How to Heat Up Frozen Breast Milk
Storing breast milk in the freezer is an effective way in which to have milk for times when a mother is unable to breastfeed her baby. Since breast milk can be safely stored in the freezer for up to six months, using the freezer to store pumped breast milk provides storage of extra milk for times when others are going to feed the baby or the mother is unable to breast feed directly. Proper thawing and heating up of frozen breast milk preserves properties in the milk that are beneficial to a baby.
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Instructions
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Remove the oldest bag of frozen breast milk from the freezer, according to the date written on the milk bag at the time of storage.
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Place the frozen bag of breast milk in the refrigerator the night before you intend to use it.
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Fill a bowl with warm water from the tap. Take the bag of thawed breast milk out of the freezer and place it in the bowl of warm water.
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Allow the bag of breast milk to sit in the warm water until it reaches the desired temperature. Swirl the bag of breast milk around in the water to distribute heat and mix the milk and cream that has separated during freezing.
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Tips & Warnings
For quicker thawing and heating, hold the bag of frozen breast milk under cool running water. Slowly make the water warmer until the breast milk has thawed and reached the desired level or warmth.
Thawed breast milk can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Avoid heating frozen breast milk in the microwave. Hot spots can form in the milk that can burn your baby's mouth.
Never place thawed breast milk back in the freezer. Discard any unused milk after 24 hours.
References
- LaLeche League International; What are the LLLI Guidelines for Storing my Pumped Milk?; February 2009
- Kids Health; Breastfeeding FAQs: Safely Storing Breast Milk; Larissa Hirsch; May 2008
- CDC; Proper Handling and Storage of Human Milk; March 2010
- Mayo Cliinic; Infant and Toddler Health: Breast Milk Storage: Tips for Storing Breast Milk; December 2009
- Photo Credit Liquidlibrary/liquidlibrary/Getty Images
