Expert: Sally Wendkos Olds - 10/12/2004

Question
My husband is happly at home for the next four weeks alone with our 12 week old.  He called me at work asking how long the breastmilk can be used after heating to room temp.  I pump, refrigerate, and he heats the next day to give to our son.  My son took all but the last ounce at a feeding.  We are wondering if we must throw out the rest or how long we can still use the milk before having to throw it away.  

Answer
Dear Shelly,

First, congratulations to both you & your husband -- for giving your baby the best start in life by breastfeeding, and for providing so much of a loving father's care!

The best advice of experts is to discard any breast milk in the bottle that your baby does not finish at one feeding. This is why it is a good idea to put your pumped milk in small amounts in different bottles, to minimize the waste.

Milk that has been heated should be used within thirty minutes. If it has been defrosted but not heated, it can be used within 12 hours.

I devoted an entire chapter of my book to pumping, storing and feeding breast milk to babies. I am enclosing a couple of excerpts below, which I hope will be helpful.

Good luck!

Sally

Sally Wendkos Olds
Author, THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BREASTFEEDING: Eiger & Olds, 3rd edition 1999, published by Workman Publishing & Bantam Books, and available in most public libraries, bookstores & La Leche League chapters.
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  OFFERING EXPRESSED MILK TO YOUR BABY
Both you and anyone who feeds your baby your collected milk need to know the following information about feeding your baby. You may want to give your caregiver a copy of this book, with these pages marked, or you can photocopy these pages.
  When you go to offer your milk to your baby, don't be alarmed by its appearance. It often separates or turns yellow, either of which may be perfectly normal. If you're not sure about the quality of the milk, taste it. If it tastes sweet and good, it's fine. If there is any hint of an "off" flavor, you will probably want to throw it out. It's possible that the milk has just picked up some odor or taste from other strong food in your refrigerator or freezer. However, you don't want to take any chances of giving your baby spoiled milk. So trust your senses and your own good sense: if you feel worried or uneasy, don't give the milk to your baby.

DEFROSTING YOUR MILK AND FEEDING YOUR BABY
  * Avoid overnight thawing of milk.
  * Do not leave frozen milk out at room temperature.
  * About half an hour before feeding time take the container from the freezer and hold it under tepid running water. Gradually increase the temperature of the water to hot. Shake the bag or bottle gently as you warm it; this remixes the cream that has separated. (Since your milk is not homogenized, the fat rises to the top on standing. If you shake the milk too vigorously, you might turn this fat to butter.) It should take about four minutes to thaw four ounces of frozen milk. This method can also be used to heat refrigerated milk.
  * Do not heat either breast milk or formula in a microwave oven. Vitamins and other components in the milk may be destroyed, glass bottles may crack or explode, and hot spots may occur, which could cause severe burns to your baby's mouth or esophagus.
  * Do not heat milk on the stove if you can avoid it. First, there's a danger of overheating and destroying antibodies and nutrients. Second, there's the chance that frozen milk will curdle. And then there's the all-too common scenario of the mother or babysitter warming milk in a pan of water on the stove, running to answer the phone or the door -- and coming back to find the bottle or bag melted and the milk boiled into the bottom of the pan. No way to treat that liquid gold -- or the baby waiting for it.
  However, if you do not have running warm water, put a bottle in a pan with warm water. Heat on medium heat, do not let the water boil, and do not leave the kitchen. Test the milk on the inside of your elbow; you should barely be able to feel it. If it feels warm, let it cool down to body temperature before feeding your baby.
  * Roll or shake the bottle again gently before feeding.
  * Use milk that has been defrosted but not heated within 12 hours. If the milk has been heated, use within 30 minutes.
  * Discard any milk in the bottle that your baby does not finish at one feeding.
  * Do not refreeze defrosted milk. If you can't use it within the suggested time limit, throw it away. It's painful to have to discard what seems like such a precious resource, but this milk is no longer the "liquid gold" it was before. There is a possibility that it might make your baby sick.
  * If you have both fresh and frozen milk, give your baby the fresh milk and save the frozen for supplements and emergencies since freezing causes some loss of antibodies.
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BOX 17-3   STORAGE TIMES FOR COLLECTED MILK
Basically, your collected breast milk will keep for several hours at room temperature if it's covered, it will keep in the refrigerator for about two days, and if you want to keep it longer than that, you should freeze it.
  The following guidelines should assure safety and maximum benefit to your baby.
  * To be given to baby within 30 minutes: No special storage needed. Can be kept at room temperature.
  * To be given to baby within 6 to 10 hours: Pour into clean container; cap tightly. You do not have to refrigerate the milk; human milk kept in a capped clean container does not grow bacteria, even at room temperature (66 to 72N F) because of its ability to slow the growth of bacteria. However, if the room temperature is higher than 72N, refrigerate it.
  * To be given to baby within 48 hours (2 days): Pour into clean container; cap tightly. Refrigerate at 40N F (4N C) or below.
  * To be given to baby within a week: Pour into clean container; cap tightly. Quick-cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then freeze in refrigerator-freezer unit.
  * To be given to baby within 1 to 2 weeks: Pour into sterile container; cap tightly. Quick-cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then freeze in refrigerator-freezer unit.
  * To be given to baby within 3 to 6 months: Pour into sterile container; cap tightly. Quick-cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then freeze at 0N F (-18N C) or below in the freezer of a two-door refrigerator or a deep freeze that is not opened often. Not all freezers stay cold enough for long-term storage. Check temperature with a freezer thermometer at different places in the unit. The freezer should maintain a constant temperature of 0N. If it keeps ice cream very solid, it is probably cold enough.
  If your freezer does not get this cold but does keep other frozen foods hard, keep the milk in the center of the freezer and use within three to four months. Frost-free refrigerators, which have a warming element, generally do not maintain 0N.
  To find out whether your milk thaws and then refreezes in your freezer, check by keeping an ice cube in a little jar; if you check it a day later and find that it has melted and refrozen, you'll know that this has probably happened to your milk, too. If so, you'll have to discard the milk.
  It's best to use milk soon after collecting it, and preferably within three months. For one thing, milk collected when your baby is two months old will not meet her needs as effectively when she is six months old.
  * Keeping breast milk longer than 6 months: This is not a good idea. While instructions are sometimes given for keeping frozen milk up to two years, long-term freezing alters the chemical composition of the milk. (Some of the fats break down, and the milk loses some of its ability to fight harmful organisms.) Furthermore, you run the risk of contamination if you lose electrical power during that time and the milk thaws and refreezes.
  * Do not refreeze milk that has defrosted. If frozen milk has started to thaw, refrigerate it immediately and use it within 12 hours.