How to heat up frozen breast milk?

Breast milk is very nutritious. For babies, breast milk can ensure that the babies get the nutrients they need during their growth. However, people in modern society are under a lot of pressure. Women often need to go to work after giving birth. Breastfeeding mothers can only feed their children by pumping milk. But how to heat up iced milk is a concern for many women.

How to warm up frozen breast milk?

It is important to pay attention to the heating of breast milk. If the method is incorrect, it will destroy the nutrients in it. It is best not to use microwaves to heat breast milk. First, it is not easy to heat evenly, and the baby may easily eat "yin and yang milk"; second, experts from all parties have different opinions on whether microwaves will destroy vitamins. Fire is also not suitable for heating breast milk because the temperature is too high and will destroy the nutrients.

There are three better ways to warm up refrigerated (frozen) breast milk:

1. Water-bath heating method. If you are refrigerating breast milk, you can soak the breast milk container in warm water, just like you would heat rice wine in winter, so that the milk will absorb the heat from the water and become warm. While soaking, shake the container from time to time to ensure that the breast milk is heated evenly. If it is frozen breast milk, it should be thawed by soaking in cold water first, and then reheated like refrigerated breast milk.

2. Heat the milk warmer. Set the temperature of the milk warmer to 40℃ and heat the breast milk in water, making it easier to control the temperature.

3. Constant temperature milk mixer. Use a thermostatic milk mixer set at 40°C to warm the breast milk.

If you freeze your breast milk, it may separate into layers, which is normal. Just shake it gently to mix it well before feeding.

Generally speaking, there are two ways to preserve breast milk. One is when the mother works in a company, and because the company does not have refrigeration equipment, breast milk can only be stored at room temperature. Breast milk stored at room temperature has a short shelf life. Mothers should make sure to mark the time on the bottle containing breast milk to prevent their babies from drinking expired breast milk and developing digestive tract diseases.

Breast milk storage time at room temperature:

Colostrum (milk expressed within 6 days after delivery): can be stored for 12 hours at room temperature of 27-32℃.

Mature breast milk (milk expressed 6 days after delivery): can be stored at room temperature of 15°C for 24 hours; at room temperature of 19-22°C for 10 hours; at room temperature of 25°C for 6 hours.

Stored breast milk will decompose into two separate layers: milk water and milk fat. It may look a little blue, yellow or brown, which is normal. Before feeding the baby, the mother should shake the mixture well to combine the water and milk into one.

Breastfeeding precautions

1. Breast care: If a pregnant mother decides to breastfeed, she should start taking care of her breasts before pregnancy, pay attention to massage when bathing, wear a loose bra to avoid compression of the mammary glands and blockage. If there are problems such as inverted nipples, you can consult a doctor and try to correct them as early as possible.

In addition, the mother's nipples should always be kept clean to prevent nipple and breast diseases. If you use the right posture and method when feeding in the future, there won’t be any big problem. After each feeding, if the baby does not suck the breasts empty, the excess milk should be sucked out with a breast pump. This is not a waste. Emptying the breasts can promote more milk secretion, reduce the pain of milk engorgement for new mothers, and also has a health-care effect on the health of the breasts.

2. Start breastfeeding as soon as possible: Generally speaking, 30 minutes after delivery, although the new mother has not yet started breastfeeding and there may not be enough milk in the breast, you should still try your best to let the baby suck the breast and cultivate the baby's habit of sucking the breast as soon as possible. Otherwise, the baby may reject the mother's breast in the future.