Last Reviewed: September 2009

Six Weeks to Six Months

Storing breast milk

Containers
Storage guidelines

Containers:

Use glass containers for expressed breast milk, especially for long-term storage, as fewer antibodies are lost during freezing. Use hard plastic containers or specially designed breast milk freezer bags if glass containers are not available.
Ensure containers are airtight when closed.
Avoid disposable bottle liner bags as they tear easily and are not airtight.
Wash containers in hot soapy water and rinse well with hot water. Let the containers air dry. It is not necessary to sterilize the container.

NOTE: If your baby is premature (born too early) or is in the hospital, speak to a health-care provider who has breastfeeding expertise about cleaning containers to store breast milk.

Storage guidelines:

Store breast milk in 60-120ml amounts to prevent wasting milk.
Always cool freshly expressed milk before adding it to already cooled or frozen milk. The amount of cooled milk added should be less than the amount of frozen milk.
Leave a 1” space at the top of container since expressed breast milk expands when frozen.
Do not refreeze breast milk once it has thawed.
Label the container with the date the breast milk was expressed. After the storage time has passed, discard the milk.
Place containers of milk at the back of the fridge or freezer where it is the coldest.

The following guidelines apply to mothers who have a healthy, full-term baby and are storing their expressed breast milk for home use.

Place	Temperature	Storage Time
Room Temperature	Less than 25°C	8 hours
In refrigerator	0 to 4°C	5 days
In freezer compartment (inside a refrigerator)	-15°C Temperature varies	2 weeks
Freezer compartment (with separate door)	-18°C Temperature varies	3 to 6 months
Deep freezer	-20°C	6 to 12 months
Breast milk in an insulated cooler with ice or Previously frozen expressed breast milk (in the refrigerator)	0 to 4°C	24 hours

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