New Guidelines to Know for Storing Breast Milk, Human Milk

The American Academy of Pediatricians just a released an updated list of answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the topic of bodyfeeding*.  If you're a new parent, you may find the updated questions and answers helpful in your journey.  You can find the new statement with all of the questions/answers here.

The following is a summary of information on milk storage guidelines that you will want to be sure read and understand.  A welcome new change was acknowledging that warm milk can be mixed with cold milk.

The APP acknowledges that milk is a living, biologic substance, full of good bacteria and probiotics and should be handled appropriately.  Recommendations include:

• Hand washing prior to handling milk
• Using new or clean containers
• Minimizing milk transfers, which leaves fats and calories behind
• Pump/express directly into the storage container (plastic or glass containers are both adequate)
• Parents can mix warm milk with cold milk and can pool milk from a 24 hour period. Pooling milk helps even out nutrient variability that may result from the time the milk was expressed or how much the breast was emptied.
• Raw (fresh refrigerated) milk maintains more nutrient value than frozen milk. After four hours at room temp or four days in the refrigerator, milk should be frozen.
• Frozen milk can be stored for up to 12 months, the colder the better.
• Treating milk that contains lipase, which is often unpalatable to infants, by scalding before freezing is a preferable option to formula.

In the same article - the AAP provides a robust and useful list of resources to share with parents, and I noticed many of my favorites on the list.

• Firstdroplets.com
  Free, short, informative videos and information in English and Spanish.
• KellyMom.com
  Great website full of breastfeeding, pregnancy, and parenting resources for families
• #EncuentroDeMiVida (I Find My Life)
  Great website for Spanish speaking families
• MommyMeds App
  Is a free patient website through Texas Tech that is the patient version of the Infant Risk App ($10 for clinicians)
• HealthyChildren.org
  Find a  vast library of articles  on breastfeeding from AAP experts designed to help families become more informed and find answers to common breastfeeding questions .
• New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding
  A basic breastfeeding 101 book for mothers, available for purchase, is a good overview of the experience of breastfeeding from initiation to weaning. 
• GlobalHealthMedia.org
  Many free, educational videos specifically to improve health care in resource-poor areas.

If you're a new parent, new to bodyfeeding, or currently feeding your baby human milk, check out the updated FAQ to make sure you're following the most current recommendations around human milk and bodyfeeding.

*Bodyfeeding refers to feeding babies with your body, also known as breastfeeding and chestfeeding. The term bodyfeeding is inclusive of all parents. 

About Sharon Muza

Sharon Muza, BS, CD/BDT(DONA), LCCE, FACCE, LCE,  has been an active perinatal professional since 2004, teaching Lamaze classes to thousands of families and doula-ing in Seattle, WA. Sharon is also a trainer of new birth doulas and childbirth educators. She blogs professionally on perinatal topics and is the community manager for Connecting the Dots, Lamaze International’s perinatal professional blog. Sharon enjoys facilitating discussion around best practice, current research and its practical application to maternal infant health and community standards. She also loves creating and delivering engaging and interactive learning sessions both in person and online. You can learn more about Sharon, on her website, SharonMuza.com.

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