CDC Guidelines for Breastmilk Storage
BREASTMILK STORAGE GUIDELINES by the CDC (For healthy, term babies)
Okay, repeat after me- “The sooner the better, The sooner the better, The sooner the better!” Sure, breastmilk can still be good if left out for 4 hours (maybe even longer in a cool room), but if you can, feed it as soon as possible. It may be ok up to 4 days in the fridge, but if you can, feed it or freeze it sooner than that! What about the freezer? The CDC says 6 month is best, up to 12 months is acceptable. (The CDC used to differentiate freezer types, they no longer do this.)
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
- Milk is good for 24 hours in a cooler with ice. (monitor temperature throughout the day and add ice as needed)
- After complete thaw, meaning no more ice crystals, use milk within 24 hours.
- Milk that has only partially thawed can be refrozen!
- After using a bottle warmer, feed within 2 hours.
- After baby has started drinking from the bottle, use within 2 hours. Formula or breastmilk/formula mixed should be used within 1 hours of baby starting the bottle.
- ”Room temp” is generally around 70 degrees- adjust for warmer or cooler houses.
This information is provided by the Center for Disease Control and is up to date. You will see a WIDE range of hours posted by many sources. As usual, I encourage you to do you research and use your own judgment.
Freezing Breastmilk
Storing breastmilk in BRICKS can really help freezer space and organization, AND thaws quicker!
1️⃣ Remove all the air from your bag of breastmilk. Don’t fill more than the recommended amount on the bag, and measure using a bottle instead of the bag, which can be inaccurate. Don’t know how to get that air out? There are some great examples on YouTube. I use the edge of my counter.
2️⃣ Freeze FLAT on their sides. I use a plastic tray to keep them perfectly flat in my freezer!
(I put a light box, like fish sticks, on top to really flatten the bags out!)
3️⃣ Make a brick! Stack flat frozen bags together into a gallon ziplock bag and date it. Store in the freezer- CDC says best by 6 months but good up to 12 months, especially in a chest freezer! (I like to freeze 5 ounces per bag and put 10 of them into a gallon ziplock bag to make bricks of 50 ounces each- easy storage/easy counting!)
Make sure to measure your breastmilk in the bottle before transferring into a breastmilk bag to freeze. You’ll find that you achieve greater accuracy when you use the bottle first to measure!
IMPORTANT! Never fill a breastmilk bag over the specified maximum amount to reduce risk of leaking or expanding too much while freezing.
Thawing Breastmilk
Your guide to THAWING BREASTMILK!
If you freeze your milk bags flat, they actually thaw pretty quickly and evenly!
👍 DO: Thaw overnight in the fridge or in a bowl of warm water. (You can use hot water if you’ll use that warm milk for a feeding right away.)
👎 DON’T: Microwave the milk or place a frozen milk bag directly into a bottle warmer touching the heating elements.
Feeding temperate should be about the temp of the inside of your wrist so just take the bottle and put a drop on your wrist. You shouldn’t be able to feel it! There’s no harm in feeling cold milk if baby takes it!
❄️If the milk is only partially thawed and still has ice crystals in it, you can refreeze it. Use milk within 24 hrs after complete thaw! ❄️
