How to Properly Handle and Store Breastmilk

Learning how to properly store breast milk is necessary information to acquire while on the breastfeeding journey. It is good to know this information, because you will want to know how to keep it from spoiling when traveling, for childcare, returning to the workplace, after pumping milk, to teach your partner or spouse how to store your milk after feeding your baby and in any other instance that you may think that you need to store your breast milk.

When handling and storing breast milk, ensure that your hands and everything else that comes into contact with your breast milk is clean and dry.

When choosing a container to store your breast milk, hard reusable plastic or glass containers with a tight secure fitting cap is recommended.

Plastic bags that are suitable for storing your breast milk are another great option to use. If you have and are using a breast pump, your breast pump may come with bags for storage. Otherwise there are several manufacturers who make bags specifically for storing breast milk. However the only downside to using bags for storing breast milk are that they can be awkward to handle,may tear and/or leak and can become easily contaminated.

Here is a youtube clip on how to sterilize bottles:

How to sterilize bottles

When selecting what to store your breast milk keep in mind that a good and general guide line to follow is to store the milk in a container that is the size of the amount of milk that your baby will eat at one feeding.

Also label and date each container of breast milk that you have stored. When sending stored milk to child care, clearly write the name in a waterproof,smudge proof marker on the container. It will be of great benefit to send instructions of how to properly store and handle breast milk to your child care provider as well to be on the safe side.

If your baby is hospitalized now or becomes hospitalized while you are breastfeeding him or her write the date, name of the child, and the room number and any other pertinent information.

Now I will inform you on the proper temperatures of which to store your breast milk, and how long you will be able to store your breast milk at these temperatures.

When storing your breast milk in the refrigerator, you may store it there for 3-5 days, if you decide to freeze it however, put it in the freezer immediately.

Milk may be kept for up to 90 days in your standard freezer that is attached to your refrigerator.

In a deep freezer , your breast milk can be stored up to 6 months.

Place your breast milk in the coldest part of your refrigerator and/or freezer (a place other than the door of the refrigerator and or freezer)

When you thaw your breast milk you can do it in the following ways.

• Always thaw it in the container in which you have stored your breast milk
• In the refrigerator
• Run it under warm tap water

Never thaw it in the microwave! This can cause heat pockets to form in the milk,and can severely burn your baby! Also microwaving breast milk can cause very important nutrients to be destroyed.

Also thawed breast milk must be..

• kept cold until being fed to the baby
• used within 24 hours of thawing
• can not be re frozen
• to rewarm breast milk whether it be frozen or refrigerated place in a pan of warm water.

These are the guidelines I go over when working with breast feeding mothers. Do you have any questions about storing and or handling breast milk? If so I would be more than happy to answer any of your questions!