The right way to store breastmilk

Apr 10, 2021 Pratishtha Tiwari

Storing breastmilk

Either you are heading back to work or just trying to shift your baby to bottles, pumping is a great way to stock breast milk. istock

The right way to store breastmilk

Here is the right container, the right temperature and the right way to store breastmilk. istock

The right place

Breast milk should be stored in the coolest place you can find, away from direct sunlight. Do not store it at temp higher than 77 F. istock

The right container

Use a clean container, like screw-cap bottles, hard plastic cups with tight caps or heavy-duty breast milk storage bags. The bags should not be filled past the indicator line. istock

Breast storage bags

Make sure to seal the bag tightly and place it in a food storage container to keep it away from meats and other uncooked foods. istock

You can mix milk from several pumping sessions

You can add fresh breast milk to refrigerated breast milk. Always chill the new milk before adding to the old. istock

Don't reheat the already warmed milk

Rewarming breast milk more than once can increase the risk of bacteria growth. Breast milk should be warmed only once. istock

Label the milk

Breast milk once thawed cannot be frozen again. Thus, to avoid wasting unused milk, store milk in small batches and label them with the proper date. istock

Tip

Always place the milk at the back in the centre of the freezer, where the temperature is the coldest and most constant. istock

Next: Food swaps to make during pregnancy

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The right way to store breastmilk

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