Making The Most of the Breastmilk You Pump

By Meri Hanson Levy, MFT, CLE

Make the most of your breastmilk storage by safely pumping and storing your milk.

• Wash your hands before you pump. Starting with clean hands ensures your milk is free from bacteria that can spoil it more quickly.
• Store your milk in 1-4 oz amounts to reduce wasted milk when thawing for bottles.
• You can combine milk pumped at different times as long as all the milk is chilled before combining.
• Refrigerated milk has more anti-infective properties than frozen milk. Use refrigerated milk before frozen milk if you have it handy.
• Breastmilk can be stored at room temperature for up to 10 hours, in a refrigerator for up to 8 days, or in a freezer up to 6 months (if your freezer is cold enough to keep ice cream hard).
• Use hard-sided plastic or glass containers with tight-fitting lids, or freezer bags that are designed for storing breastmilk.
• You can thaw and heat breastmilk under warm, running tap water. Never boil or microwave breastmilk.
• Mix or shake bottle before testing the temperature. It is normal for breastmilk to separate when stored.
• If milk has been frozen and thawed, it can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours for later use. It should not be refrozen.
• Once heated and offered to your baby, you may offer the remaining breastmilk one more time, but it should be discarded after two hours.