Proper Handling and Storage of Human Milk

By following safe preparation and storage techniques, nursing mothers and caretakers of breastfed infants and children can maintain the high quality of expressed breast milk and the health of the baby.

Safely Preparing and Storing Expressed Breast Milk

• Be sure to wash your hands before expressing or handling breast milk.
• When collecting milk, be sure to store it in clean containers, such as screw cap bottles, hard plastic cups with tight caps, or heavy-duty bags that fit directly into nursery bottles. Avoid using ordinary plastic storage bags or formula bottle bags, as these could easily leak or spill.
• If delivering breast milk to a child care provider, clearly label the container with the child’s name and date.
• Clearly label the milk with the date it was expressed to facilitate using the oldest milk first.
• Do not add fresh milk to already frozen milk within a storage container. It is best not to mix the two.
• Do not save milk from a used bottle for use at another feeding.
• Clean breast pump parts after each use. Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) web site on Cleaning a Breast Pump for additional information.

Safely Thawing Breast Milk

• As time permits, thaw frozen breast milk by transferring it to the refrigerator for thawing or by swirling it in a bowl of warm water.
• Avoid using a microwave oven to thaw or heat bottles of breast milk
  • Microwave ovens do not heat liquids evenly. Uneven heating could easily scald a baby or damage the milk
  • Bottles may explode if left in the microwave too long.
  • Excess heat can destroy the nutrient quality of the expressed milk.
• Do not re-freeze breast milk once it has been thawed.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics.

Storage Duration of Fresh Human Milk for Use with Healthy Full Term Infants

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