Breast Milk Storage

This is a quote from a mother who was not identified:
I have to say that for the better part of the 8+ years I have been pumping and breast feeding my four kids, I have never left it out this long, but the most definitive research performed says you can leave fresh breast milk at room temperature for 10 HOURS!

Breast milk has anti-bacterial qualities which inhibit bacterial growth in the milk, even at room temperature. In fact, the bigger issue is not from the milk itself, but rather from other contaminants that affect the milk collection process, such as germs on mom’s hands and skin, the bottle, cap, etc.

Here are a couple of really interesting references for the 10 hour figure. There was a landmark study done in 1987 by researchers named Barger and Bull that compared milk in clean but not sterile containers left for 10 hours at room temperature and 10 hours in the refrigerator. The study found no statistically different bacteria levels! Just amazing! Here are some articles in order of preference.....


http://www.llli.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html

http://members.tripod.com/~bmsg/storageconcerns.htm

http://www.llli.org/NB/NBJulAug98p109.html

http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bbreastfeed/0,,3x9q,00.html

I myself, never left milk out longer than probably four hours or so. There were a few times when at work I realized I forgot the ice packs and it stayed warm the whole day. There were no ill effects on junior! All of this may have had more to do with my germ paranoia than actual science.

When my youngest was in the NICU and I was hospitalized after his birth I was pumping. I couldn’t get out of bed to deliver his milk to the NICU, and the poor nurses were often too busy to cart it down there for me. So I often worried about it "spoiling". Once when the neonatologist visited me to discuss my son I asked him about the milk at room temperature. I didn’t believe him at the time, but he said expressed breast milk was fine for up to 12 hours, and in fact has been used over the course of history in medicine to treat the wounds of patients who were injured in emergency situations when no other form of treatment was available. Again, just AMAZING!

Enjoy your breastfeeding experience and good luck with the pumping. What a wonderful gift for your baby!!