How to store milk after it is squeezed out

Many mothers have to go to work and cannot breastfeed their babies often. In addition, many people have plenty of milk, so their babies often cannot finish the milk and need to store it. However, they are worried that it may be frozen and its nutrients will be destroyed. They don’t know how to store breast milk properly. When storing breast milk, you need to prepare a breast milk bag first, and then refrigerate the squeezed breast milk properly.

How to store expressed milk

1. Prepare in advance - adjust breastfeeding time and accumulate breast milk

Adjust the time - 1-2 weeks before the mother goes to work, start giving the baby a "psychological vaccination". Adjust and arrange the baby's breastfeeding time according to the mother's work and rest time after work to give the baby an adaptation process. If the workplace is close to home, you can feed the baby before going to work, go home to breastfeed once during lunch break, and then breastfeed after get off work. In addition, a few breastfeedings at night can basically meet the baby's needs; if you are far from home, you can express breast milk in advance and store it, ask family members to feed 1-2 times on your behalf, and then breastfeed when you return home at night.

Accumulate breast milk - You can express some breast milk 1-2 weeks in advance and store it for later use. Put the expressed breast milk into a container and freeze or refrigerate it.

2. Practical operation - utensils, milk storage, thawing

Prepare utensils: prepare a breast pump and milk storage utensils - it is best to use plastic products that are suitable for freezing and have good sealing, such as breast milk storage bags, followed by glass products. It is best not to use metal products, as the active factors in breast milk will adhere to glass or metal and reduce the nutrients in the breast milk.

Breast milk expression: You can express and store breast milk the day before going to work or before going to work, and label the date and time of expression on the outside of the container. This way you will know the shelf life of the breast milk to avoid uncleanness and expiration that may lead to bacterial growth and cause digestive tract diseases. No matter how busy a mother is, she must ensure that she expresses milk every 3 hours. This can effectively prevent breast engorgement and a decrease in milk secretion, allowing breastfeeding to continue better. The expressed milk can also be stored so that the baby does not have to worry about not having breast milk. If the workplace does not have refrigeration equipment, the mother can prepare a mini refrigerator to store the food temporarily. When returning home, the baby should eat the food as soon as possible or put it in the refrigerator for refrigeration.

Storage: Leave some space in the container containing breast milk. Do not fill it too full or close the lid too tightly to prevent the container from freezing and bursting. It is best to divide breast milk into small portions (60-120ml) and freeze or refrigerate them to make it easier for family members or nannies to feed the baby according to the baby's appetite and avoid waste. The portions should be labeled and the date should be recorded.

Thawing: When thawing frozen breast milk, you should first rinse the sealed bag with cold water, then gradually add hot water until the breast milk is completely thawed and reaches a temperature suitable for feeding, or place it in the refrigerator to slowly thaw and defrost.

Do not heat breast milk directly over a stove or microwave as this will destroy the nutrients in the breast milk. After thawing, pour it directly into the bottle and feed your baby. Thawed breast milk must be consumed within 24 hours and cannot be re-frozen. It is best not to feed your baby leftover milk. How long it can be stored depends on the specific situation. In summer, it will basically go bad in 2 hours at room temperature.