The only food your baby needs for the first six months of life is breast milk, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. You should continue feeding your baby breast milk for a year or for as long as both mother and baby desire. Always feeding your baby from your breast may not be possible. However, your baby needs the freshest milk you can provide, according to La Leche League International. Storing your breast milk properly will help you maximize its antibacterial and nutritional values.
Breast Milk Storage Instructions
Step 1
Wash your hands with soap and warm water before handling your breast milk.
Step 2
Place expressed milk in a clean storage container designed for storing human milk. If possible use screw-cap bottles, hard plastic cups with tight lids, or specially designed nursing bags to store your milk. Bags not designed for breast milk storage can easily rip and leak.
Never store your breast milk in an open container, such as an ice cube tray. If freezing, leave room in the container for the milk to expand as it freezes. Only place enough breast milk for one feeding in each container.
Step 3
Label the container with the date and time you expressed your milk. If taking your milk to a child care facility, also include your baby's name on the container.
Step 4
Chill your milk as soon as possible. You should chill the breast milk within four hours of pumping, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Step 5
Freeze any breast milk your baby will not consume within 24 hours of expressing. While you can store breast milk for up to eight days in a refrigerator with a temperature less than 39 degrees Fahrenheit, if you plan to freeze it, you should do it as soon as possible to keep it fresh, according to La Leche League International.
You can only store breast milk in a freezer that sits inside a refrigerator for up to two weeks; in a freezer attached to a refrigerator that has separate doors for both refrigerator and freezer for three to six months; and in a deep freezer for six to twelve months, according to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Always store in the back of the refrigerator or freezer; never in the door shelves.
Tips and Warnings
- Breast milk can vary in color from bluish to yellowish to brownish. You may notice that the fat in your breast milk separates to the top of the bottle. If this happens simply shake the bottle or sealed bag before giving it to your baby, according to website Family Doctor. You can combine chilled milk with other chilled or frozen milk as long as the quantity you are adding will not fully thaw a frozen batch, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Never refreeze thawed milk. Use the oldest milk first. Transport the milk in a cooler with ice or frozen ice packs, says Palo Alto Medical Foundation.
- The milk storage instructions discussed in this article were designed for mothers of full-term, healthy babies who are storing their milk for home use. Each hospital has slightly different policies on milk storage. If you need to store milk for use while your baby stays in the hospital, ask what storage policies it uses.
Things You'll Need
- Soap
- Warm water
- Screw-cap bottles
- Hard plastic cups with tight lids
- Breast milk storage bags
- Refrigerator
- Cooler with ice or ice packs
- Freezer
- Pen
- Labels
References
- American Academy Of Pediatrics: Breastfeeding FAQs
- La Leche League International: What Are The LLLI Guidelines For Storing My Pumped Milk
- Palo Alto Medical Foundation: Directions For Breast Milk Storage For Feeding Healthy, Full-Term Babies
- Family Doctor: Breastfeeding - How To Pump And Store Your Breast Milk
- Cleveland Clinic: Storing Breast Milk
