We often find this question: why can’t you thaw breast milk at room temperature?
Breast milk is very nutritious for your young one. To preserve the properties that make it nutritious, you have to thaw it correctly. Most people store breast milk in a freezer to make it readily available when needed. Thawing your breast milk at room temperature has a specific technique that prevents your breast milk from going to waste.
Why Can’t You Thaw Breast Milk at Room Temperature?
The best way to thaw breast milk is not by just putting it on the counter and hoping the room temperature will do the trick. As much as your wish is for your baby to enjoy breast milk at room temperature, thawing your breast milk in the refrigerator overnight will go a long way in preserving its nutrients and properties.
Don’t even think of thawing your frozen breast milk in boiling water or a microwave. Breast milk thawed this way creates hotspots that can easily scald your baby. Additionally, it will have lost its protective and nutritional value. It is recommended that breast milk thawed at room temperature should be fed to your baby within two hours or discarded.
How Do I Thaw Frozen Breast Milk?
When thawing frozen breast milk, you first need to consider the type of container you’ll store the milk in. After choosing the breast milk container you want, store it for one night in the refrigerator, put it in a bowl of warm water, or place it under a tap with running warm water.
Using a microwave or a stove to heat a bottle is not advisable. You should warm the breast milk gently to avoid having some parts be too cold or too hot as rapid heating affects the milk antibodies and should be avoided.
There is likely to be a cream layer that has risen to the top of the container you remove from the refrigerator. Gently swirl the container, mixing it with the rest of the milk. Don’t be alarmed, as separation is perfectly normal to occur during storage. Avoid shaking the bottle vigorously.
While no scientific research has proven that thawed breast milk will go bad if refrozen, many experts advise that it should be discarded after 24 hrs if not used.
What’s the Best Way to Store Expressed Breast Milk?
Labeling each container (use waterproof labels and ink) indicating the date you expressed the breast milk is essential. Remember to add your child’s name if your baby is attending a daycare facility and you need to carry some expressed breast milk bottles.
The best place to store your containers is at the back of the refrigerator; that’s where it’s the coolest. You can also store it in an insulated cooler with ice packs if you don’t have a fridge or a freezer.
Storing enough breast milk for one feeding is best to avoid wastage. Depending on your baby’s needs, start with 2-4 ounces; you can adjust accordingly as the baby grows. However, you can consider storing smaller portions, 1 to 2 ounces, just in case. Remember not to fill your containers to the brim, as breast milk tends to expand when freezing.
Tips for Storing Breast Milk at Room Temperature
Apart from the guidelines already given above, the following tips are also essential:
- Store in the coolest room temperature, preferably lower than 77 degrees F or 25 degrees C.
- If you notice that your room temperature is above recommended, place your containers in a refrigerator or insulated cooler immediately.
- Put a top or a cap (avoid a feeding nipple) on the milk storage bottle after removing milk from the containers. Alternatively, you can seal the storage bag.
- If you want to make the milk cooler, you can place a cold towel over the storage container.
- You should keep expressed breast milk away from direct sunlight or any heat source.
How Long Can Expressed Breast Milk Stay?
How you store your expressed breast milk will determine how long it can stay safe for use.
Have a look at general guidelines for healthy infants:
- Best storage period: Unlike freshly expressed milk which you can store for six hours, the longest you should use/store breast milk is four hours.
- Up to one-day storage: Use an insulated cooler with ice packs to store freshly expressed milk for a whole day.
- More than one-day storage: Freshly expressed milk can be stored in clean conditions at the back of your refrigerator for four days. However, the recommended period is three days.
- Storage for more than one month: You can use a deep freezer to store your freshly expressed milk for up to 12 months. But, the recommended period is six months.
Storing breast milk for more extended periods has been discouraged by researchers, as it leads to loss of vitamin C.
Your baby’s needs for breast milk will change as they grow. A baby who is a few months old will not have the exact needs as a newborn. Giving the same baby breast milk expressed when they were born will not be beneficial. You will also find that storage guidelines for a sick, hospitalized, or preterm infant tends to differ.
Warming Up Thawed Breast Milk
The best way to give your baby thawed breast milk is by warming it to room/body temperature or right from the refrigerator. If you decide to warm it first, use a bottle warmer, hold the bottle under a tap with warm running water, or put it in a bowl of warm water.
It would be best to gently swirl the container to take care of any separation in the breast milk during freezing. It is essential to check the temperature of the warmed breast milk before giving it to your child.
Squirt a few drops on the inside of your wrist; it should feel a bit lukewarm. Avoid giving your child breast milk that is too hot or cold.
The Dangers of Using the Microwave and Stove
Using a microwave to thaw or warm frozen breast milk will destroy important healthy properties.
Milk thawed using a microwave is likely to heat unevenly. It will have some hot and cold spots, which can easily burn your baby.
Thawing your frozen breast milk over a hot stove is also not recommended. Some people will either put a bag or a container of frozen breast milk in a pot of water and heat it over the stove.
This method will lead to your breast milk overheating, making the milk lose nutrients. Milk that’s too hot can also burn your baby.
How to Safely Handle Warmed Breast Milk
Knowing how to handle your breast milk safely can prevent it from becoming unhygienic or even getting spoilt.
Below are several ways you can safely handle your breast milk.
- Make sure to give your child the breast milk immediately you warm it, or let it stay in the refrigerator for less than 4 hours.
- Warm breast milk should not be left at room temperature.
- Don’t refreeze warmed breast milk.
- Throw away any leftover breast milk after your baby finishes feeding.
Tips for Using Thawed Breast Milk
You may choose to warm and immediately use the defrosted breast milk. If you are not using it immediately, you can put it back in the refrigerator for not more than 24 hours or at room temperature for not more than 4 hours.
Make sure to go through the following guidelines for older, healthy, or full-term infants:
- After thawing milk in the refrigerator, you should give it to your baby within 24 hours.
- Once you thaw your milk at room temperature or warmer, discard it after two hours if not used.
- It is not recommended to continue giving your baby leftover breast milk two hours after the last feed.
- Avoid refreezing thawed breast milk.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Does Breast Milk Stay Good After Thawing?
It should take only 24 hours for your breast milk to be completely thawed. Give your baby breast milk not more than 24 hours later. But when warmed gently, your baby should consume it within 2 hours.
Can I Refreeze Thawed Breast Milk?
Ideally, it is unhygienic to refreeze breast milk that you had warmed previously. If it’s impossible for your baby to consume breast milk within 24 hours after it’s fully thawed, discard the leftover. Further storage causes the milk to become unsafe for your baby.
Does Room Temperature Affect Breast Milk?
While you can keep freshly expressed milk for up to 6 hours at room temperature, the recommended period is four hours. You can either use it or make sure it is stored properly. Alternatively, you can store it in an insulated cooler with ice packs for not more than one day.
Can Babies Drink Cold Breast Milk?
Breast-fed babies can take breast milk that’s at body temperature. Formula-fed babies or those taking from a bottle can take their milk straight from the refrigerator or have it slightly warmed.
How Long Does It Take To Thaw Breast Milk?
For you to have correctly thawed breast milk, here are the approximate times.
- Thawing in the refrigerator should take about 12 hours.
- When using the bowl, it should take about 20 minutes.
- Putting the bottle under warm running water should be about 5-10 minutes.