How to store breast milk

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This guide tells you the right way to store your breast milk.

Things You Will Need

If you are returning to work or school, you can pump your milk while you are away from home. Store your freshly pumped or expressed breast milk in a clean, sealed container. Your pumped or expressed milk stored outside the refrigerator will keep for 4 hours if it is cooler than 100 degrees F. When possible, put the pumped or expressed milk in a cooler with an ice pack until it can be refrigerated. Your pumped or expressed milk may be kept in a cooler with an ice pack for up to 24 hours.

Frozen breast milk stored in a freezer compartment inside the refrigerator will keep up to 2 weeks. The frozen breast milk stored in the freezer compartment with a separate door will keep up to 3-4 months. If milk is stored in a separate deep freezer at a constant temperature of 0 degrees F it will keep for 6 months or longer. Store the breast milk in the center of the refrigerator, not in the door. Use your fresh pumped or expressed breast milk within 5-8 days. If you are not going to use the expressed or pumped milk within 5 days you should freeze it.

Defrost your frozen milk in the refrigerator or under warm running water. Do not defrost it in the microwave or boil it on the stove. Defrosted milk stored in the refrigerator must be used within 24hrs and defrosted milk kept at room temperature should be used within 1hr. Never refreeze defrosted milk. Also, breast milk will separate naturally, thatÃ¢ € ™s okay the milk is still good, just shake it to mix it and throw away leftover breast milk after any feeding.