Be careful when defrosting breast milk, if you see this, it means the milk is spoiled
After expressing milk, mothers need to pay attention to the storage time and give it to the baby to use in a timely manner.
How long can breast milk be stored after expressing?
According to the recommendations of WHO, UNICEF, Vietnam National Institute of Nutrition, the storage time of breast milk after expressing is as follows:
-At room temperature of 25 degrees C – 35 degrees C, breast milk after expressing is kept from 6 hours – 8 hours.
-At a temperature of 4 degrees Celsius in the refrigerator compartment, breast milk stored in the refrigerator will keep for 3-5 days.
In the freezer compartment, breast milk can be kept for 3 months.
-In a specialized freezer with a temperature lower than -18 degrees Celsius, frozen breast milk will be best used for 6 months.
Proper storage of breast milk is extremely important, not only to help keep breast milk long without spoiling, but also to avoid endangering the health of the baby.
How to properly freeze breast milk?
To properly store breast milk in the refrigerator, mothers need to follow the following principles:
-Wash your hands with soap and water or an antiseptic solution before expressing milk. If you’re pumping by machine, make sure the pump kit, tubing, buttons, and switches are clean.
After expressing breast milk, put breast milk in a dedicated milk bag, and then put a label with the date and time of expressing it on the outside of the bag. The division of milk bags helps to reduce the cooling time, avoid waste, and shorten the time to defrost milk.
Divide milk into small bags with the date of milking.
-Put the expressed milk into the refrigerator immediately, if it is not possible to put it in the refrigerator, keep it in a room with a temperature of about 26 degrees Celsius for at least 6 hours, away from radiation, sunlight and other heat sources.
-The milk will be pure in the frozen state, frozen breast milk maintained at a temperature lower than -18 degrees Celsius will be used for at least 6 months.
-In case of prolonged power failure, use an insulated cooler with ice cubes to freeze breast milk. Then transfer the milk back to the freezer when power is on.
How to defrost breast milk scientifically while still ensuring nutrition for babies
Thaw breast milk to keep it cool
Before giving it to your baby, take the milk out of the refrigerator and soak it in warm water of 40 degrees until it reaches the right temperature for your baby to eat.
-Do not use too hot water to soak milk because it will lose vitamins and minerals in breast milk.
-Do not refreeze breast milk that has been removed from the refrigerator, the mother only takes the right amount of milk for the baby at each feeding.
Thawing breast milk for frozen milk
-Mother should put frozen milk in the refrigerator 1 day before use to defrost but still keep the cold temperature. Or use a basin of ice cold water to defrost frozen milk.
When the milk has turned from hard to liquid, completely soft, the mother gently shakes the milk to mix the high-fat whey and milky parts together. Then continue to change the hot water to soak the milk until the temperature is suitable for the baby to eat.
Put frozen breast milk in the refrigerator 1 day before to thaw slowly.
Is there any phenomenon that milk is spoiled?
After defrosting breast milk by moving from the freezer to the cooler, if there is a cloudy white precipitate, the milk is spoiled and cannot be used.
If there is a thin layer of scum floating on the surface of the bottle, the milk is still usable, this thin layer is the fat in breast milk, the mother just needs to gently shake the film and it will dissolve in the milk before feeding.
Tips for defrosting breast milk
-Do not thaw frozen breast milk at room temperature: Bacteria can enter if you thaw breast milk at room temperature, thaw it only in the fridge.
-Do not thaw breast milk by heating it or using the microwave: High temperature, microwave, electromagnetic waves will destroy essential vitamins and antibodies, causing breast milk to lose some of its protein and other valuable nutrients.
Mothers absolutely do not defrost milk in the microwave because it will lose the nutrition of breast milk.
-Do not shake vigorously the defrosted bottle or sudden temperature changes: Breast milk will lose the function of antibodies, proteins that protect the baby’s body, lose some of the nutrition in milk if it is shaken vigorously or has a sudden change in temperature.
– Store breast milk only after thawing for up to 4 hours at room temperature or 24 hours in the refrigerator: If the baby does not use up all the defrosted milk in 24 hours, the mother should discard the excess milk.
Properly storing breast milk seems simple, but if the mother does not learn carefully, it is very easy to make mistakes that affect the quality of milk and the health of the baby. Therefore, every mother needs to be equipped with the right knowledge on how to store milk to ensure the most abundant and safe nutrition for the baby.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Afamily.vn – Read the original article here
