated to breastfeeding, the doctor simply could not get around the topic of expressed milk, answering questions from the guests of the studio. Evgeny Olegovich said that properly expressed and stored milk does not lose its beneficial properties. At the same time, I noticed that there is still no need to rush to go to work during breastfeeding. The storage recommendations voiced by Komarovsky are the same as those listed above.

Video: Dr. Komarovsky talks about the properties of expressed milk

As you can see, there is nothing difficult in preserving the beneficial properties of expressed milk. But your children will receive from it the necessary things that will help them grow and develop, just like those who drink milk from their mother's breasts.

Composition of breast milk

Pumping

Storage

Many mothers resort to expressing and preserving breast milk. Some do this occasionally, leaving a portion of expressed milk to the baby for a short absence, others express milk regularly for the future, knowing that they will have to leave for a long time and provide the baby with the most valuable food for him. In any case, information on how to store breast milk after pumping will be useful to most mothers.

Options

A nursing mother can pump at work because even at room temperature, breast milk will not spoil for ten hours. Such milk can be given to the child after returning home or frozen.

To prolong the storage of milk expressed at work, if there is no ordinary refrigerator nearby, a mother can take a cooler bag or an ordinary thermos to work, which is cooled at home shortly before going out (you need to pour ice into the thermos and pour it out before placing it in a container of milk).

A thermal bag with breast milk will be a real salvation if the child goes on a long walk without a mother.

If you are going to feed your baby with your expressed milk in the next two days, it is preferable to store the product in the refrigerator. In this case, you will not need to defrost it. In addition, immune factors in such milk are stored in greater quantities than in frozen milk.

Storing milk in the refrigerator is ideal if your absence does not exceed 2 days

If you are preparing milk that you plan to give your baby in the future (in two days or more), then freezing breast milk is a suitable storage method.

What to store - container options

Express milk only into a clean container. To store milk for a long time, you will need containers that close tightly. They can be made from either glass or plastic. The material of the storage container does not affect the quality composition of human milk.

These containers can be:

bottles,
glasses,
containers,
packages.

When choosing a container for breast milk, it is important to consider the ease of use. So, special plastic bags can be directly connected to the breast pump and take up less space in the freezer. Such bags are made from a fairly dense material and are sold sterilized. They usually have a place where they record the date of harvesting milk.

Special bags for breast milk are very convenient to use and take up little space

Do not freeze human milk in disposable bottle liners. They have fragile seams that can disperse during freezing. If you do not have other containers, use two inserts at once and do not store milk in such a container for a long time.

We take for a walk

To take your expressed breast milk for a walk, you can use a thermos for bottles or a thermal bag. The use of such things is very convenient for mothers who have planned a long walk, during which the baby may get hungry, and there may not be an opportunity to breastfeed.

A thermos for breast milk is a convenient solution for long walks where it is not possible to breastfeed your baby.

A bottle thermos is a solution that will suit you until the end of breastfeeding, because in a thermos you need to change the nipple, adjusting to the needs of the baby

The optimal volume for freezing is 60-120 ml. Such a volume can be used for one or two feedings and not pour out the unused product, since thawed milk cannot be placed back in the freezer.
You can add fresh chilled milk to an already frozen product if the volume of fresh milk is less than the volume of the frozen serving.
Do not store expressed breast milk on the refrigerator door. Place the milk containers inside the main chamber of the device in the coldest place. The storage temperature of the milk must be stable.
In the freezer, milk should also be placed against the far wall.

A large supply of frozen milk should be created in the absence of a mother for a long time. In other cases, let up to 5 servings of the product be stored in the freezer, since fresh milk from mom is still healthier.

If you don't get one full serving when pumping, refrigerate it. The next time you pump, simply refill the container. Please note that this must be done within 24 hours.

Expiration dates

Type of milk	Where is stored	Storage temperature	Storage duration
Colostrum	In a room without a refrigerator	From +19°С to +22°С
	Indoors without refrigeration or outdoors
	In a room without a refrigerator	From +19°С to +22°С
	In a room without a refrigerator		4 to 6 hours
	In a refrigerator	From 0°С to +4°С
	On the freezer shelf of a refrigerator that does not close with a door		Up to 2 weeks
	In the freezer compartment of a refrigerator with a separate door	From -13°С to -18°С	Up to 3 months
	In the deep freezer (separate)		6 months or more
defrosted	In a refrigerator	From 0°С to +4°С
defrosted	In a room without a refrigerator	From +19°С to +22°С

If the expiration date is running out or more than half the time has passed, you cannot increase the expiration date by changing its method. For example, if milk has stood in the refrigerator for more than a day, it can no longer be frozen.

Signs of spoiled milk

If you haven't pumped before, you may be surprised at the external differences between breast milk and cow's milk. Women's milk, when standing, is divided into the upper fatty layer and the lower liquid. This is not a sign that the product has gone bad, and as soon as you shake the container, the milk will again have a uniform consistency.

The heterogeneity of breast milk should not scare you; when shaking, the layers will mix