Breast milk is heralded as the most nutritious food for an infant and many mothers choose to breastfeed their babies as opposed to bottle feeding. When choosing to breastfeed, a mother must take into consideration the fact that she may not always be present to nurse her baby, especially if the mother is choosing to return to work before her baby is weaned. When this happens, having a well stocked supply of stored breast milk can come in handy.
When it comes to expressing and storing breast milk, there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration; will you be feeding baby expressed milk regularly or just once in a while, do you need short-term or long term storage, and how can you express the most milk and store in a sterilized manner.
Expressing Breast Milk
A nursing mother can express breast milk in one of two ways. She can use a breast pump or she can express her milk manually. For most women using a breast pump will not only be faster, it will also yield a higher milk supply.
Women who choose to express manually should massage the breast, then firmly squeeze down the breast to get the milk out.
Choosing a Storage Container
There are many pre-sterilized breast milk storage containers on the market, and a nursing mother can choose which one is most convenient and preferred by her.
Some containers hook directly up to a breast pump and do not require transfer to another unit. These will often look like small cups. A woman can also pump into a bottle and put in in a refrigerator if she is planning on using the milk that day.
Other containers resemble ziplock bags and a woman will have to express milk into a bottle and then pour the milk into the bag. These bags may work better for breast milk that is going to be frozen than that which will be stored in a fridge.
Women should choose storage containers with clearly marked ounces to avoid guessing how much is in each.
Storing Breast Milk in a Refrigerator
According to Kids Health for Parents, breast milk can be stored in the back of a refrigerator for up to three days. The refrigerator temperature should be set between 32-39 degrees F. Any warmer and the milk may be compromised.
Freezing Breast Milk
Freezing breast milk is a great way to establish a good supply for future use. It allows a nursing mom to pump more milk without worrying that it will be wasted, and frozen breast milk can be stored longer than if it were refrigerated.
Breast milk can be frozen at zero degrees F for up to four months. Breast milk should be stored in the back of a freezer and never in the door.
Expressed breast milk can also be stored at room temperature for up to four hours but should not be fed to a baby if it has been left out longer. Storing expressed breast milk is a great way to make sure a baby continues to get his or her mother's milk, even if the mother cannot be there to feed him or her.
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