How to Properly Express and Store Breast Milk

Breastfeeding an important, personal decision many mothers make. Breast milk contains many qualities not easily duplicated in formulas. It is easier for the baby to digest and breastfeeding creates an intimate bonding time for both mother and child.

Even the most avid breastfeeding mother has occasions where she may need to be separated from her baby. Since many women do not wish to supplement with formula, pumping and storing their breast milk will be necessary.

Making the decision to express breast milk for future feedings comes with many questions. How do you properly pump breast milk? How should it be stored? How long is expressed breast milk good?

There are two ways that breast milk can be expressed-manual expression using your hands or by using a pump.

Before expressing milk, either manually or by pumping, always make sure to wash your hands with hot soapy water.

Manual expression of milk is done with your hands. You start by placing a warm towel on breasts to stimulate milk flow and milk "let-down" reflex. Using a gentle circular motion to roll hands forward away from the chest. Release and repeat going around the areola. This should take between three and five minutes. Repeat with the other breast. The more experience that you gain in manual expression, the quicker you can collect the milk.

Using a pump is the choice of many breastfeeding mothers. There are many pumps to choose from including hand pumps, battery operated pumps, and electrical hospital grade pumps.

Hand pumps are usually inexpensive, but some do not work very well. Three different kinds of manual pumps are cylinder, squeeze-handle, and rubber-bulb models.

Battery operated pumps are light-weight and can be used with one hand. The drawback of using a battery operated pump is that you have to keep batteries on hand and the amount of suction changes as battery power decreases.

Electric pumps are hospital grade. These have suction and cycling controls to allow for comfortable expression of milk. Electric pumps do the best job of completely emptying breasts.

Once breast milk is expressed, it needs to be properly stored. The first step for storage is to make sure that you have the proper containers. These should be bottles with tight fitting lids or plastic bags made for milk storage. Medela makes some great plastic bottles for storing breast milk. These bottles are pre-sterilized making it easy to properly store breast milk.

Breast milk is best stored in 2-4oz quantities. This allows for less waste of milk and easier freezing. It also allows the breast milk to retain its properties.

According to the La Leche League International, breast milk is pumped it can be safely kept at room temperature for up to 10 hours. Breast milk can safely be stored in the refrigerator for up to 8 days.

If milk needs to be stored beyond that point, it should be frozen. When freezing breast milk, make sure to leave a little room at the top of the container for expansion of the milk. Breast milk stored in a freezer compartment inside of a refrigerator is good for approximately two weeks. Breast milk stored in a freezer compartment of a refrigerator with a separate opening door is good for up to 3-4 months. When storing breast milk in a refrigerator freezer, make sure that it is toward the back of the freezer. Do not store breast milk in the door shelf, as temperatures vary too much to keep the milk properly frozen. Breast milk stored in a deep freezer is good for 6 months, sometimes longer.

If you are storing breast milk, that means at some point you are planning on using it to feed your child. It is important to know how to properly thaw milk so that it retains its properties.
Breast milk can be thawed by putting it in the refrigerator. It is recommended that the milk be moved from the freezer to the refrigerator the day before it is needed. It takes about twelve hours for milk to completely thaw using this method.

Breast milk can also be thawed in warm water if it is needed for immediate consumption. You can do this by holding the container under running warm water. Gently swirl the container to reconstitute the milk, since breast milk separates into a cream layer and a milk layer when frozen. You can also set the container in a bowl of warm water for about twenty minutes to thaw it.

Breast milk should not be thawed in a microwave. Not only can this cause "hot spots" in the milk, but also destroys the milks properties.

Following these simple instructions for expressing and storing breast milk make a breastfeeding mom's life easier and might just allow for a much needed night out with daddy.