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Home › Expert Q&A › Pumping Storing Expression › Pumping › How can I safely store expressed breast milk?

Expert Q&A

 

By Melissa Clark Vickers
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant Moms & Babies Huntingdon, Tenn.

I have been breastfeeding for 5 weeks now, and my daughter will switch easily from breast to bottle. However I am leery about using the bottle, because I am not sure about proper storage of breast milk. Would you please give me info on how to safely store my milk?

Milk storage issues generally fall into one of two questions:

1. How long will pumped milk keep?
Human milk is amazing stuff. It contains living cells – disease-fighting cells – much like human blood, as well as other components that allow it to keep longer than a container of formula or pasteurized cow's milk. The current, research-based recommendations for human milk storage for healthy, full-term babies assume moms have washed their hands and are using clean containers:

At room temperature:

  • Colostrum (milk expressed within 6 days of delivery): 12 hours at 80.6 to 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit (27 to 32 degreesCelsius)
  • Mature milk:
    • 24 hours at 60 degrees F (15 degrees C)
    • 10 hours at 66 to 72 degrees F (19 to 22 degrees C)
    • 4 to 6 hours at 79 degrees F (25 degrees C)

Mature milk in a refrigerator:

  • 8 days at 32 to 39 degrees F (0 to 4 degrees C)

Mature milk in a freezer:

  • 2 weeks in a freezer compartment located inside a refrigerator
  • 3 to 4 months in a self-contained freezer unit of a refrigerator (it keeps longer in the back of the freezer)
  • 6 months or longer in a separate deep freezer at a constant 0 degrees F (-19 degrees C)

Make sure you date any milk you store so you can use the oldest milk first.

2. What should pumped milk be stored in?
Human milk can be stored in plastic or glass bottles, or in specially designed human milk storage freezer bags. Each has advantages and disadvantages. The live cells tend to stick to glass, and some of the fats will stick to plastic containers. The plastic freezer bags designed for human milk storage are convenient because they take up little space, but they are also more likely to leak (if not properly sealed) and must be protected from puncture.

What you should store your milk in depends partly on how much stored milk your baby will get, as opposed to how much he gets directly from you by nursing. If he is getting most of his milk directly from you – which, of course, is ideal – the storage container doesn't matter as much as it would if he is getting a steady diet of stored milk.

Some general rules of thumb:

  1. Thaw frozen milk by running under warm water. Do not microwave or cook milk!
  2. Store in 2- to 4-ounce amounts, so that your baby can be given only what he needs at the time. Don't refreeze milk, and only prepare what you think your baby will use within an hour or so. You can always warm more if he's still hungry.
  3. If you are leaving milk for a babysitter or caregiver to use while you are separated from your baby, ask her to hold off feeding the baby much, if at all, if you are expected shortly. That way you can nurse him as soon as you get there. She can always give him just enough to tide him over until you can get there.
  4. Nurse your baby when you can. This helps maintain your milk supply, and also ensures that he gets maximum disease-fighting protection.

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