Is it ok to save undrank breast milk?

Question

My 6 week old son sometimes doesn't finish his bottle and leaves an ounce or more. He will usually finish it later (within an hour or two). Is it ok to put the bottle in the fridge for later? We never save it for more than 4 hours. I hate to waste the milk that I work so hard to make.

Answer 1

It is okay to save it, but do not reheat it in the microwave.

Freshly pumped breast milk can be kept:

    * 10 hours at room temperature below 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

    * 4-8 hours at room temperature below 79 degrees Fahrenheit.

    * 5-8 days in the refrigerator at 39 degrees Fahrenheit or below.

    * 2 weeks in a freezer compartment inside the refrigerator.

    * 3-4 months in a refrigerator-freezer with a separate door.

    * 6-12 months in a deep freezer at temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

Answer 2

when i was breastfeeding my daughter doctor said it was okay to save it but not longer than  3 hours, because of bacteria in there saliva starts breaking it down

Answer 3

No don't put it in the fridge it is okay to keep it out for about 2 hours after that if he hasn't drunk it yet then go ahead and fridgerate it because you don't want to keep refrigerating it and warming it back up it will spoil the milk...

Answer 4

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/reusi...

Reusing expressed breastmilk

Q: Should breastmilk left over from a feeding be dumped immediately (like formula), or can you save it and give it to baby later?

A: It should be safe to save the left-over milk and use it at the next feeding.

Per Breastfeeding, A Guide for the Medical Profession by Ruth Lawrence, MD (p. 438):

    Breastmilk can safely stand at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours and need not be discarded if the first feeding attempt is incomplete. In contrast, formula must be refrigerated and discarded after the first feeding attempt because it contains no antibodies or infection protection factors.

Can I 're-use' pumped breastmilk? Q&A by Ruth Lawrence, MD

    "... If the milk is warmed up but not used, it is OK to reheat the milk once. But the more you reheat the more you decrease some of the valuable immunologic properties of the milk..."

If my baby doesn't finish a bottle of pumped breast milk can I save it for later? by Jan Barger, R.N., M.A., IBCLC

    "...Based on this study, which admittedly needs to be done on a larger scale, it would seem to me that expressed breast milk, fed to the baby, partially consumed, and then refrigerated, could be used for one more feeding no more than four hours later. That's probably fairly conservative. One of the best tests of whether the milk is spoiled is to do what you do with cow's milk: Smell it and taste it!"

Brusseau R. Bacterial Analysis of Refrigerated Human Milk Following Infant Feeding. May 1998.

    "Summary: The number of infants who are breastfed is on the rise, as is the number of women in the workforce. Many women who choose breastfeeding after returning to work, express milk during the day and store this milk for a future feeding. When infants do not finish a bottle of expressed breastmilk, doctors recommend unfinished portions be thrown away. This study examined bacterial levels in expressed, partially consumed breastmilk that was stored for 48 hours at 4-6° C. A portion of unconsumed milk was examined as a control. Samples were taken every 12 hours for bacterial analysis. Tests were performed to identify total colony counts, pathogenic Staphylococci, coliforms and b-hemolytic Streptococci. This study showed no significant difference between bottles that were partially consumed and those that were not exposed to the baby’s mouth for 5 out of 6 participants. All milk samples had colony counts in the acceptable range of < 105 colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/ml). Although this project provides evidence that it may be safe to refeed a child a bottle of breastmilk, due to the small sample size, further tests should be performed."

Answer 5

Yes, it's fine.

Breast milk is a living thing & fights bacteria, so you can save it for later, unlike formula.

God Bless