How long can milk be stored in the refrigerator

Now everyone knows that breast milk is the best food for babies, so many mothers will try their best to breastfeed their babies. When there is more breast milk, the mother will put it in a breast milk storage box and store it in the refrigerator. This is to save the extra breast milk for the baby to drink when there is no breast milk in the future. Therefore, the correct storage of breast milk is a very critical issue.

Choose a storage container

How can we waste the breast milk squeezed with so much difficulty? ? Proper storage of breast milk can better retain its nutrients and ensure its quality. So it is important to choose a reliable storage tool.

1. Look at the material: Plastic products can preserve the active substances in breast milk better than glass containers.

2. Look at the specifications: There are two options on the market: milk storage cups and milk storage bags. Milk storage cups can be reused, but milk storage bags are disposable. If you want to freeze large quantities of breast milk, milk storage bags are more advantageous.

3. When using: be sure to exhaust the air in the bag as much as possible and seal the special sealing strip. Remember not to overfill the container, as the milk will expand as it freezes.

Breast milk storage time

All breast milk should be date labeled before storage. To avoid bacterial growth, breast milk should be refrigerated or frozen immediately after being expressed.

Regarding time, please refer to:

1. Store at room temperature of 19-26℃ for 4-6 hours. Try to keep breast milk containers covered and placed in a cool place.

2. Refrigerate at 4-18℃ for 24 hours.

3. When frozen below 4°C, store for 72 hours to 8 days.

Reminder: The International Breastfeeding Association suggests that for healthy full-term babies, the 555 principle can be followed: 5 hours at room temperature, 5 days in the refrigerator, and 5 months in the freezer; for premature babies, the 333 principle can be followed: 3 hours at room temperature, 3 days in the refrigerator, and 3 months in the freezer.

How to use stored breast milk

In order to reduce nutrient loss, there are many precautions when thawing breast milk, especially pay attention to:

1. After breast milk is stored, two layers of milk fat and milk water may be formed. Before feeding your baby, gently shake the milk fat and milk water to mix well.

2. Freezing will destroy some immune substances in breast milk, and high temperature will also affect many beneficial ingredients in breast milk. Remember not to heat it in a microwave or directly boil it. It is best to heat it through the bottle with running hot water at about 60°C. If you find it difficult to master, you can choose a milk warmer.

Breast milk should not be kept in a milk warmer for a long time, and it is best to drink all the milk that has been heated once.

To thaw frozen milk, you can thaw it in the refrigerator in advance, or thaw it at room temperature; please consume it within 8 hours from the start of thawing; thawed milk cannot be frozen again.

It is recommended that you divide breast milk into small bottles and refrigerate or freeze them according to the amount of each meal your baby takes to avoid waste. Most of them are 60~120ml, and those less than 30ml are used for small babies or temporary snacks.