Breastfeeding: how to store breast milk? | Featured bio

Are you breastfeeding your baby and sometimes have too much milk? Are you going back to work and need to express your milk to cope with your absences? Whatever the reasons, know that you can completely save your breast milk. However, information concerning its conservation varies according to the sources consulted. Véronique Darmangeat, lactation consultant, refers to the Human Milk Bank of the United States, which established its recommendations from meta-analyses.

Breast milk: variable storage times

At an ambient temperature of 25°C, our expert affirms that the milk can be kept between 4 and 6 hours. It can stay eight days in the refrigerator, if it is well regulated at 4°C. If it is already a little old, refrigerates less well or you open it regularly, reduce the conservation to five days.

In the freezer, your breast milk can be kept for two weeks. Finally, in the freezer, its conservation will be optimal for six months. Between 6 and 12 months, "it will lose some of its properties but they will still be far superior to an infant formula", adds the specialist. If you pump at work, take an insulated cooler and some ice packs with you. You will be able to store your breast milk for 24 hours at 15°C. However, do not accumulate the maximum durations. Thus, do not wait until you have 5 days of conservation in the refrigerator to then freeze your milk.

Choose your container well

"The best container for storing breast milk is glass, but it quickly takes up space, especially in the freezer," explains the lactation consultant. It therefore recommends instead to use bags to stack in the freezer. Ice packs can also be used. They have the advantage of being able to defrost small quantities, as and when required by your baby. On the other hand, avoid sachets if you keep your milk in the refrigerator or if you want to transport it because they are more fragile. For the refrigerator, a simple clean container, preferably glass, that closes will do.

How to warm breast milk?

If the milk was stored in the refrigerator, "it is best to warm it up before giving it, especially if you have an infant. If the milk is too cold, the toddler will have to burn calories to warm up", says the expert. Run your bottle of breastmilk under hot tap water or in a bowl of hot water. If your baby has not finished all of his bottle, you can put it back in the refrigerator until the next meal but not beyond because it has already been warmed up. If you have to go out and you have taken milk that was in the refrigerator , you can keep it at room temperature for two or three hours. No need to bother with a cooler or resort to formulating infant milk. With frozen milk, you need to thaw it gently. "Freezing destroys certain immune factors in breast milk and it is then more fragile, like all frozen foods for that matter", specifies Véronique Darmangeat. The solution? The day before, put your milk to thaw in the refrigerator. He can stay there for up to 24 hours. If you are in a hurry, you can also place it under hot tap water, but it will then have to be consumed immediately.