Many women who have recently become mothers, due to various factors, keep their breast milk for children daily or from time to time. In this case, it is significant not only to comply with all the rules for "mining" a valuable liquid, but also to create conditions for its proper storage. What should be the storage of breast milk, we will consider further.
How to collect breast milk for storage?
In order that Mom's milk be usable and not lose its amazing properties, it is required to adhere to the established hygienic norms when extracting and collecting it. In addition, given that this process is not exactly identical to suckling a baby's breast, and in the female body, there are several other reactions that can worsen the production of milk, it is recommended to prepare before a decantation. Improve the allocation of milk help:
- easy massage of mammary glands ;
- warming the chest under a warm shower or by applying a towel soaked in hot water;
- use of warm tea with milk or other warm drink.
Pumping can be carried out using a mechanical or electric discharge pump, as well as without instruments. Many experts believe that the latter method is the most acceptable, because with his help, the mammary glands are more efficiently emptied and the new milk is being stimulated. It should be remembered that short, but frequent expression is more favorable for lactation, rather than long, but rare. Whichever method is used to express and store breast milk, the following should be observed:
- Before the procedure, wash your hands and chest with soap.
- The container for the workpiece must be dried, clean, sterilized.
- Continuing breastfeeding, pumping should be done after the baby is satisfied.
How much breast milk can be stored after pumping?
After decanting into a clean, tightly sealed container, you need to ensure safe storage of breast milk. It is necessary to note on the tank the day and time of its receipt. The shelf life of breast milk is determined by the location and temperature of the environment, and, depending on this, it changes significantly. Consider how long it is allowed to store this product in the refrigerator, freezer, without cooling.
How much breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator?
In the event that the expressed portion is planned to be given to the child over the next few days, the optimum storage location will be a refrigerator. Put milk in the refrigerator, you can not put it on the door - it is better to move the container closer to the back wall on a shelf with dairy products. It is unacceptable that near this tank stored raw meat, fish, eggs, medicines, raw vegetables and fruits. The shelf life of breast milk in the refrigerator at a temperature of 0 to plus 4 ° C is 7 days. If the temperature there is higher, then this rate is reduced to one day.
How much breast milk can be stored in the freezer?
Creating a reserve of milk for a long time, it should be placed in the freezer. It is not necessary to worry that after freezing it will lose its usefulness-it has been established that breast milk aged under the right conditions for half a year is much more valuable than many popular formulas for feeding. The shelf life of breast milk in the freezer varies depending on the temperature and the presence of a separate door in the chamber:
- at -15 ° C without a separate door - 14 days;
- at -18 ° C with a separate door - 4 months;
- at -20 ° C - 6 months.
Expressed breast milk - storage at room temperature
Breast milk, storage at room temperature which is entirely permissible, is able to save all its valuable qualities and counteract the reproduction of microflora. If feeding takes place on the same day after a few hours, you can no doubt leave it without chilling. In this case, the product should be in a shaded location, without access to direct sun rays. You can cover it with a towel soaked in water to further protect. The shelf life of breast milk at room temperature is as follows:
- at a temperature of up to 25 ° C - 6 hours;
- up to 19 - 22 ° C - 10 hours;
- up to 15 ° C - day.
Breast milk storage rules
When planning storage of breast milk after decanting, in addition to duration and temperature, one should also take into account such important rules:
- Do not add the next portion of expressed milk to the previously prepared one.
- If the expressed portions are small, let us assume a method of layer-by-layer freezing, when a fresh cooled dose, smaller in volume, is added to the frozen milk.
- Do not store milk left after feeding from the bottle.
- Keep the milk better portions, designed for single-time feeding.
- On a walk for storage it is recommended to use thermoses and refrigerated bags.
- Before freezing, the product should be kept in the refrigerator.
- The storage period of expressed breast milk, received in the first month after childbirth, should not be long, because in the future, its composition, ideally suited for a month's crumbs, will not be able to meet the needs of a grown babe.
Breast milk storage bags
Expressed breast milk, the storage of which is provided for a while, should be placed in the intended container. In any pharmacy you can buy for this purpose packages of dense polyethylene, very convenient to use, especially for freezing. Such a container for storing mother's breast milk is compact, hermetically sealed and simply sealed, delivered in a sterile form, has a measuring scale. Some sachets can be directly attached to the breast pump. It should be understood that the packages are disposable, you can not fill milk in them twice.
Containers for storage of breast milk
If storage of breast milk in the refrigerator is envisaged, reusable containers of translucent hard plastic or opaque plastic can be used for this purpose. They are great for freezing. When planning the storage of breast milk in such a container, it is necessary to wash it gently and sterilize each time. Models with an air removal system are optimal when storing breast milk after pumping in the refrigerator or freezer is done in small portions. In addition, you can choose from single-use containers.
Bottles for breast milk storage
The most environmentally friendly version of the container for the preservation of mother's milk is glass containers. Bottles made of this material are good for harvesting, and for feeding the baby. However, for a freezer, glass containers are not suitable, because they do not withstand a sharp change in temperature and can easily crack, break. Therefore, it is better to use them when placing milk in the refrigerator or at a plus temperature in the air. Before storing the expressed breast milk in a bottle, it is necessary to wash and sterilize it.