Breast Milk Storage Guide

My last post was about safe formula prep so it's fitting that we now talk about breast milk storage!  No need to reinvent the wheel here - this is right from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website!

Countertop, table
Room temperature (up to 77°F or 25°C)
6–8 hours
Containers should be covered and kept as cool as possible; covering the container with a cool towel may keep milk cooler.

Insulated cooler bag
5-39°F or -15-4°C
24 hours
Keep ice packs in contact with milk containers at all times, limit opening cooler bag.

Refrigerator
39°F or 4°C
5 days
Store milk in the back of the main body of the refrigerator.

Freezers
Store milk toward the back of the freezer, where temperature is most constant. Milk stored for longer durations in the ranges listed is safe, but some of the lipids in the milk undergo degradation resulting in lower quality.

Freezer compartment of a refrigerator
5°F or -15°C
2 weeks

Freezer compartment of refrigerator with separate doors
0°F or -18°C
3–6 months

Chest or upright deep freezer
-4°F or -20°C
6–12 months

Reference: Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. (2004) Clinical Protocol Number #8: Human Milk Storage Information for Home Use for Healthy Full Term Infants [PDF-125k]. Princeton Junction, New Jersey: Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. 

Some additional notes:

• Do not add fresh milk to already frozen milk within a storage container.
• Do not save milk from a used bottle for use at another feeding.
• Thaw frozen breast milk by transferring it to the refrigerator for thawing or by swirling it in a bowl of warm water.
• Never refreeze thawed milk.