Question re: Breast milk?

Question

If I have breast milk in the refrigerator, say in a 4oz bottle, and I give it to my baby, but she only eats 2oz, can the rest of the milk go back into the fridge to be consumed at a later time?

Answer 1

I've heard that you shouldn't keep it past one more feeding but I am pretty lax about it. I'll just transfer the milk into a clean storage container and use it the next day.

Here is more info.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html

HTH

Answer 2

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/reusing-expressedmilk.html
Reusing expressed breastmilk
Q: Should breastmilk left over from a feeding be dumped immediately (like formula), or can you save it and give it to baby later?

A: It should be safe to save the left-over milk and use it at the next feeding.

Per Breastfeeding, A Guide for the Medical Profession by Ruth Lawrence, MD (p. 438):

Breastmilk can safely stand at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours and need not be discarded if the first feeding attempt is incomplete. In contrast, formula must be refrigerated and discarded after the first feeding attempt because it contains no antibodies or infection protection factors.

Can I 're-use' pumped breastmilk? Q&A by Ruth Lawrence, MD

"... If the milk is warmed up but not used, it is OK to reheat the milk once. But the more you reheat the more you decrease some of the valuable immunologic properties of the milk..."

If my baby doesn't finish a bottle of pumped breast milk can I save it for later? by Jan Barger, R.N., M.A., IBCLC

"...Based on this study, which admittedly needs to be done on a larger scale, it would seem to me that expressed breast milk, fed to the baby, partially consumed, and then refrigerated, could be used for one more feeding no more than four hours later. That's probably fairly conservative. One of the best tests of whether the milk is spoiled is to do what you do with cow's milk: Smell it and taste it!"

Brusseau R. Bacterial Analysis of Refrigerated Human Milk Following Infant Feeding. May 1998.

"Summary: The number of infants who are breastfed is on the rise, as is the number of women in the workforce. Many women who choose breastfeeding after returning to work, express milk during the day and store this milk for a future feeding. When infants do not finish a bottle of expressed breastmilk, doctors recommend unfinished portions be thrown away. This study examined bacterial levels in expressed, partially consumed breastmilk that was stored for 48 hours at 4-6° C. A portion of unconsumed milk was examined as a control. Samples were taken every 12 hours for bacterial analysis. Tests were performed to identify total colony counts, pathogenic Staphylococci, coliforms and b-hemolytic Streptococci. This study showed no significant difference between bottles that were partially consumed and those that were not exposed to the baby’s mouth for 5 out of 6 participants. All milk samples had colony counts in the acceptable range of < 105 colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/ml). Although this project provides evidence that it may be safe to refeed a child a bottle of breastmilk, due to the small sample size, further tests should be performed."

Answer 3

Keep the breast milk out... do not put it back into the refrigerator... breast milk is good for 4 hours once it is warmed up. Any breast milk not used in 4 hours you need to pitch!!!

Answer 4

no it cant. The reason why is because there is her germs left in the bottle from her mouth, and they can like cause bacteria to set in. Just make sure that there is always a fresh bottle, and dont let her drink out of the same bottle after each feeding.

Answer 5

If they don't drink all of it, you can put it in the fridge and reheat breastmilk once if you do so within 24 hours of the first consumption. You can't do this with formula, only BM.
Never microwave it to heat it, this will kill the nutrients, only use warm water to heat it.

Answer 6

It may get contaminated with saliva entering the bottle, which then multiplies until the next feeding. Better just to dispose of it after each meal.

Answer 7

Keep it at room temp but not longer than a few hours. Dont fridge then room, fridge then room.

There are alot of BF answers on Babycenter.com

Answer 8

yes u can keep it for 24 hrs refrigerated

Answer 9

yes, thats fine