Things to consider when storing your breastmilk

If you are a working mother or spend a considerable amount of time away from the baby, then breastfeeding the baby can be a challenge. As per the WHO guidelines, a newborn baby should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months. After that, you should continue breastfeeding the baby, along with solid food, till the baby is two years of age.

In such a situation, the only option available to you is to store the breastmilk.

What Are the Things to Consider for Storing Breastmilk?

Just like regular milk, breastmilk also requires proper storage. Here are a few ways you can store the milk for future use.

• Fresh milk: If you have freshly expressed the milk and plan to feed the baby in the next 4 hours, then you can store it in room temperature. But remember to keep the room temperature at 25 degrees or less. Otherwise, the milk will get spoiled easily.

If you are planning to use the milk only after 4 hours, then it is best to store it in a refrigerator. The liquid will remain unspoiled if it is stored at a temperature of less than 4 degree Celsius. 

• Previously frozen and thawed milk: If you want to feed frozen milk to the baby, then you should thaw it first. Once melted, the milk will remain for 1-2 hours at room temperature. If you want to extend the shelf-life for 24 hours, then you should refrigerate it.

But always remember not to re-freeze thawed breastmilk.

The main problem whilst storing breastmilk is contamination caused by bacteria and other microorganisms.  To prevent this, you should sterilise the bottle, or milk container, and all other utensils used for storing the milk.

But for this purpose, we made the Haakaa Freezer Trays in 3 handy cup sizes.  Made of 100% silicone, this handy little tray is totally heatproof, microwave safe, dishwasher safe and free of any nasties that come with leaching plastic freezer trays.

Haakaa freezer trays are perfect for breastmilk, but can be repurposed as baby gors to be used for freezing solids. Freeze large batches of food into easy, perfectly-sized meals.