New research suggests breast milk can be stored safely for at least 4 days

Amara Ezeamama-Onye on Wed, 6th Jan 2010 5:01 pm 

So does this mean that breastfeeding moms are not advised to freeze any milk for long term storage or does it imply that if such mom’s freeze breastmilk, such milk is still okay if consumed within 4 days of thawing out in the refrigerator?

I know this is one study but I find it frustrating that they did not look at the most common scenario for a lot of working moms - storing expressed milk for long term use in the freezer. Granted, it can be hypothesized that the sooner a baby consumes expressed milk the better, but I’d like to know how much worse thawed breast milk is for the baby and how this compares to formula feeding.

Elizabeth on Thu, 7th Jan 2010 2:15 am 

hmmmm….i have read several places that it was 8 days of safe storage in the refrigerator. did this new study refute that? or did they not test past 4 days? it’s hard to tell from what the article says.

Niki on Fri, 8th Jan 2010 9:48 pm 

This is rediculous. My son was in the NICU following birth and the guidelines we received said it’s OK to use fresh milk after up to 8 days in the fridge, which I’ve done for the full 12 months I’ve been nursing. I’m also feeding my son milk that is nearly 12 months old that has been in the deep freeze. He’s never been sick, had an infection, nothing. Saying that moms have to pitch milk after 4 days and can’t freeze it just discourages breastfeeding unnecessarily. I never comment on news stories, but thought this one was rediculous.

Leslie on Sat, 9th Jan 2010 4:10 am 

I have always been told and read that milk storage in the fridge was safe for 5-7 days and 3 months in a regular freezer. I feed my daughter milk that is 5 days old and she is just fine. I nursed my son who is 7 now and the same rules apply now as they did then!

amanda on Sat, 9th Jan 2010 3:20 pm 

Yah - here is what I have heard:

fresh, room temp up to 8 hours
fresh, stored in fridge up to 8 days
frozen, stored in regular freezer up to 6 months
frozen, thawed in the fridge, 1 day

My son is 8 months, just had his first cold. No other sickness and I’ve follwed these guidlines.

shenea on Sun, 10th Jan 2010 2:14 am 

i heard from a ped.
3hours room temp
3days fridgerated
3months frozen

Sonya on Sun, 10th Jan 2010 3:10 pm 

Everything I’ve read prior to this article stated that it was safe to store breastmilk in the fridge 5 - 7 days and in a regular freezer up to 3 months, and in a deep freezer for 6 months. I followed this recommendation when I nursed my now 5 year old for 18 months. He was never sick until after I quit. I now have a 6 month old and I am following the same guidelines. He has caught a couple of colds from his brother, but seems to recover quickly. I am also a working mom. I, too, would like to know if the milk was tested after 4 days and how much nutrition is lost after the milk is frozen compared to how quickly the milk is frozen after it is pumped. To me, there is not enough information in this study.

Kristie on Mon, 11th Jan 2010 2:06 pm 

I had to freeze a store breast milk at the beginning after birth in order to be able to continue to feed my baby after I go back to work. The thought that it is not good to freeze it only discourages breast feeding. I guess whether it is goood or not so good doesn’t matter, breast milk is still better than formula. MY now 3 year old survived just fine with frozen milk and I was able to feed her for over a year. I plan to do the same with my newborn.

Nicole on Mon, 11th Jan 2010 2:33 pm 

I’ve nursed for a total of 31 months (15 w/ my daughter) and 16 and counting with my son. I’ve always gone by:

8 days in the fridge
8 hours at room temp
3-4 months in the freezer/6 in deep freeze
24 hours once thawed

While I have not had to use milk past the 4 month mark from the freezer, I’d probably give it the sniff test and go from there.

Both my kids never got sick the first year and with my daughter, she was in day care with 7 other infants!

Amy on Mon, 11th Jan 2010 6:22 pm 

I think this study was to verify the quality of milk after four days and give us tips on how to store it. They simply are trying to give us some pointers on breastmilk storage.

About freezing your milk and working - do what I do, pump daily and give your child the milk that you pumped for the next day. I NEVER freeze my milk - instead I just use what I pump the next day…. EASY.

Shawn Douglas on Mon, 11th Jan 2010 6:26 pm 



To everyone who has commented,

When we read this, we have to keep a few things in mind.

First, the study researchers were being very conservative with their four-day estimate. It should be noted that their study protocol rigorously tested the milk ONLY to 96 hours. However, they do go on to say that “Even after the 96 hours, there was virtually no bacterial contamination because the other components in the milk remained viable.” But they didn’t rigorously test it after 96 hours. So for those of you asking, now you know. More rigorous research needs to be done beyond four days.

Second, as the article suggests, hospitals have notoriously been reluctant to store breast milk beyond 48 hours. Those hospitals are playing it ultra-conservatively. That conservativeness is what actually prompted this study. There haven’t been many studies like this, so cricizing the study authors doesn’t seem entirely appropriate. Yes, more research needs to be done, but these folks should be thanked for actually taking the time to begin formal research on the topic.

Third, regarding the freezing of milk, here is the only information supplied by my source:

“Freezing has been an additional approach. But the freezing of breast milk causes the destruction of key infection-fighting cells that can protect the milk from bacterial colonization, Schanler said. There also are nutritional losses when breast milk is frozen.”

A Google search comes up with:

* http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P1-101190463.html
* http://jhl.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/0890334409342987v1
* http://www.bottomlinesecrets.com/article.html?article_id=36030
* http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/abstract.do?topicKey=~9L9CtWPg7cWVT2&refNum=10-13

That said, it seems the loss of antioxidants from freezing is obvious, but I can’t draw conclusions on bacteria and freezing breast milk.

veronica Schaedler RN, IBCLC. LCCE on Mon, 11th Jan 2010 8:14 pm 

As a supervisor of a Lactation Department and a Lamaze instructor I find it very concerning that you would post research results on a study which involved such a small sample and give mothers the impression that the guidelines from Dr. Schanler have anything to do with storage of expressed breastmilk in the home setting.
You also fail to comment on the recommendations published by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA).
Although I have not read the study, it appears that Dr. Schanler’s study was intended to look at practices in a hospital setting, most hospitals have shorter storage guidelines due the higher risk to the baby in a hospital setting.
At our hospital we store milk in the refrigerator for 48 hours, then freeze any unused milk. HMBANA has storage guidelines for a hospital setting which are very different than the storage guidelines for a home setting. It recommends that in a hospital the refrigerator storage time is 48-72 hours, stating that any unused milk should then be frozen. This is in Appendix 5: Summary for Handling Expressed Human Milk in the Hospital Setting, (2006).
Dr.Schanler’s study challenges these current practices which warrants repeated studies on a larger scale before the HMBANA recommends changes to practice in a hospital.
When a mother is storing milk at home we teach her that the guidelines are much different after discharge. In fact this is what HMBANA states for home/childcare settings:
“Freshly expressed human milk is safe at room temperature for 4-6 hours.
“Milk can safely be refrigerated for up to 8 days”.
“Thawed milk, fresh frozen or pasteurized, must be refrigerated after thawing and used within 24 hours.”

Breastmilk should not be stored in the refrigerator or freezer door due to the inconsistent temperature in that location.

It also states that frozen milk has “slightly” decreased bacterial inhibitory factors and requires greater precaution. Your article implies that freezing destroys most of the vital nutrients and that is simply not true.

In my opinion, this article presents incorrect information and is irresponsible by implying that mothers should not freeze their breastmilk.
Veronica Schaedler RN, IBCLC, LCCE

Eva on Tue, 12th Jan 2010 5:15 am 

I’ve read many things that say freezing milk up to 3 months is fine, and storing it in the refrigerator for up to a week is ok too. So that’s what I do. I don’t think it’s feasible to only store milk up to 4 days and have enough stored to feed your child while you’re away. My son is exclusively breastfed at 6 months (and a very healthy 18 lbs), only because I store excess milk longer than 4 days. Still, wouldn’t breast milk that’s beginning to lose nutrients be healthier than an artificial replacement?

Shawn Douglas on Tue, 12th Jan 2010 6:46 pm 



Veronica,

I appreciate your thorough response. I tried to address some of the issues you mentioned in the comments section yesterday.

It was never my intent to mislead anyone with this story. The story was reported on through multiple news outlets, and I attempted to lay out the information in a clear fashion. In retrospect, I should have included a final paragraph reiterating the small sample size and the need for more extensive studies to be done.

However, I stand firmly that the article was beneficial to the general populous. The people deserve to know what is going on in scientific research, especially research that affects their wellbeing. The key to presenting that research to the public is making it understandable and interesting. Finding the balance between presenting too much and not enough information can be difficult, however. In this case, media outlets and bloggers thought that the research was noteworthy to the public.

I respect your viewpoint as a professional, however, and understand how news like this may lead to confusion on what the right thing to do is for a baby. I hope we both can agree that more research needs to be done on the safety and viability of breast milk storage.

Thanks for your reply.

Lisa on Tue, 12th Jan 2010 8:34 pm 

I am the mother of a 5 month old. I was unable to breastfeed so I pumped my breastmilk. I’ve never had any problems with fresh vs. refrigerated vs. frozen. I froze all my milk at the beginning - she was taking 24 oz and I was making 40 or more so I felt I should keep it and freeze it. She’s never been sick nor even had any issues with vomiting except for a 2 week period where she had formula due to an infection I had and didn’t have the milk supply stored for the 2 weeks she needed. Breastmilk has been best for her and I’ve never seen/smelled a difference in any way that it’s stored while I’ve been feeding her. I’m also a nurse and know that either way she is fed is perfectly fine as long as she is growing properly.

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