How to store breast milk after pumping - tips and rules

For one reason or another,decant some milk. Sometimes it is a vital necessity for a baby, sometimes it's a different circumstance. You only need to know how to store the expressed breast milk so that you can use it later.

What is the need for expressing

There are several important reasons why a nursing mother should not only express but also keep breast milk for a while. To such reasons belong:

• milk is more than a portion, a necessary baby;
• mum needs to leave a baby for a long time, and feed early;
• a nursing woman is assigned a course of treatment that affects the composition and properties of milk;
• problems with the chest - painful cracks in the nipples, beginning mastitis;
• a nursing mother, for fear that the milk will be lost, makes it a reserve for the future;
• needs help with another baby whose mother does not have enough milk;
• infants for physiological reasons can not suck the breast;
• visit to the doctor on time coincides with the feeding, you need to feed the baby in the hospital with the necessary portion of breast milk.

These are just a few of the circumstances in which you have to express breastmilk. And if you can not do without such a procedure, you need to know what, where, how much to store the expressed milk.

Important
Proper storage of breast milk is very important for the health of the baby.

Storage Rules

Women's milk is a priceless product. In addition to the power source, it is also a powerful natural antibiotic, an antiviral and antifungal drug for babies.

An interesting fact
Scientists have determined that the composition of the mother's milk varies within a day, depending on the needs of the child. In the morning carbohydrates predominate in it, for lunch - fats, and in the afternoon - proteins.

Research institutes have been studying mother's milk for a long time, but until the end all its amazing properties have not been discovered. This natural miracle is irreplaceable. No matter how well-balanced, properly formulated, artificial milk formula, breast milk, provided that the mother is fully nutritious, they can not replace. Therefore, pediatricians and breastfeeding counselors insist that it is necessary to establish and maintain a normal lactation.

If it is not possible to attach the baby to the breast, milk must be decanted and, which is logical, stored. With the right approach, the milk will preserve all nutritional properties and help the baby to develop and stay healthy.

In general, it is possible to store the expressed breast milk correctly:

• at room temperature - up to 24 hours;
• in the refrigerator - 7 days;
• in the freezer - from 3 months and longer.

At room temperature

Due to its natural composition, even at room temperature around 25 ° C, it is possible to store breast expressed milk for up to 5 hours. At a temperature of 17 ° C it is stored for 24 hours, up to 22 ° C for 12 hours. Thus, depending on the temperature in the room, stored expressed breast milk in a special bottle can be from 5 to 24 hours.

In the fridge

You can store expressed milk and in the refrigerator, although some moms doubt it. In sterile, hermetically sealed containers in the depth of the refrigerator( in order to avoid temperature differences), breast milk can be stored for a week - it will remain suitable for feeding the baby.

Important
It is not necessary to boil milk before storage or use, under the influence of high temperature it will lose its biological value.

During a day, several portions of expressed milk can be poured into one container, but some rules should be followed:

• , you can not just add expressed warm milk in a container to an already cooled one;
• each serving must be completely cooled, placed in a refrigerator,
• all portions are merged into one container only in a refrigerated state and with strict hygiene rules;
• on container with milk it is necessary to indicate the time and date of decantation.

Many mothers worry, seeing that the breast milk that is standing becomes uneven, as it were divided into fat and water. Scientists believe that mother's milk can be:

• front - from which the feeding begins, with the predominance of water and lactose;
• rear - with a predominance of milk fat.

After decantation, they are separated from each other during sedimentation. But enough to mix the milk - and the liquid becomes uniform in composition. Therefore, it is not necessary to worry, breast milk after decantation under conditions of proper storage is quite suitable for breast-feeding, and its delamination is not a sign of a spoiled product.

Can I freeze

To make a significant supply of breast milk for a long period, it can be frozen. It does not lose its qualities.

For freezing it is necessary to purchase special containers with marked dimensional divisions. It is not necessary to drain the breast milk before placing it in the freezer, into one large container. It is better to store it portionwise, to unfreeze and use at a time. Repeated freezing and thawing expressed expressed breast milk can not be!

In frozen form, milk can be stored from 3 months to 6 months. If it is stored longer, then you can not feed the baby. To monitor the shelf life, you need an inscription on the container with milk.

What is better to store the expressed milk

Container for breast milk can be made of plastic or glass. Basic requirements for the container: the possibility of its heating or cooling. It is equally important that the container has a lid - it should, in fact, seal the container. Then the milk will be protected from foreign odors, dust( if there is no possibility to put the container in the refrigerator), microorganisms or spores of fungi that are invisibly present in the air, especially in hot weather.

Council
The resource "Miss Purity" recommends the use of sterile containers for storage. This capacity will extend the period of freshness and a priori not spoil the taste and quality of milk.

You can use glass jars, including, from the baby food, if the volume allows. In this case, the container must be washed and rinsed with boiling water. A wide choice of containers for storing expressed milk offer pharmacies, even special containers for freezing are produced.

How and why to use expressed breast milk

Expressed breast milk is most often used for the intended purpose, that is, for breastfeeding. Before feeding, milk must be heated to body temperature. In no case it can not be done on the stove or in the microwave. Breast milk is heated under a stream of hot water or in a water bath. Frozen portion is first defrosted, only then heated. The temperature of the milk is determined by dripping it on the wrist.

If the mother has an excess of breast milk, then you can cook on it for a baby after half a year kashka, make a cottage cheese. One has only to remember that when heated, some useful substances in milk are destroyed. Therefore, completely substitute for breastfeeding such a lure does not make sense. The leaven for the preparation of cottage cheese from breast milk should be a special, bought in a pharmacy, a live culture.

Due to the fact that breast milk is a natural antibiotic and increases immunity, then in excess of a nursing mother it can be used in the diet of all family members. Not every adult will agree to drink it, but adding it to puree or tea is entirely acceptable. From breast milk you can make yogurt, butter and even ice cream. Abroad there is a cafe where gourmets or young children are offered such a delicacy.

Another application of breast milk is the disinfection of baby's kidneys, small inflammations on the skin. But in case of serious inflammation, traditional treatment is necessary, as in the case of a common cold or conjunctivitis, which the mothers try to treat with breast milk. Due to the fat content of breast milk, it can be used as a night moisturizing face cream.

Conclusion

Breast expressed milk, under the right storage conditions and meeting all hygiene requirements during expression, retains all its invaluable properties and is suitable for infant feeding. Decode correctly, carefully, carefully. Adhering to the above rules, it is easy to save not only expressed milk, but also sufficient lactation, good mood, your health and the health of your beloved.