Breast Milk Storage Guidelines

Video Transcript

"Hi I'm Dr. David Hill and today we are going to be talking about how to store your expressed breast milk. Ideally you would have a good breast pump, something that is electric but some people can use a hand pump just fine. Many pumps come with storage bottles or storage containers and otherwise you can purchase special containers for this purpose. I would not advise using other containers around the house or regular bags which can split or leak. Try and get something that is clean and the right size and that you know is going to hold what you need to in a secure environment. Now if you want to use milk within 24 hours of pumping you just keep it in the refrigerator. As long as it is clean and adequately chilled it should be fine. You may even be able to have it there for 48 to 72 hours but certainly if it has gone 3 days, 72 hours, too late, it's time to dump it out. By that time it may be badly contaminated. On the other hand if you know you are storing for a longer period of time go ahead and freeze that milk. You want to put it in a freezer safe container with a closed type, not in an ice tray for example. You want to keep it as cold as you can preferably in the coldest part of your freezer. It is good for about one month in a regular freezer that is part of a refrigerator either a top or bottom loading or a side by side. However, if you have access to a 0 degree deep freeze then you can probably store it for as long as three to six months. The problem with freezing it and storing it for too long a period of time is that the fats within the milk will break down even when frozen. Once you do thaw it back out, you've got about 24 hours to use it before you need to discard it. When you do thaw frozen or chilled breast milk you don't want to use the microwave oven. The microwave oven leads to hot spots which will not only break down some of the important chemicals that may help your baby but may also actually lead to scalding or get the milk hotter than you think it is even the first couple of drops you shake out on your arm may not represent other parts of the bottle. Likewise the microwave if it heats the bottle itself too much may lead to damage to the container. So again you can keep chilled breast milk for 24 hours to as long as 72 hours in the refrigerator but you should discard it after 72 hours. In a regular freezer, it will hold for one month and in a deep freeze as long as three to six months. Always use thawed breast milk within 24 hours of thawing and be careful not to heat it in a microwave oven, use a warm water bath instead. Talking about storing your expressed breast milk, I'm Dr. David Hill."