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Eileen
Molina

Why women store breast milk?

I am 32 week pregnant and now after few weeks I will start nursing my baby. I am going to become mother for the first time so I don’t know that how to feed my baby. I have seen many women storing their breast milk. So please tell me that what the need of storing breast milk? Can’t they give their fresh milk to baby? And also how long can we save breast milk?

8 months ago

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Romana Alam | Sep 14 2011

Breast feeding is considered the best natural way of bondingwith your newly born child. Usually, mothers begin to breast feed theirchildren shortly after they are born. This process of breast feeding cancontinue for some years (may be when the child is about 2 years old), dependingon various factors; these are subjective factors and can vary from person toperson. Many women want to work on their breast before the baby is born, sothat the new born can easily suck the milk. There are some exercisesrecommended, if you want to try any.

Breast milk is best fed fresh, from the mother to child. However,many mothers store their milk to be used later. Reasons can be many, like ifthe mother is working and is not available to breast feed her child on severaloccasions during a day, she can store her pumped milk to be used later. Sometimes,recovery process post delivery may want you to use extracted milk.

There are certain guidelines when storing and using storedbreast milk. Milk can be stored in a plastic or glass bottle, preferably asterile container. You can also opt for milk pouches which are disposable. Afterextracting milk, put it in the refrigerator to allow it to cool. Freezing canalso be done, if needed. Sometimes, the milk changes its color. It may becomebluish, yellowish or brownish. You can also find the fatty part going to top. Itis normal for breast milk to separate. Labeling the milk is a good option. It will enable you to know the date and time of milk expression.

You can follow this guide for storing.

1. 4-8 hours when stored at room temperature, less than 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. 3-5 days when stored in the back of the body of the fridge (under 4 degrees celcius). The front part is warmer.

3. Up to 3 months when stored in a freezer.

4. Up to 6 months when stored in a deep freezer (less than 0 degree Celsius)

Please ensure that you do not re-freeze any defrosted milk. Discardany unused breast milk. Storing and using breast milk entails proper care andit is always advisable to get advice from an expert health professional. Bestof Luck!