-
Breast milk can be frozen in glass bottles. Kristin Duvall/Photodisc/Getty Images There are times when you may need to express and freeze your breast milk, such as when you are returning to work and want to continue feeding your baby breast milk. Prior to expressing the milk, wash your hands, the breast pump --- if you use one --- and all the milk storage containers. Date the containers to ensure they are not left in the freezer too long.
Hard-Sided Containers
-
Freeze in glass or hard-sided plastic containers that do not contain bisphenol A (BPA). Ensure the lids fit tightly. Glass bottles are more susceptible to breakage and may not be accepted by your daycare center.
Freezer Bags
-
Freezer bags that are specifically made for freezing breast milk are another option. Do not use bottle liners, as they are not designed to go in the freezer, or ordinary freezer bags, as they are not designed for breast milk. Place your freezer bags in a hard, covered container to reduce the risk of breakage. You can also double bag your milk.
Storage Duration
-
Guidelines for milk storage change, so ensure you are using the most up-to-date guidelines. As of 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends placing containers in the back of the freezer --- not in the door. Breast milk kept in this fashion in the freezer compartment inside a fridge can be kept for up to two weeks. When the freezer has a separate door from the fridge, breast milk can be stored for three to six months. In a deep freezer (chest or upright), milk can be stored for six to 12 months.
No comments:
Post a Comment