Revealing how to properly store breastmilk to ensure your babys milk supply

After the maternity leave, you have to go back to work, every day from 8 to 10 hours away from your baby. If you want your baby to still enjoy a valuable source of nutrients from breast milk, you should immediately apply the method of preserving breast milk and instructions on how to thaw preserved milk in the following article. 

Do you know the benefits of breastfeeding and want to keep your baby's milk supply even after your maternity leave is over? Let's learn how to preserve breastmilk after expressing from aFamilyToday Health so that your baby can use this valuable source of nutrients even though mothers are not often around.

How to preserve and use breast milk after expressing

Remember the following ways to ensure the purity and safety of your baby's breastmilk:

1. How to store breastmilk in the refrigerator

To properly store breastmilk in the refrigerator, you need to follow these rules:

Breastmilk after expressing should be poured into a dedicated milk bag. Then, label on the outside of the milk storage bag, write the date and time of expressing, write the baby's name (if you send your baby to kindergarten).

Store expressed milk in the refrigerator as soon as possible. If this is not possible, leave the milk at room temperature around 26 ° C but be careful to leave it for only 6 hours. Keep away from radiation, sunlight or other heat sources.

Milk can be stored for up to 48 hours in the refrigerator or quickly refrigerated for 30 minutes and then frozen immediately.

Milk will be pure in the frozen state. Milk can be stored for 1-2 weeks when stored in a single door refrigerator, about three months in a two-door refrigerator with mist spray, six months in a refrigerator with -18 ° C.

Divide milk into small bags with a capacity of 80 - 120 ml to minimize cooling time, avoid waste, and when thawed, the milk dissolves faster.

If the power goes out for a long time, you should put the frozen milk bags in an insulated box with ice cubes.

If you do not know how to breastfeed effectively, you can refer to the article  How to effectively breast milk so that your baby has a good source of milk.

2. Thawing and warming breast milk

Based on the milking time, you will take the expressed milk first and then warm it and give it to your baby first, then the milk will be used later.

Milk should not be thawed at room temperature as this will increase the bacteria in the milk. To thaw breastmilk, you can steam or warm milk by placing the bottle in a bowl of about 40 ° C hot water. Do not heat breastmilk or microwave it as this will damage the milk.

Gently shake the milk bottle to mix the whey and the milk. Don't shake too hard, as this will break down some of the valuable nutrients in milk. Check the temperature before feeding your baby. The milk should be warm but not too hot. If the baby does not suckle all the milk after thawing, it must be discarded and not stored.

How to preserve breast milk after expressing

You wonder how to store breastmilk after expressing with milk storage devices. The best way to store breastmilk is highly dependent on what storage device you choose. Follow the sharing below to know the tips of choosing the best milk storage device:

1. Milk storage tank

Use a plastic or glass bottle with a lid to store milk. However, glass jars are usually better than plastic ones.

Rinse the bottle with bottle sanitizer solution and warm water, and allow to dry before use.

You should not overfill the milk, leave a space.

Note: The plastic bottle can be deformed when the milk is frozen so it is very fragile. Glass bottles can also break if not used correctly, so read the product's instructions carefully before using it. Also, do not store breastmilk in a chipped, cracked bottle.

2. Milk storage bag

You can purchase specialized breast milk storage bags, specially designed for the preservation of breast milk.

Put about 60 - 120ml milk in the bag to store, squeeze out the air out. Note, do not overfill the bag because the milk is liquid, so it will expand when curdled.

Keep the bag in the freezer where the temperature stays below minus.

Choose a milk storage bag of a reputable brand to avoid the bag being cracked, torn when frozen, causing the milk to become contaminated. In addition, some of the plastics found in poor quality bags can destroy nutrients in milk.

Does the taste of breast milk change after it has been stored?

You already know how to store breastmilk in the refrigerator, but in many cases the taste of the milk changes soon after. The cause may be due to the mother's diet, medication, exposure to the wrong temperature of milk, or the mother's smoking.

Milk stored in the refrigerator often has a soapy smell. After thawing, milk smells heavier than milk to prevent it from cooling. The lipase enzyme in breast milk breaks down fats into fatty acids. When a baby is fed directly, this process usually occurs after the milk enters the baby's digestive system, the goal is to aid the baby in digesting breast milk well. Therefore, it is not harmful to babies at all, but some babies will refuse to drink this milk.

Check the taste of milk before placing it in the freezer. Leave 1-2 bags of frozen milk for about 5 days. Then, check the taste and see if your baby can drink it. If the milk smells like before thawing, discard it. ( 1 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 )

If the milk only smells lightly but your baby still refuses to drink it, deodorize the milk before freezing. After pumping the milk out, let the milk in low heat, when the milk is boiling, turn off the heat to cool and then freeze. This will reduce the odor significantly, but will cause the milk to lose some of the antibodies.

In special cases, it is necessary to store breast milk

Babies raised in incubators or in hospital that require isolation often need extra breast milk storage. In normal refrigerators, milk may change odor when stored for a long time. Incubator storage cabinets are typically between –70 ° and –80 ° C so the taste of the milk will not be affected. Please consult your doctor about how to store milk in the long term.

If you give your baby formula milk, you also need to know how to preserve the prepared formula so that the milk does not spoil, ensuring your baby's health.

aFamilyToday Health  does not offer medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.