Expert: ruth kraft - 5/19/2011

Question
My son had to have heart surgery @ 24 days old and because of a complication from the intubation was getting all his breastmilk from a feeding tube for a little over 2 months.  During this time, I would thaw the older milk and feed him and then freeze the milk pumped that day.  He had no issues with it.  When he passed his swallow test and was able to drink again but there were other issues and he wasn't able to go back to breastfeeding so all feedings came from the bottle, I gave him the fresh breastmilk and only froze the amount that was pumped but not consumed that day.  He is now 5 months old and I am no longer pumping, but have a month of breastmilk in the freezer.  Some days he does just fine and drinks his bottles without incident.  Other days, he has a terrible time and will only drink a few ounces and then refuses the bottle and you can hear the gas in his tummy.  The only difference is before he was getting the thawed breastmilk through the feeding tube and now he is getting it through the bottle (both warmed).  I don't know what is causing this or why he is now having an issue - I absolutely hate to see 1 month of breastmilk go to waste.  Does the thawed milk have an increased incidence of gas, is it taste issues, should it be thawed a specific way?  The milk was all handled appropriately and went from pump to refrigerator to freezer.

Answer
I have never heard of breastmilk that was frozen causing more gas than fresh milk. There are some women who have lipaise in their milk which also makes it smell pretty bad after it has been frozen, and now and again a baby wont take it, but its rare. That also doesn't cause gas, it just smells funny.  My guess is, the baby isn't doing well with the bottle. You may try to switch up bottles and see if that helps. It should be thawed either in the refrigerator overnight or in cold water for a faster thaw. Thawing method does not usually indicate more gas or not though. It might be the bottle or if the baby fusses alot , every time he cries or latches onto a bottle or pacifier, he swallows more air. this can cause gas but its not likely the breastmilk.

I hope this helped :)