Expressing And Storing Breast Milk

From the very beginning of breastfeeding, it is good, after feeding your baby, to express the breasts to stimulate milk production. Expressed milk should not be discarded. It is a very valuable fluid needed for the proper growth and development of your child.

Many mothers decide to collect and store their breast milk and use it at a later stage if they need it. These may be cases where breastfeeding mothers have a lot of milk or just want to increase its production; attend school; they return to work or have to be separated from their babies for some other reason.

One of the most common questions for breastfeeding mothers is exactly how to express and store breast milk.

First, the milk must be expressed (manually or by means of a pump).

The containers to be used for expressing and storing breast milk must be thoroughly washed, dried and sterilized. Wash your hands thoroughly with warm soapy water before squeezing.

Don't worry if the individual milk portions don't look alike. It is normal for milk to vary in color, texture and flavor depending on the food you eat.

In what to store breast milk

They are sterilized, quantified, with a field for writing the date and a special "zip" closure for greater security. If you use them after pouring the milk inside, it is necessary to expel the remaining air at the top before sealing. The bags are most convenient to store in the freezer.

They are made of harmless material (do not contain bisphenol A) with tightly closing caps. Prevents spillage even on slopes. They are also suitable for storing other foods. They are more convenient to use in the refrigerator.

If you still can't afford to buy specially designed breast milk containers and sachets, you can use glass jars that you wash and sterilize well beforehand.

Storage of already expressed milk

Part of the literature states that breast milk from individual feeds should not be mixed. Other sources describe that this can be done provided that the milk has the same temperature. That is, if you decide to store expressed milk for 24 hours in a common container, it is necessary to place each expressed portion in the refrigerator for a few hours to equalize its temperature with the previous one, and then to add to it. Do not add warm milk to the already cooled!

You can see in the table how long and at what temperature the milk can be stored:

We advise you:

• do not freeze large amounts of milk in one container, let the amount be about 60-120 ml., so as not to throw away large amounts after thawing;
• do not overfill the sachets and containers, as the milk will expand in volume when frozen;
• always note the date on which you expressed the milk, using first what was expressed the longest.

How to thaw and warm stored milk

The best way to defrost breast milk is to leave it in the refrigerator overnight (about 12 hours). Another option is to place the milk under lukewarm running water or in a container of warm water.

To heat already thawed milk, do not use a microwave oven and do not heat directly on the hob. 

Microwave heating can be uneven, and rapid heating of the hob can affect its beneficial properties of milk. The best option is to put it in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes (about 15).

Do the taste and aroma of thawed milk change?

Thawed milk can have different aromas and tastes. This is due to the breakdown of milk fat. However, it is safe for babies and most of them accept it without problems.

At once, defrosted milk will not freeze again!

If the baby does not take the entire amount of thawed milk during feeding, you can keep it in the refrigerator until the next one, after which it should be discarded.