How to Store Expressed Milk Correctly

Expressing breast milk is an option so that children's nutritional intake is still fulfilled, especially for breastfeeding mothers who work or are active outside the home. That's why it's important to know how to properly store expressed breast milk.

There are various options for storing expressed breast milk, such as in glass bottles, plastic bottles with a label free of harmful substances, or plastic packaging specifically for breast milk. .

It's best to avoid storing expressed breast milk in bottles or plastic commonly used for general purposes. This is because the storage area for breast milk also affects the quality of the stored milk.

Keep the packaging clean

Maintaining personal hygiene and the equipment that will be used in expressing breast milk is very important to maintain the health of the little one. Here are some things to note:

1. Sterilize the breast milk container

In order to maintain the quality of the stored breast milk, it is important to sterilize the expressed breast milk container first. Clean the bottle of breast milk, then sterilize it by boiling the bottle and parts of the breast pump that come into contact with the skin in boiling hot water for 5 minutes.

In addition to manual boiling, you can also use an electric sterilizer. But before that, don't forget to check the safety and durability of the packaging. Be careful when sterilizing bottles made of glass because this material has a higher risk of breaking.

Meanwhile, special breast milk plastic bags do not require sterilization, as long as they are stored properly and only used when needed.

2. Washing hands

No less important thing to prevent the development of bacteria from expressed breast milk is to maintain hand hygiene when expressing or when storing breast milk in packaging. Use soap to wash hands before blushing.

3. Storage

You should not completely fill bottles or plastic packaging. The reason is that expressed breast milk tends to expand in a frozen state.

Especially for plastic bags that hold expressed breast milk, place them again in a container or other container before putting it in the refrigerator. This is because plastic packaging is more at risk of leakage.

Finally, don't forget to put a label that includes the date the milk was expressed on the bottle or plastic packaging.

4. Storage

Storage of expressed breast milk should be adapted to its use. Breast milk that is going to be used immediately is best placed in a part of the refrigerator that won't freeze.

Expressed breast milk can be stored from a few hours to several months, depending on the temperature at which it is placed. The following are the principles of breast milk storage that you must know:

• Expressed breast milk lasts up to 4 hours if placed at room temperature around 25°C
• Expressed breast milk lasts up to 24 hours when stored in a box cooler with an ice pack (ice pack)
• Expressed breast milk lasts up to 4 days, when placed in the refrigerator section of the refrigerator (chiller) at a minimum temperature 4°C
• Expressed breast milk can last up to 6 months if stored in the freezer at -18°C or lower

Only Of course, keep in mind that the process of freezing expressed breast milk may remove some substances that are important for preventing infection in infants. The longer the storage of expressed breast milk, either refrigerated or frozen, will eliminate the vitamin C content in breast milk.

However, the nutritional value of frozen breast milk is still much better than formula milk.

Tips for Defrosting Expressed Breast Milk

Frozen expressed breast milk may experience changes in color, smell, and consistency compared to fresh breast milk. Therefore, it's natural for you to find your breast milk settling after being stored in the refrigerator.

This condition is normal and you just need to shake the bottle of breast milk slowly to mix it up again.

Some babies are there. who refuse frozen breast milk. If so, you can try shortening the storage period of breast milk or warming the milk before giving it to your little one.

To thaw expressed breast milk, immerse the container for storing expressed breast milk in a bowl of warm water. Wait a few moments. Remember, do not warm expressed breast milk on the stove or in the microwave.

Frozen expressed breast milk should not be removed immediately at room temperature. Several studies have shown that rapid changes in temperature can affect the antibody content in breast milk that is beneficial for babies.

Frozen expressed breast milk from the freezer can be lowered first in the refrigerator overnight, then warmed as above. It is important to know, mothers do not refreeze expressed breast milk that has been thawed.

The following are other things to consider when thawing expressed breast milk:

• If expressed breast milk is needed immediately, Place the container of expressed breast milk under running water. Continue soaking it in a bowl of warm water.
• To check if the temperature of the breast milk is right for your little one, put a drop on the wrist. If the temperature is right, the breast milk can be directly given to the baby.
• Use the breast milk within 24 hours after it is completely thawed. After the breast milk is brought to room temperature or warmed, it should be used within 2 hours.

Breast milk is the best nutritional intake for babies. Proper storage of expressed breast milk can help nursing mothers who work or engage in activities outside the home to meet the needs of the baby.

If your little one has difficulty breastfeeding or you are still confused about the management of expressed breast milk, consult a lactation doctor.

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