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Are you breastfeeding your baby? THE’feeding has clearly progressed in France, but it is still lower than in neighboring countries. Today, 2 out of 3 newborns are breastfed to the birth, or about 66%. But at 3 months, they are no more than 40 %, and to 6 months, 18%.
Note that you can give breast milk directly to your toddler, but you can also store it, so you can feed him later.
How long to keep breast milk at room temperature?
According to current recommendations, breast milk can remain for 4 hours at room temperature.
Take breast milk for a walk
At feeding time, nothing prevents Dad or the nanny from going for a little walk with Baby. Just carry the bottle of cold breast milk in a cooler or cooler bag with a refrigeration pack. The only constraint: the duration of transport. She should not exceed one hour.
How to store breast milk in the fridge?
Are you going away for a few hours? Immediately store your bottle of freshly drawn breast milk in the coldest part of your fridge at + 4 ° C. Are you tempted to place the bottle in the door? Stop there! This place is far from ideal for storing breast milk, because it is not cold enough.
Be careful, a bottle of breast milk, stored in the fridge, has a limited shelf life. It must be consumed within 48 hours.
Freezing breast milk: precautions
If you want to continue breastfeeding when you return to work or in the event of unforeseen outings, consider expressing your milk and storing it in the freezer. TO -18 ° C, sachets or jars of breast milk can be stored for 4 months. On the other hand, never place your breast milk reserves in a freezer, the temperature is not low enough there. Another tip for freezing breast milk properly: make sure you only fill the bottle three-quarters.
Namely
All these retention periods are independent and cannot be added. For example, you cannot keep a bottle of breast milk for 4 months in the freezer, then 48 hours in the fridge.
Storage bags for storing breast milk
For smaller quantities, you can use glass yoghurt jars, baby jars, small juice bottles, or even ice cube trays or bags. More practical than storage jars, several brands dedicated to breastfeeding offer freezer-safe storage bags. They are usually ready to use. They allow to contain at least 180 ml of breast milk. So that the milk does not flow, they often have a double hermetic zip and a writing area intended to mention the name, date, quantity of milk. Practical, especially if the child is in community care. This type of special breast milk sachet can help is convenient when mom wants à continue breastfeeding, even in the event of a return to work, temporary absence, etc.