Breast Milk Storage

How expressed breast milk should be stored

There are many questions asked by mamas when come to the storing of breast milk.

• How long can we keep the expressed breast milk at room temperature?
• Do we store it in the refrigerator or the freezer?
• How long can it last to store in these 2 compartments?
• Can we mix the freshly expressed breast milk with the frozen ones?
• How to thaw frozen breast milk?
• Can the thawed breast milk be frozen again?
• etc...

Keep the Expressed Breast Milk Cold at Work

Expressed breast milk if not feed immediately has to be refrigerated. Once you've pumped your milk at work, store it in the refrigerator or a cooler with frozen ice packs in it.

The refrigerator or cooler can help keep the breast milk cold enough for the day until you get home.

Apportion The Amount Of Milk For A Feed

Once at home, apportion the amount of milk for each feed in separate bottles. Do not store more than one feed in one bottle. As such, you don't thaw more than what the baby needs for a feed.

Frozen breast milk once thawed, cannot be put back in the freezer again. You will end up wasting the milk if the baby can't finish it.

Remember to also label the bottle with the date you expressed the breast milk.

Refrigerate Or Freeze The Milk?

If you plan to use the milk for the next feed or within the next day, put it in the refrigerator. If not, label the bottle with the expressed date and store it in the freezer.

Expressed breast milk can be safely refrigerated for up to 8 days according to studies. But for safety reason, I prefer not to store in the refrigerator for more than 2 days. If I know the milk is not being consumed longer than that, I prefer to freeze it in the freezer.

Frozen breast milk can be stored for about 3 months in a regular freezer and 6 months in deep freezer or chest freezer.

Can Freshly Expressed Milk Mix With Refrigerated or Frozen Milk?

I don't encourage you to do that. If you have to, offer the baby with the thawed refrigerated or frozen milk first, then only the fresh one.

Do not directly mix the 2 types of milk together in one bottle. The mixed breast milk can't be kept again if the baby can't finish it.

Do not also mix the frozen and fresh breast milk and then put back to the freezer again. The top part of the frozen breast milk will thaw when the fresh milk is poured onto it. The entire bottle of breast milk can be damaged.

Thawing Frozen Breast Milk

For next day feeding, I would transfer the frozen milk from the freezer to the refrigerator the previous night. The frozen milk will slowly melt away the next day. For immediate feeding, then run the bottle under running tab water and shake the bottle a little to help speed up the thawing process.

Once the milk is completely thawed, put the bottle in a cup of warm water to warm up the milk. This process may have to repeat several times as the warm water can be cooled off by the thawed milk.

Remember to always use the oldest breast milk first.

Keeping Breast Milk At Room Temperature

Freshly expressed breast milk can be kept at room temperature for up to 6 hours, better no more than 4 hours.

As for frozen breast milk that has been thawed, warmed and partially consumed by the baby, better discard any leftover immediately. I experienced keeping the leftover for only ½ an hour, the milk turned its color and smelled bad.

General Storage Guidelines For Breast Milk

The following are some guidelines for storing expressed milk:

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