Help! Breastmilk and Breastfeeding questions for the experts

SnowymtnRN · May 19, 2005

My wife just gave birth to our first child. We've read a lot of articles, and have spoken to a lot of nurses, pediatricians, lactatians, and mothers. All of their advises are good, but there just isn't any consistencies. Everyone has a conflicting suggestion with one another. Basically my wife and I would like to know how long can we refrigerate breastmilk. Also, if a frozen breastmilk is thawed in the refrigerator, how long do we have before it goes bad. Another question, if we give our daughter 4oz of breastmilk but she only drank 2oz of it, can we save the remaining breastmilk in the refrigerator and serve it again to her at a later time. We also read an article that it's best not to freeze breastmilk, instead store them in the refrigerator. Is there any truth to this? Any responses is greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!

1. you can refrigerate breast milk for 48 hours.

2. if you thaw breastmilk, IN the fridge, its good for 48 hours. whenever you allow it to go to room temp, then you need to dispose of whatever you don't use. don't re-refrigerate.

3. i always saved any milk my kids didn't finish from a bottle, but only for that DAY. For example, if i fed my son 2 oz of bm out of a 4 oz bottle, i'd save the leftover 2 oz in the fridge for that day only. And once you reheat a bottle in this case, throw away any after that feeding. you can't feed, refrigerate, reheat and feed, then refrigerate again with the SAME bottle and SAME milk

4. I believe its better to freeze breastmilk. Its good for up to 3 months, and that way you can build up a stash and have it for backup. the wonderful thing about breastmilk is it thaws VERY quickly, like over a minute or 2, so you dont' have to thaw out a whole bunch at once to make up a whole bottle. just thaw out the minimum you need, and if you need to add more its quick and easy.

5. don't thaw breastmilk in the microwave or heat it. It breaks down properties in the milk. Thaw it in a cup of warm NOT HOT water. Will only take a minute or two.

Congrats on your new gift from heaven! Treasure this time, and kudos to you for supporting breastfeeding your children. I breastfed all 3 of mine into their toddlerhood and couldn't have done so without my husband's support.

austin heart, BSN, RN · May 19, 2005

Two good sources are linked below. One of those will have a refrigeration/freezing chart. It is OK to freeze breast milk. If your baby only drinks 2 ounces of the 4 ounce bottle it is not safe to save the other half and feed it to her later. The saliva from her mouth will haved mixed with the milk and bacteria can grow very quickly in the breastmilk or formula.

http://www.lalecheleague.org/bfinfo.html

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/index.html

new_mom26 · May 19, 2005

Hi. Congratulations on the birth of your baby. I just wanted to let you know that I breastfed my daughter for 12 months. I never really did pump and save until I had to have surgery and I wasn't going to be able to nurse my daughter since, I would be in the hospital. I know you can freeze breast milk and save it for 3 months. Thats what I did also when I was trying to build up a supply for my daughter. I was told by the doctor to freeze the breast milk incase I didn't need it right then I could save it for a later time. I also wrote the date on the storage bag and when I did need it I used the oldest date first. Also, when you need to thaw it you can put the bag in a warm bowl of water. I was told that if there was any breast milk left over after the feeding to discard it immediately b/c of possible bacteria growth. I was worried also about getting all kinds of mixed information so, I contacted the local W.I.C. Office (Women, Infants and Children) and also the La Leche League in my area and they were very helpful in helping answer my questions. Just one more little bit of information if you plan on breastfeeding and also supplementing with a bottle when you can't breastfed a good bottle (so the baby won't get nipple confusion) to use is "Avent Naturally" You can find it at Target or Toys-r-Us or your local drug store like Wal-greens. Thats the bottle that my doctor recommend that I use so my daughter wouldn't get confussed b/c she was easily confussed at first and I had trouble getting her to latch on. Anyways, I hope this answers some questions for you. My daughter is now 22 months old and will be turning 2 in July. I can't believe she is almost 2!!! Enjoy everyday because it is truely a gift from god..

prmenrs, RN · May 19, 2005

When I have a pregnant friend or relative, I always give them a copy of Breastfeeding for Dummies. Very good info, actually fun to read.

appleorchard · May 30, 2005

When I have a pregnant friend or relative, I always give them a copy of Breastfeeding for Dummies. Very good info, actually fun to read.

I wrote the book!

SnowymtnRN · May 30, 2005

I much prefer the Dr. Sears Breastfeeding Book. LOVE that book!

Littlewonder · May 30, 2005

The one thing to remember about freezing milk versus refridgeration, is that some of the antibodies are killed in the freezing process. So when I pump for my son, I put enough for the next day in the fridge and then I put any extra in the freezer. That way too, he is getting all the antibodies he needs from the things he is exposed to now. If you use the oldest milk first, he might be partially protected from a flu three months ago and not protected from a current cold virus going around!