How long can you keep frozen breast milk after thawing?

Many children are breastfed from birth. During the breastfeeding process, a problem often encountered is the preservation of breast milk. Some women have more breast milk, so most of the excess breast milk is frozen in the refrigerator. When the child is eating breast milk, the breast milk needs to be thawed. The thawed breast milk must be consumed as soon as possible to avoid deterioration. So how long can frozen breast milk be stored after thawing?

1. Breast milk can be stored in the freezer of the refrigerator for about two months. When thawing, it is generally recommended to use 40-degree warm water to thaw gradually. Microwave ovens are not allowed. It is recommended to drink the breast milk within 1 hour after thawing. If you cannot finish it, it should not be kept in the refrigerator for more than four hours. If it is kept for too long, the nutrients in the breast milk will be destroyed and bacteria will easily breed. After the baby drinks it, it is easy to cause bacterial imbalance and diarrhea. It is recommended to choose multiple storage containers when storing breast milk, and the amount of breast milk should not be too much so that it is convenient to consume.

2. Store breast milk at room temperature. Breast milk can be stored for 4-8 hours in a room temperature environment not exceeding 25 degrees. Storing breast milk in the refrigerator: Storing breast milk in the refrigerator at 0-4 degrees can keep it for 5-7 days. The storage time of breast milk in the refrigerator may be affected by factors such as the refrigerator model and working performance. If you don't have a separate freezer for storage, set the temperature in your refrigerator to a slightly lower setting. This is to avoid opening the refrigerator frequently, which will affect the freshness of breast milk.

3. The storage time of frozen breast milk after thawing is generally significantly shortened, and the storage time of thawed breast milk generally cannot exceed 4 hours. Breast milk that has been thawed after being frozen needs to be fully heated before feeding the baby, and the heated breast milk needs to be consumed all at once. If the thawed and heated breast milk cannot be consumed in one go, it cannot be saved for next consumption. After thawing, frozen breast milk will turn a little yellow or brown, which is normal.

4. Storing breast milk in a deep freeze (below -18 degrees Celsius) in the freezer of a refrigerator can store breast milk for 6 months. Special containers should be used to store breast milk, such as breast milk storage bags or breast milk storage cups. Each time's expressed milk should be bottled separately and not mixed. When there are many bottles, the date of expression should be marked, at least accurately to "morning" or "afternoon", so that when it is reheated for the baby to eat, the milk that is sucked out first can be eaten first.