Breastmilk Storage 101

Breastmilk Storage 101

Posted on

 Breast Milk Storage 101

Ever heard the saying-“no point crying over spilled milk” ? Well, to a large extent that is true…but not when it concerns the breastmilk you have so painstakingly took the effort and time to express for your little one. As such, it is vital for you to know what is the most appropriate way to store all those liquid gold for your little one.

 

What Types of Containers Should You Use to Store Breastmilk?

The two most common ways to store breastmilk is in a sterile bottle (plastic or glass) for short term use or a sterile sealable bag for long term storage. After having done so, these plastic milk bags containing the breastmilk will be placed into the refrigerator or freezer until they are needed for use.

One important thing to note is that- the sealable milk storage bags that you use to store the freshly expressed milk should be made from BPA-free materials. BPA is a type of harmful chemical frequently used in plastic containers and coatings, which have been found to have undesirable effects and hence should be avoided if possible.

We would like to introduce Mister Fox Milk Storage Bags to all breastfeeding mums! MisterFox breastmilk storage bags are not only BPA free but also made of double layer premium PE & PET plastics that is freezer safe and always provides an oxygen barrier to prevent the oxidizing of breastmilk enzymes, hence preserving the freshness and taste of breastmilk even after freezing.

Do you recall the sour / fishy smell of your defrosted breastmilk? That is likely due to the oxidizing of the enzymes within the breastmilk!

MisterFox Milk Storage Bag Plus - Pump & Store Bag

(product seen here: MisterFox Breast Milk Storage Bag Plus) 

 

How much Breastmilk to Store in Each Bottle or Sealable Milk Bag?

Typically most women store between one to five ounces of breastmilk in each bottle or milk bag but ultimately, it is recommended that you only store the amount of breastmilk that is going to be used in a single feeding session. Storing more than required will turn into wastage as the excess undrunk breastmilk will have to be thrown away after the feeding session.

Knowing how precious breastmilk is, and the thought of how any wastage is going to make most mums cringe, the next question most mums will then wonder is- can you re-freeze the excess breastmilk again?

As tempting as it is to do so, it is typically not recommended due to hygiene purposes. Breastmilk that has already come into contact with your little one’s mouth from the initial feed could have been contaminated with bacteria from your little one’s mouth and thus it is actually best to throw any excess breastmilk within an hour or two from your little one’s initial feed.

To further also elaborate more on hygiene, you would also be glad to know that MisterFox Breast Milk storage bags can help in the prevention of cross-contamination. Often a times parents may unknowingly contaminate the breastmilk by having their fingers (our fingers may have bacteria on them!) touch the opening of the breast milk storage bag during initial handling. The breastmilk stored in the milk bag is thus contaminated when it is poured out from the same opening of the milk bag where your fingers have touched initially. MisterFox Breastmilk Storage Bags on the other hand comes with a separate sprout, thus allowing milk to be transferred into the bag via the zipper (the double zip prevents spillage) and then poured out via the sprout to prevent cross contamination.

MisterFox BreastMilk Storage Bag - pourable sprout to prevent cross contamination     

(product seen here: MisterFox Breast Milk Storage Bag) 

      

How Long Can Breast Milk Sit Out For?

Room Temperature

Essentially, freshly expressed breast milk that is untouched can be fed to your little one. However, do note that if your breast milk has been out in the open (room temperature) for more than four hours, it has to be thrown away.

If you are aware that the breast milk that you have freshly expressed is not going to be consumed immediately, best to store them in the refrigerator immediately-do not let it go to waste!

Refrigerator

That does not go to say that so long you put it in the refrigerator, your breast milk will not turn bad. According to the American Academy of Paediatrics, freshly expressed breast milk can at best be stored at the back of your refrigerator for up to eight days, best if your little one can consume the breast milk within the first four days because that is when the breastmilk’s digestive enzyme activity and anti-infection benefits are at its optimum level.

Deep Freezer

Thinking of keeping your breast milk for even longer? The freezer is your best bet. Freshly expressed breast milk can actually be kept here (deep freezer) for up to twelve months; good for nine months when stored in a freezer attached to a refrigerator. However typically using the frozen milk within six months is still the most optimal!

Insulated Cooler Box

There are times where you need to bring along packets/bottles of breastmilk out with you. Under circumstances like this, you would have to place ice packs in the cooler box where you will be storing the breastmilk and these can only kept for a maximum of 24 hours!

With that, we hope you now have a better inkling on how you should store your breastmilk for your little one!

For clean and easy convenience, breastfeeding mums do consider MisterFox range of breastmilk storage bags and other accessories! Not only are these breast milk storage bags easier to pack for outdoors, freshly expressed breastmilk can be stored to the these milk bags directly after pumping, thus effectively saving you the hassle of transferring breastmilk from milk storage bag to milk-bottle etc.

Check out our full range of MisterFox breastfeeding products here.

We got our information from here: