What can breast milk be stored in? How long will it stay fresh in the refrigerator?

Situations in the family arise different, sometimes the mother has to leave the baby in the care of her father or grandmother for several hours. In this case, it is very important to know how much expressed breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature. There are many problems. During normal feeding, the baby receives a product of the right temperature, which does not come in contact with dishes, nor with the surrounding air, nor with bacteria. When the need arises, it is better to give the baby properly stored mother's milk than an artificial mixture.

What happens when storing breast milk?

Breastfeeding cannot be replaced by anything. You can give the child expressed milk or a special mixture, the baby will be full, but not as cheerful as with natural nutrition. The bottle will not convey the smell of beloved mother, her voice, the touch of her tender hands. When mom is not around, the rest of the family should give the crumbs maximum attention, caress him and play with him so that the baby does not feel alone and abandoned.

Villagers have long been aware of the benefits of fresh milk immediately after milking a cow or goat. Children are surely poured a mug of warm foaming drink. A bucket will stand for a couple of hours, cool down - and the taste and quality of the product will be different. The same thing happens with human milk. The nutritional properties are preserved in it, but biologically active components, immunomodulators, hormones gradually begin to break down.

When stored for a short time at room temperature, most of the useful characteristics remain original. If the milk stood in the refrigerator for a long time, and even more so was frozen, it no longer has the healing power of a fresh product. The female body produces food for the baby with a composition that is suitable for its age. When the product lies in the freezer for several months, the baby will already grow up, and for nutrition he will need a completely different set of proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins.

Important!

If breastfeeding is not possible, do not forget the simple rule: the less time passes from pumping to food, the more useful and nutritious milk will be.

How to express milk?

In order for breast milk to be better stored, it is necessary to minimize its contact with microorganisms. Wash hands and chest thoroughly before pumping. If using a breast pump, sterilize the device and allow it to cool to body temperature. All purity rules must be observed at the stage of decantation. If you just wash the bottle and then put it together with milk in the sterilizer, there will be no valuable qualities in the product. Sudden changes in temperature also negatively affect the quality of breast milk. It is not recommended to immediately place the product in the refrigerator immediately after pumping; let it cool to room temperature.

Sometimes the mother does not part with the baby, but for some reason can not breastfeed. It can be nipple injuries, or a lazy baby does not want to make an effort to suck milk from the breast, he likes the bottle with a large hole. In such cases, do not store the product. Decant when the time has come to feed the newborn, and immediately let him eat unrefined milk.

If a woman has lactation, a relative or friend who is feeding her baby may come to her aid.The best option would be if you start coming to her with a baby and the baby eats right from the chest. If this is not possible, try to minimize the transportation time of milk. Bring a sterile bottle to the woman, wrap the filled container well so that the product retains lively heat. When you return home, you only need to slightly warm up the milk and immediately give it to the baby.

Product containers must also be sterile. The same requirement applies to corks, funnels and other items used in the transfusion of milk. Do not drain the entire volume into one container. Every mother knows what portion her baby sucks in one feeding. Add about 20-30 ml in case the baby has an appetite, and fill the containers intended for only one meal.

What is the best way to store breast milk?

The main requirement for containers for baby food - it should be designed for this purpose. Do not pour food even into thoroughly washed and sterilized glass bottles and vials containing other substances; do not take containers in markets or household goods stores. Go to a pharmacy or a specialized department for children's goods, there they will sell you high-quality goods and advise you which container is best used for each case.

Sometimes milk needs to be kept in a bottle for only a couple of hours, and then the baby will drink it. Sometimes you want to keep the product for a day or even several days. Depending on this, you need to choose the most convenient container.

To store milk, you can use:

• glass or plastic bottles;
• special containers;
• bags for freezing.

Bottles are very convenient if the serving is intended to be fed after a few hours. You leave it at room temperature, and when the baby is hungry, warm it up a bit, change the cork to the nipple - and you can feed it. The container is more suitable if you give your baby food from a spoon. When using containers, be sure to read the information about what temperature the material can withstand: can it be washed with hot water, sterilized in boiling water, and frozen. If there is a long separation and the mother began to store milk in advance to feed the baby in her absence, it is better to pour the valuable liquid into special bags and freeze it.

On each vessel, be sure to sign the day and time when the container was filled. Do not assume that if you have prepared a portion that will be eaten in 2-3 hours, you do not need to specify anything. Someone might inadvertently spill milk or put it in the refrigerator, where other bottles are already stored. In this case, there will be no possibility to distinguish a fresh product from a stored one for several days.

How long does milk stay fresh?

Experts have determined how long breast milk is stored for the baby at different temperatures. Immediately determine what portion will be used in the next feeding, and what will be needed only tomorrow or in a few days. It is undesirable to freeze the product in vain, and in the heat it can deteriorate.

Focus on the timing and storage temperature of breast milk:

• from +20 to + 25⁰ C - 6 hours;
• from + 15 to + 16⁰ C –1 days;
• from +3 to + 6⁰ C - not longer than 7 days;
• from -18 to -24⁰ C - up to a year.

Tip

If the baby is weak, painful, do not store expressed milk for the entire recommended period. For him, the shelf life should be reduced by half.

Storage of breast milk intended for consumption for several days is best done in a special freshness area of ​​the refrigerator, where the temperature is maintained at zero. In older models, there is no such compartment, in this case, place the product under the freezer closer to the back wall. It is better not to use convenient compartments for installing bottles on the door: when you look in the refrigerator several times, a sharp temperature difference will affect the milk, which affects the quality of the product.

When cooled, the milk takes a different look: the fat rises to the surface, and a liquid of a less saturated color remains below. Before feeding, you need to shake the bottle properly so that the product becomes homogeneous. The baby can refuse the nipple - this happens because over time the taste changes, the food in the vessel is not at all the food that the baby received from the mother’s breast. Smell and taste the milk. If you feel a sour or bitter taste, then it has deteriorated and is unsuitable for feeding. If there is even the slightest doubt about the quality or shelf life of expressed milk, do not give it to your child. It is better to breed a fresh mixture than to feed a baby spoiled food.

Can breast milk be frozen?

When frozen, milk does not spoil for a whole year, but its useful properties are significantly deteriorated. If a mother has to be separated from her baby for a long time, she can create a supply of food for him. Special freezer bags are best suited for storage in the freezer. Filling them to the top is undesirable. From the course of physics, we know that when passing into ice, the liquid can increase in volume. If there is no free space in the container, it may burst from strong pressure from the inside.

Tip

No one is safe from various accidents. If milk remains in the breast after feeding, express it in bags and freeze, then in unforeseen situations the baby will have a strategic supply of food.

Clearly write on the bag the date the milk was expressed, and place it on the shelf of the refrigerator. After 2 hours, the product will cool and it will be possible to put it in the freezer. Make sure that the temperature there is no higher than -18⁰ C. If you have a weak model that only supports temperatures around -6–8⁰ C, milk can be used for no longer than 6 months.

Each portion should be stored in a separate container. To feed your baby, remove the bag from the freezer and place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or in a pot of cold water. Take care of the baby's nutrition in advance - thawing can occur 8 hours or longer. Only when there is not a piece of ice left in the liquid can you mix it until completely homogeneous, warm it up and give it to the baby. Do not take a serving more than a child can eat: you can’t freeze the product a second time, you just have to pour it.

It is very difficult to determine the temperature of a heated product without a thermometer, and you cannot lower the thermometer into milk. In order not to burn the baby, buy a baby food warmer, it maintains the desired temperature - about + 37⁰ C. If you don’t have such an instrument at hand, put the bottle in a pan with body temperature water and use a thermometer to ensure that the liquid does not cool and does not overheat. It is impossible to heat milk sharply, therefore it is better not to use a microwave or oven. Do not forget to verify the quality of the product: during storage, a power outage, thawing of the refrigerator and many other unforeseen situations could occur. An unusual smell or taste indicates that the product has deteriorated.

The best food for a newborn is mom's milk. Do everything possible to constantly feed the baby directly from the chest. In exceptional cases, it is necessary to express the nutrient fluid and leave it in the bottle until the next feeding or for several days. Even with proper storage, the product partially loses its useful and taste qualities, but in any case, natural milk is better than the prepared mixture. Try not to be separated from the baby for a long time, so that at any moment, in case of any troubles, such a beloved and delicious mother's breast could comfort him.