Mother's milk is the most useful source of nutrients and trace elements that the baby needs immediately after birth. That is why all pediatricians recommend feeding the baby not with mixtures, but exclusively with breast milk. Of course, if there is such an opportunity.
There are situations when a mother must leave for a while and leave her child in the care of other family members or a nanny. And for this it is necessary to be able to correctly express and store milk in order to preserve all its useful properties.
How to store expressed breast milk? First of all, the container for decantation should be used either glass or made of food-grade plastic. In the modern world there are many special tanks for this purpose, which can be purchased with a breast pump. As a rule, they are produced by companies producing products for mother and child.
Proper storage of expressed breast milk implies complete tightness. It is forbidden to use open containers or other devices for this. You can use special packages that are very convenient for pumping. Some mothers, leaving for a short period of time, freeze milk in ice bags for storage.
If you went to work, and the baby is still eating your milk, you can use a portable cooler bag or freezers that are specifically designed for storing breast milk for storage. Thus, you can express it at any time and in any place you need.
Regarding how to store expressed breast milk, there are a few practical tips:
- If the container contains expressed milk, it is not recommended to add new portions to it. Of course, this option is not excluded, however, it is better to use a new container for a new serving.
- Portions of milk should be fractional (up to 100-120 ml). So it is stored longer and better. If necessary, it is better to heat two servings. When storage is carried out in large volumes, the half-eaten portion of the liquid must be poured out. And this is irrational.
- On each milk container, the date of pumping should be indicated so that the person replacing the mother can quickly find out which portion to warm up first.
- Defrosting can be done either in a water bath or under running warm water, or milk can thaw at room temperature (if you are not in a hurry).
- It is forbidden to heat milk in the microwave.
Sometimes, not knowing how to store expressed breast milk, mothers begin to do stupid things: choose the wrong dishes, defrost correctly or store at high temperature.
There are certain temperature parameters that indicate how much expressed breast milk is stored under certain conditions:
- from 5 to 15 degrees - no more than a day;
- from 15 to 19 - no more than 9 hours;
- from 19 to 22 - no more than 11 hours;
- 25 degrees - about 5 hours;
- from 0 to 5 - 8 days
If you store milk in the freezer:
- Freezer with a separate door - about 4 months;
- Deep freeze freezer without a refrigerator - six months or up to 8 months.
After thawing, milk may acquire a specific soapy odor. It is fearless, it can be eaten. If the acquired odor is acidic, such a product is spoiled and unsuitable for use. Also, warmed milk may exfoliate. In this case, you just need to shake it.
Milk should not be heated or frozen often. It can lose its properties or just go bad.
Often, milk after cooling takes on some specific shade: blue, yellowish or simply pale. Such a change depends on its chemical properties and therefore quite natural.
How to store expressed breast milk, and under what conditions, each mother chooses her own. But be sure to remember that a child should receive a high-quality and balanced food product, which, with one hundred percent probability, can only be provided by mother's breast!