Storage of breast milk after pumping: storage time and temperature. Shelf life of breast milk in the refrigerator, freezer and at room temperature

The birth of a premature baby, the baby does not know how to suck independently.
Illness of a child when he cannot suckle at the breast (neurological diseases, congenital malformations). You need to pump, imitating the baby's feeding regimen.
Separation from a child. To maintain lactation, you need to express at least 1 time in two hours.
In the postpartum period for the formation of lactation. Pumping is recommended once an hour - an hour and a half.
With the threat of developing mastitis, pumping is recommended at least once every two hours.
Pumping during hot flashes to relieve the condition. It is very important that the pumping time should not exceed 5 minutes. This should be done until the breast becomes soft and the baby can take it himself.
Problems with breastfeeding (psychological, including) on the part of a nursing mother, or when nothing remains (the child stubbornly refuses to breastfeed).

In this case, it is important not to stimulate, but to make sure that the baby can suck on his own.

If you have come to the decision to express breast milk, you need to learn a few important storage rules that will preserve all the properties of milk.

What needs to be stored?

proteins. Especially a lot of them in colostrum (it is released the first 3 - 5 days after birth). Make up proteins up to 14% of the total volume;
immunoglobulins;
hormones and hormone-like substances;
antioxidants;
immune defense factors;
carbohydrates, part in the form of lactose - 7%;
fats - up to 4%;
water - about 80%.

What can be milk?

It is important to understand that the composition of milk is not constant. It changes regularly depending on the age of the crumbs and his needs, the time of day, the features of the day regimen and the mother's diet.

The so-called foremilk is just as different from the hindmilk. The anterior has a lot of water and carbohydrates, the posterior has a lot of protein and fat. That is why some experts do not recommend quickly changing breasts during feeding, but letting the baby suck everything to the drop.

Thus, the expressed milk will always look different. The color of milk can be from white-bluish to light yellow. If mom has cracked nipples, the milk may be pink.

If the milk stands a little, it is divided into fractions. From above it is thicker, below it is almost transparent.

The smell of milk is usually sweetish, after storage and defrosting, it may change.

It happens that after defrosting milk smells like soap. In this case, it must be boiled, but then the beneficial properties of milk will be partially lost. Boiling milk is not recommended, the best option is to store freshly expressed milk in the refrigerator. Storage for a long time in the freezer is acceptable.

If the milk smells sour or looks sour, discard it.

What to store?

Storage tanks:

glass bottles. It is desirable that they have measured risks;
plastic bottles, made of transparent and opaque plastic;
special bags for storing milk.

How to store expressed breast milk in a bottle, bag and plastic?

Each of these containers has its own characteristics. All of them are designed to protect milk from the loss of useful properties, but with certain reservations:

Milk storage bags are sold sterile. They have a place to sign the date and time of expressing and freezing milk, they are convenient to store in the freezer, as they take up little space. But the seams of the bag sometimes tear when defrosting, and the milk flows out.
Glass bottles are ideal for freezing, but some authors believe that they are not at all suitable for storage in the refrigerator, as some of the leukocytes “stick” to the glass.
Plastic utensils. The advantage of this dish is that some of the bottles are directly connected to the breast pump and have a tight-fitting lid. And also this container is suitable for freezing.

How to store at room temperature

In the case when a mother goes to work or school and at the same time wants to keep breastfeeding, but there is no refrigerator in the room where she works, there are several storage options:

Use of special thermoses for bottles.
Thermal bag. For such a case, it is very convenient.
If there is nothing at hand, and you plan to stay at the workplace for a short time, you can put the milk where it is cool and dark. It will not deteriorate up to 6 hours at a temperature not higher than 18 - 19 ˚Ϲ. You can store milk at room temperature (22 - 24 ˚Ϲ) for no more than 4 hours.

You need to take care of storing milk in advance. Prepare a storage container, refrigerants or ice. Please note that it is recommended to store milk at room temperature in a sterile container.

Refrigerator Rules Every Mom Should Know

In order for milk not to lose its beneficial properties, it is necessary to properly express and store milk.

How to express milk correctly? There is a certain algorithm:

before pumping, do self-massage of the breast;
take a contrast shower;
wash your hands;
express your chest gently.

Fresh breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator at 4 ˚Ϲ for 6 to 8 days. If you are going to use breast milk after 8 days, it is best to freeze.

Do not store milk on the door as the temperature changes when the refrigerator is closed and opened, select a constant temperature zone.

Milk should only be stored in the refrigerator in the labeled milk container. It should contain the date and time of pumping to determine the shelf life of milk.
It is advisable to keep different portions of milk in different containers and mix only when feeding, if necessary.
Don't store large portions. Ideally, portions should be up to 120 ml, so as not to pour out a lot if the child does not finish eating.

Freezer storage rules

Breast milk can be frozen. In this case, the frozen product can be stored at -15˚C for two weeks. If the freezer has a separate chamber with a constant temperature of -18˚C, then milk can be stored for up to 3 to 6 months.
Breast milk does not lose its properties when frozen. But with improper storage and defrosting, it deteriorates.
The container in which you will freeze milk should not be filled to the top, especially for bags. When frozen, the liquid will expand and may break the container.
Use older milk to avoid sour milk.

How to properly defrost?

Let's discuss how to thaw and warm expressed breast milk and what you should tell the person who will stay with your baby and feed him.

Frozen milk should be taken out of the freezer and put in the refrigerator. It is better to do this 12 hours before feeding.
Chilled or thawed milk should be heated either under running water or in a water bath, gradually raising the temperature of the water. Warming up in special devices for heating milk is possible.
Do not heat breast milk in the microwave or directly on the stove.
Thawed milk can be stored up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. It can only be frozen once.
When milk is in the refrigerator, it is divided into fractions. Before heating the milk, take the bottle and gently stir the milk without shaking it.
Do not boil breast milk.
Don't forget to sign your pumping dates.

Follow these simple tips, and your baby will always be provided with high-quality food - breast milk. And even in those moments when a nursing mother will need to leave.

Expressing breast milk is a way to combine breastfeeding with an active lifestyle. How long is breast milk stored at room temperature and how to store it correctly?

Mother's milk is the healthiest food for a newborn baby. In addition to vitamins and trace elements, it contains antibodies that protect the baby from diseases. That is why infant formulas are less preferred. They contain proteins, fats, carbohydrates, essential trace elements, but no anti-infective substances. The World Health Organization recommends that mothers continue to breastfeed until 2 years of age. Pediatricians and mammologists talk about the need for breastfeeding for up to a year.

What if the mother needs to go to work, but wants to keep breastfeeding? Expressed breast milk will come to the rescue. Mothers who try to lead an active lifestyle after childbirth often resort to pumping. Any member of the family looking after the child in the absence of the mother will be able to feed the baby.

How to store expressed breast milk

It can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. It is more convenient to leave in small containers up to 200 ml. There are special bags for storing breast milk in the freezer. Their advantage is that they are compact. They are convenient to place, especially if you make large stocks. The bags are sterile and do not require additional disinfection. The downside is they are disposable. Sold in a set of 20-25 pieces, the price starts from 450 rubles per pack. Typically, bags are available in 100 ml, 150 ml and 180 ml volumes.

Containers are available for storing expressed milk. They can be used many times, but they take up a lot of space. The advantage of expressed breast milk containers is that they are compatible with breast pumps. This is very convenient for the mother: you express directly into the storage container and then simply close it with a lid. No need to pour and sterilize additional containers. The volume of such containers is usually:

180 ml
200 ml
150 ml.

Additionally, they can be used to heat meat or vegetables when complementary foods are introduced.

Remember to label each storage container with the pumping date and the freezing date. It is more convenient to do this on bags: write with a regular marker or felt-tip pen. But this is not always possible on containers: sometimes felt-tip pens do not write on them. If you bought a container on which you can write the date with a felt-tip pen, then there is always a risk of not erasing it later. And you can't use it again. Therefore, it is better to stick a small sheet with dates on the container with tape.

Shelf life of breast milk

It is impossible to answer the question of how long breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator. This period depends on the temperature conditions in which it is stored. If you prefer to store breast milk in the refrigerator, then the period will be up to 8 days. Make sure the temperature in the refrigerator is positive, not higher than 4 °C.

The shelf life of breast milk in the freezer is very different: from 14 days to 1 year. If your freezer temperature is -20 ° C, then you can safely stock up for a year. There are refrigerators in which the freezer compartment with a common door. In this case, milk can be stored for up to 2 weeks. In the freezer with a separate door, the shelf life will be up to 6 months.

The temperature there should be no higher than -5 °C.

There are times when mom needs to go away for a while. Is it possible not to freeze milk, but to leave it at room temperature? How long will it keep fresh? If the room is not higher than 15 ° C, then you can store for about a day. If not higher than 25°C, then up to 6 hours.

Even if you strictly follow all storage rules, always check the freshness of milk before feeding. How to determine that it has deteriorated? The smell will be unpleasant, and the taste will be sour or bitter. If it is fresh, it will be sweet. If you see a thick layer at the top of the jar, don't worry. It hasn't gone bad, just the fat has come off. This is normal. Many family members may notice that the milk is translucent or has a bluish tint to the mother. Don't worry, it's fresh but low in fat. Check with your pediatrician if you need to adjust your diet. If something worries you, it is better to pour the product so as not to harm the child.

It is important to provide the right conditions not only for storage, but also for pumping. If you express with your hands, wash them thoroughly before doing so. The use of a breast pump is preferable. With this method, there is less risk of microbes entering the container. It is necessary to decant in a pre-sterilized dish. Do not use household jars or bottles, buy special containers. They should be marked that they do not contain bisphenol A. If you prefer to store your expressed milk in special bags, additional sterilization is not required. After pumping, immediately place the container in the refrigerator or freezer. You should pump as many times as you need. If the baby is not full or gaining weight poorly, then do this after each feeding and between them. If there are no problems with the weight of the child, then only when the breast is very swollen.

Try to fill the container with as much milk as your baby needs for one feed. For infants, the norm is:

1-2 weeks - 80-90 ml;
1 month - 110 ml;
2 months - 150 ml.

A child aged 3-4 months can drink from 150 to 180 ml per feeding. For children from six months to a year, the norm is 210-240 ml. Keep in mind that these figures are arbitrary, because each child is individual. Thawed milk can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Reheated do not freeze, and unused should be discarded.

How to properly use expressed breast milk? If you stored it in the freezer, then first move the container to the refrigerator until completely defrosted. After that, you can warm up and feed the baby. The most convenient way to heat milk is to place it in a baby food warmer. Then you will need this device to heat meat and vegetable purees. You can simply put the container of milk in a bowl of hot water. It is also recommended to heat breast milk in a water bath or in a microwave oven. This is not worth doing, as it is difficult to control the temperature. And heating in a water bath will also take a lot of time. The temperature of milk for feeding the baby should be 37 ° C.

Do not boil breast milk! So its useful properties will disappear.

Which of the ways how to store breast milk is more convenient, each mother decides for herself. The main thing is that now there are enough opportunities to preserve natural feeding.

All mothers know the benefits of breastfeeding. But there are situations in life when the baby needs to be left with the grandmother, and leave for the evening or for a few days. What if it is impossible to take the baby with you, but you don’t want to give up breastfeeding? Questions immediately arise. How to store breast milk for the future, while not losing its beneficial properties? Can expressed milk be stored in the refrigerator and freezer? The answer to both questions is: yes, you can! Before expressing milk, remember that it must be done with love, very carefully and only with clean hands.

Mom's breast milk can keep fresh for a long time, but if you do not plan to use it within an hour, it is better to put it in the refrigerator. No matter how surprising it may sound, but breast milk can retain its beneficial properties and quality for about a week, while in the refrigerator. And how to store breast milk for a longer period? In the freezer! When frozen, milk will lose some of its beneficial properties, but will still be a substitute for purchased mixtures.

In order to properly freeze mother's breast milk, it must first be cooled. To do this, put it in the refrigerator for 5 hours. It is strongly not recommended to use previously defrosted breast milk for re-freezing. After thawing, milk should be consumed within 1 hour, but it can be stored in the refrigerator for another 10 hours. If your freezer is equipped with a temperature regime of -17 -20 degrees, then you can store breast milk for up to six months.

Can I store expressed milk in the refrigerator or freezer?

It is best to store expressed breast milk in a brand new glass bottle or a bottle made of thick, high-quality plastic. Before use, it is necessary to sterilize the bottle and indicate the date of freezing in order to know how long breast milk can be stored. In addition, modern innovations do everything for the convenience of mother and baby. In stores, you can find special packages and containers designed to freeze breast milk. They are initially sterile and completely safe for storing mother's breast milk.

Keep in mind that after defrosting milk may slightly change color and smell - this is normal. It is also normal for defrosted milk to separate if not used immediately. This is due to the fact that the cream rises and to return it to its former appearance, just stir it slightly. In no case should frozen milk be subjected to sudden defrosting - this will destroy all the useful substances in milk. First, put the frozen breast milk in the refrigerator, and then hold it at room temperature for a while. To warm the milk, you need to lower the bottle with thawed milk into a container with warm water (about 36 degrees). Boiling breast milk or heating in the microwave is unacceptable.

Breast milk is the best food for a newborn. It provides the baby with good immunity, saves parents their money and time. There are times when a new mother needs to be away for a while. But you can’t leave the baby without food. Then the nursing mother simply expresses her breast milk into a bottle. It is important to know how and where it should be stored.

The first thing you need to pick up is a bottle or other container for storing expressed milk. It is safest to buy them in pharmacies or specialized departments of children's goods. Such dishes have passed all the necessary quality checks and meet the standards. Milk storage containers can be of several types:

Glass. Ideal for storage, but afraid of sudden temperature fluctuations. For example, if you put a cold bottle in hot water, the glass may crack. Requires careful handling.
Plastic. Such a bottle is resistant to temperature changes, but is one step lower in quality compared to glass containers.
Plastic. It tolerates temperature fluctuations well.
Special packages for storing expressed milk, produced by manufacturing companies.

One bottle should have a volume of about 100 ml. This is how much a baby can eat in one feeding. Frequent manipulations with expressed breast milk (heating, cooling, opening and closing the container) can lead to spoilage. Golden rule: for one feeding - one bottle.

The note! If there are several bottles, be sure to stick a piece of paper on each of them indicating the date and time of pumping.

It is very important to observe the temperature regime for storing milk. If these norms are violated, it will deteriorate and become unsuitable for the baby.

Room temperature: 22-24 degrees. At such temperatures, expressed breast milk retains all its properties for 4 hours. The maximum possible storage time without a refrigerator is 6 hours. After this time, the milk is poured out.
Refrigerator: 4-7 degrees. Allows you to store food for babies 4-5 days. The maximum storage time (five days) is possible at a temperature of 7 degrees. When storing milk bottles in the refrigerator, avoid door shelves. Due to the fact that the door is constantly opened and closed, the temperature on them changes. An excellent option would be to highlight the farthest shelf of the refrigerator for milk.

The freezer is a place where breast milk does not lose its properties for up to six months. The exact time depends on the temperature. At -20 degrees, milk does not spoil for six months. If the freezer is equipped with a separate shelf, then the baby's food is safe for three months.
A modern cooler bag can keep expressed milk fresh for exactly one day.
If frozen breast milk is moved to the refrigerator shelf, then it can stand there for 24 hours. During this time, you need to warm the milk and feed the baby.

Destroyed or not?

Every nursing mother needs to know the signs by which she can determine whether breast milk has spoiled or not. The very first and main sign is the smell. If the milk has acquired a sour, rancid smell, then it is gone. If there is no smell, but doubts still arise, you need to taste the milk. A sour or bitter taste is a sign of spoiled milk. Appearance also says a lot. Layering milk into whey and kefir will let mom know that it needs to be poured.

How to freeze and thaw breast milk

Breast milk is frozen no later than the first day after pumping.
Re-freezing of breast milk is strictly prohibited.
Proper freezing of a valuable liquid consists of three stages: expressed milk is hermetically packed in a container, the container is placed in the refrigerator for five hours to cool, then it is put into the freezer.

The note! Can fresh milk be added to already frozen milk? This is possible, although not entirely desirable. The volume of fresh milk should not exceed the volume of frozen. Freshly expressed breast milk is stored in the refrigerator, where it cools in a couple of hours. Then it is poured into a bottle of frozen liquid. This method will prevent frozen milk from thawing.

The storage container must be sterile. To do this, use the device sterilizer. It kills bacteria and makes the container safe for the baby. If there is no apparatus, you can simply boil the bottles.
You can not store milk in a plastic bag, this will negatively affect the composition of breast milk. In addition, such a container is unreliable.
You can warm up cold breast milk in a water bath or under running hot water. The use of a microwave oven and a gas stove is unacceptable. This will lead to the destruction of all the beneficial elements that are contained in breast milk. You can purchase a special safe bottle warmer.
If mom needs to be away for just an hour, there is no need to freeze milk. It is enough to express into a bottle and leave it on the table. Unnecessary defrosting and heating processes are best avoided.
If the baby remains without a breast for five hours, part of the expressed milk should be removed in the refrigerator, and part should be left on the table. The baby will eat several times, with the first portion he will receive the freshest.
The maximum temperature for heating breast milk is 37 degrees. Increasing this indicator will lead to the decay of useful elements.
If the food for the baby suddenly acquired a yellow or gray tint, this is a variant of the norm. Also, milk can change the smell. But the smell doesn't have to be bad!
If there is any doubt about the freshness of milk, it is better not to give it to the child.
Shake the bottle thoroughly before feeding your baby. Milk should have a uniform consistency.

It is important to observe the correct storage conditions for valuable liquid, because it must contain all the nutritional enzymes that the baby needs.

Sometimes, you need to store breast milk. And that means it's important to know how to do it right!

After all, mother's natural milk is ideal nutrition for a child, and most mothers will go to any lengths to maintain natural feeding.

But circumstances may arise when the mother needs to be absent for a long time, and milk must be at hand.

Stocks can be kept in the refrigerator for a very long time, and for a short time - at room temperature.

A woman will only have to express regularly!

So, what storage is optimal, how to correctly freeze milk, and also defrost it.

Where to store breast milk

It turns out that storage is permissible even at room temperature, but the period should not exceed 10 hours.

Therefore, it is best to keep it in the refrigerator. How much time? Useful properties and qualities are stored for about eight days.

When you need to save even longer, freezing in the freezer is allowed. And the longest effect is obtained when freezing at below -18 degrees.

But, when freezing, it should be remembered: a product that is stored in this way loses a number of useful qualities.

Proper storage

Do not put freshly expressed breast milk directly into the freezer.

First you need to cool it in the refrigerator, and then freeze.

try to freeze the product in portions.

Those. divide the entire volume into small portions. And freeze them all separately from each other, so as not to defrost the entire volume later.

do not mix portions of breast milk expressed at different times.

Moreover, this mixture should not be frozen - it is not known how long it will be stored

it is undesirable to store expressed breast milk by placing it on a shelf attached to the refrigerator door.

The liquid should not be placed in a place with an unstable temperature

To avoid confusion, it is best to label breast milk containers.

Label each when milk was expressed

in the freezer, the product is best frozen at the far wall.

This will prevent it from being affected by temperature fluctuations.

milk changes color and smell when frozen.

"Guilty" fatty acids, which change under the influence of low temperatures.

it makes sense to create a "bank" in the freezer only when a long absence of the mother is expected.

Otherwise, five servings are enough: you always have time to freeze the liquid, and it’s more useful for the baby to receive a fresh product from mom

the question of where to put the remnants of the defrosted product should not arise!

Re-freezing is excluded, because the excess must be poured out, not sparing no matter how much milk is left.

Shelf life or how long milk will “live”

Moms who need to freeze a product for babies are worried about another important question: how long can breast milk be stored?

It was noted above: expressed milk can be stored at room temperature, and the lower it is, the longer the shelf life.

The air in the apartment is heated to 22 degrees and above, the milk will last no more than 6 hours.

The temperature is below 22 - the shelf life of "baby food" will be already 10 hours - a temporary maximum under such conditions.

Obviously, if during this time the baby receives its food, then it can not be stored in the refrigerator, which will affect its usefulness.

The product is allowed to be stored for 24 hours and at outdoor temperatures ranging from 10 to 15 degrees.

If you need to leave for a long period, leave it in the refrigerator (from 0 to 4 degrees), and even better in the freezer (-13 - -18 degrees). Expressed milk can "live" up to 6 months, and in a deep freezer - a whole year.

What to freeze

You need to think about how to store milk.

For the convenience of mothers, there are special containers and bags for storage and freezing.

Try not to use baby bottles, as they tend to attract trace elements of the product to their walls, impoverishing the composition.

It is breast milk bags that are good sterile and are the safest for freezing for long-term storage.

They are convenient in that they have different capacities. They do not take up much space in the freezer, making milk storage convenient. In addition, it is difficult to predict how many containers will be needed to store the product, and there will be no problems with packages.

In other cases, the dishes must be sterilized, allowing you to increase the shelf life of the product.

Refuse to store in plastic utensils, because plastic, when reused, can release substances that are unsafe for health.

An exception may be containers made of high quality medical polypropylene - there is a special mark on such dishes.

How to defrost

It is equally important to be able to properly defrost breast milk.

Below are the basic rules of the process:

taking milk bags out of the freezer, it is unacceptable to immediately defrost them in an apartment.

The product must go through all the stages gradually: first, defrosting in the refrigerator, and then at room temperature.

take out as much food from the refrigerator as you need for a single feeding of the baby
after you have finished defrosting the product, it is better to warm it up in a bottle warmer.

Why? When the temperature rises above 37 degrees, it loses its beneficial properties. Those. regular hotplates are very inconvenient to heat, and microwaves destroy some enzymes.