While your baby is in the neonatal unit, we have strict procedures for storing and giving expressed breast milk. Fresh milk (that is milk that has never been frozen) can be stored in a fridge for 48 hours after being expressed. If you are expressing more milk than your baby requires, it can be frozen; this should be done immediately after expression. The length of time milk can be stored in a freezer varies depending upon what type of freezer you use. If you have a:
- Freezer compartment within a fridge – can be kept for 2 weeks
- Combined fridge/freezer where you don’t open the fridge door to access the freezer – can be kept for 3 months
- Chest freezer or deep freeze – can be kept for 6 months.
In the neonatal unit, milk is defrosted in the fridge or in a ‘water free’ warming unit. Depending on the method used to defrost the milk and how much is in the bottle, it can take from a few minutes to a few hours to defrost. After the milk has been defrosted it must be fed to your baby within 24 hours; any milk that is left in the bottle will be discard from the fridge after this time.
Because of the procedures around storing, defrosting and feeding, it is important that you write baby’s details on the bottle label as well as the date and time the milk was expressed and if taken out of the freezer. For the safety of your baby, any mlk without a label or with a label that is illegible will be discarded.
To bring your milk to the hospital we recommend a small cool bag or box. If you are unable to get one or live close by, milk can be wrapped in several layers of newspaper. If travelling long distances the milk should be kept chilled using an ice pack. On arrival at the neonatal unit place your milk in the fridge in your baby’s tray as soon as possible. There is limited space in the freezer on the neonatal unit, so as your supply increases please store some of your milk in your home freezer and bring it in as needed.
