Many women are wondering - where and how to store breast milk, if there is a lot of it or mothers are simply absent during feeding. Strained milk can be stored for no more than 12 hours under normal conditions in the refrigerator. But if mom needs to be away from the baby for more time, what to do in this case?
How to store breast milk for mom if you need several days of departure? Switching to artificial feeding is not worth it at all, in this case the freezing procedure is suitable. Expressed milk must be put in the freezer in special containers, these can be feeding bottles or plastic bags. In this form, at a temperature of minus 20 degrees, the milk can be stored for up to one year, and if the temperature is minus 6 degrees, the storage time is reduced to six months. Thus, you can feed your baby with natural feeding, without fear of long weaning. Mom should not forget that it will be necessary to constantly express milk so that it does not disappear, and various diseases do not appear.
For one serving of milk you will need one small bottle, which will be pre-washed, doused with boiling water and dried. When pouring milk into a bottle, you need to leave free space, since when freezing, the product is able to expand. Before the freezer itself, expressed milk must first be put on the shelf of the refrigerator for several minutes. In order not to get confused in the dates, you can stick special labels with numbers or dates of freezing.
It is important not only to learn how to store breast milk, but also to properly defrost it. The strained product is not recommended to be heated in the microwave, as it will lose all its beneficial properties. To defrost milk, you must:
- get it out of the freezer;
- put in the refrigerator or in a cool place to defrost;
- Warm up with a water bath.
Thawed milk should not be stored in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours. This should be remembered, otherwise it will just go bad.
The nutrition of a small child is the key to successful development, rapid growth and activity. In order for the baby to feel comfortable, he needs mother's milk, which has all the useful and natural properties that help the baby in physical and mental development.
What should breast expressed milk look like during storage, what should it look like in color? The shade of milk can be different. So, for example, in the first two weeks it has a yellowish color, then goes on a bluish-white hue. If mom is taking medicine or eating food with dyes, then milk may take on a pinkish-orange color.
So that the product does not deteriorate, there are special containers for storing breast milk, which are tightly closed. The container can be made of glass or plastic, it is they that reliably protect products from spoilage and extend the quality of the composition. It is better not to use disposable plastic bags.
Many mothers notice the smell of soap after the milk has cooled. With proper storage, valuable properties are not lost, but the product may smell different. And, unfortunately, not all children are happy to eat such food. Breast milk, the storage of which took place in the refrigerator, can change the fat composition, if it is heated, then the smell will become normal again. But high temperatures can affect beneficial properties extremely negatively. If the milk has an acidic smell, then this means spoiling the product. And it should be poured.
So, we answered the question of how to store breast milk. But in order to have a lot of it, mother needs to eat well and eat right. Drink more, consume vitamins, do not smoke or drink alcohol, eat chocolate or drink coffee - all this is very important for a nursing woman.