How To Store And Use Breast Milk – Girls’s Breast Milk Storage

How To Store And Use Breast Milk – Girls’s Breast Milk Storage

How To Store And Use Breast Milk Girls's Breast Milk Storage

How To Store And Use Breast Milk – Girls’s Breast Milk Storage : Most breastfeeding moms find it convenient, and often necessary to store breastmilk for later. And, working moms or moms who have to leave their babies at creches need to do so more than ever. And, even if you aren’t a working mom, it wouldn’t hurt to learn how to store breast milk. Who knows? You might need this knowledge later. So, here are certain guidelines that may answer all your questions regarding the safe storage of breastmilk. Read on to learn more.

Expressing Breastmilk:

Expressing breastmilk is a way of squeezing milk from your breast so that you can store it for your baby to feed later. You can take out the milk with your hands, or use a manual pump or an electrical pump.
You may express milk for any of the following reasons.

  • If your baby is not able to suck properly
  • If she is a premature baby
  • If you are a working mother and may have to leave your baby in a creche
  • If studies or other commitments bind you
  • Some mothers may store breast milk for emergencies
  • If you may want to use your breast milk to mix with your baby’s solid foods

Different types of pumps suit different women. Therefore, you consult your doctor or try a pump on before you take one. Below are the different ways of expressing breastmilk:

Type How Does It Work What Does It Involve
Hand expression Massage and compress your breast using your hand to squeeze milk. You should have enough practice, coordination, and skill
You will find it easy with practice, and it will be as fast as pumping.
Manual pump Use your hand and wrist to manage the hand-held device for pumping the milk You should have enough practice, coordination, and skill
Useful for occasional pumping when you are away from your baby
Can cause a higher risk of breast infection.
Electrical pump Works on battery or plugs into an electrical outlet. Pumps one breast at a time or both breasts at the same time.
Easier to handle for mothers
Double pumping can express more milk in less time, helpful if you a full-time employee.
Equipment should be cleaned after every use.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How Much Breastmilk Can You Store In The Freezer?

Few women will pump large volumes of breast milk to freeze. You can store up to 2 to 4 ounces (60 to 120 milliliters), as any more will be wasted. You can also pour the breast milk into an ice cube tray which is rinsed thoroughly with hot water. Freeze them and once they turn hard, keep in freezer bags. In this way, you can also keep a count of cubes that are required to make one feed.

2. Is It Normal For The Frozen Breastmilk To Change Color?

Frozen breastmilk may be slightly different from the fresh milk; however, it does not mean it is bad. It is quite normal for the fresh milk to look orangish, and mature milk looks slightly bluish, yellowish or brownish on refrigeration. It will also separate into the creamy top layer and a lighter-colored layer. You should then swirl it lightly so that the milk mixes properly.

Thawed milk tastes soapy and smells different because the fats breakdown in the milk. It is safe for babies to consume the milk after thawing. If your baby doesn’t drink this milk, you can scald the milk and then quickly cool and freeze it. Doing this will switch off the enzyme, which usually breaks down the fats in the milk.

3. Is It Safe To Microwave The Breastmilk?

If you microwave the milk, it will develop hot spots in the bottles. It can be very dangerous when you feed the baby. Instead, you should hold the bottle under warm running water, swirl the container and then give it to your baby.

Instead, you can also use bottle warmers.

4. Is It Safe to Offer Cold Expressed Breastmilk For Your Baby Soon After Refrigeration?

It will not make any difference and also there is no evidence that babies require warm milk. However, most babies prefer milk which is at body temperature. The safest way is to warm the milk by placing it is a bowl of warm water and then offer it to your baby.

5. How Much Breastmilk Is Sufficient For A Single Feed?

It cannot be estimated as babies feeding habits differ from each other. Young ones can just take a small volume, a few milliliters in a single feed whereas older ones can take more. Also, your little one’s appetite may by more on some days and less on other days. Therefore, a rough rule of thumb is to take at least 100 milliliters, plus little extra for each feed. You can later estimate from your baby’s feeding habits.

6. How Can You Feed Expressed Milk For Your Baby?

The common way to offer expressed breastmilk is through a bottle. The alternatives are a special feeding cup, a plastic syringe, or an egg cup. These feeding methods through may be new, are the best for preterm or ill babies who have not learned to feed effectively.

7. Can You Defrost Frozen Breastmilk?

Once the milk is frozen, you can only defrost it before you serve it your baby. Use it straight away after defrosting. Frozen milk is also better than formula milk. Do not freeze milk once it is thawed. You can store the thawed or frozen milk in refrigerator, but cannot refreeze them.

8. Can You Cup Feed With Expressed Breastmilk?

Cup feeding can only be done under a proper supervision of a nurse. Do not give your baby in a cup until you feel confident about it. It can endanger your baby as it may cause choking.

9. Can You Mix Freshly Expressed Breastmilk With Stored Milk?

You can mix freshly expressed milk with frozen milk that is expressed on the same day. But, you have to refrigerate the fresh milk separately and then add to the earlier stored frozen milk. You should not add warm milk to frozen milk as it thaws the frozen milk.

Hope this post helps you to understand about storage and usage of breastmilk. Do share your experiences with us in the comment section below.

 

How To Store And Use Breast Milk – Girls’s Breast Milk Storage