BREASTMILK STORAGE – FREEZING BREASTMILK
Freezing Breastmilk
Mamas re-entering the workforce or those who pump their breastmilk for a variety of reasons are often curious about whether long-term freezer storage of breastmilk will compromise milk composition and quality.
It's a logical concern we want the best for our babies! Given the tremendous effort to pump and store breastmilk we think this question deserves an answer.
How Long Can You Freeze Breastmilk?
There are many circulating myths on this one! Some forums state that milk should be consumed by baby within 72 hours of pumping or its nutritional quality is all but void. Others say there is a magical number of days, beyond which frozen milk will be jeopardized. What’s the jury on this one….
So what does the science say? Are key macronutrients and immunoactive components preserved during the freezing process or are they destroyed?
In the October 2016 edition of The Journal of Pediatrics this topic was featured. The researchers studied freezer storage of human milk for 9 months at -20C. Guess what? The immunoactive cells and nutritional nutrients analyzed were preserved!
This data is a sigh of relief for all loving parents for whom pumping and milk storage is part of the breastfeeding journey. Pump on, Mamas!
Do you exclusively pump your breastmilk or pump and breastfeed? We have a review from an exclusively pumping mama on using our tincture, Milk Aplenty to increase her breastmilk supply.
Check out Medela’s article on How To Freeze Breastmilk for more tips on freezing breastmilk.