What happens to frozen breastmilk after it's been defrosted for 24 hours? Is it spoilt like its rotten or like its lost its nutritional value/benefits? I exclusively nurse my 7 month old, even while she's in daycare. Her infant teacher wants to give her breastmilk in a cup (about an oz a day) with "meals", but I don't ever have time to pump to have fresh milk for that. I have a small freezer stash for date nights/emergencies but they're not in 1oz portions. Can she use the defrosted stuff over a period of a few days since its not for nutrition?
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I think the problem is that it's spoiled. Since freezing will eliminate the natural antibiotic properties of breastmilk and it hasn't been pasteurized, there would be bacterial growth in the milk which theoretically reaches a certain level after 24 hours. That being said, I've used frozen milk up to 48 hours after thawing. I think it's a stretch to have it last a few days though.
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So you are visiting daycare a few times a day to nurse her? I don't see why you need to provide any pumped milk in addition to nursing her every few hours. I would decline the teacher's request. And yeah, you really can't use defrosted milk more than 24 hours afterward.
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You could always partially defrost until it's icy and then split it up. As long as there are plenty of ice crystals it should be fine to refreeze. But, I agree with @PawPrints: that it's unnecessary. If she wants to offer something what about a half ounce of water?
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Just give her water in a cup...
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@catomd00: this.
I'm struggling to find any reason a 7 month old would need BM from a cup during "meals" especially one nursing full time. I don't know any moms personally who offered anything other than (maybe) water for a baby that young, breast milk or formula fed and have never heard this as something necessary for an infant.
Sounds like a waste of breast milk!
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@kiddosc: thanks. I always tossed extra defrosted milk with my older son, so I didn't know what was "wrong" with it. This makes a lot of sense.
@PawPrints: yeah, I work in the same building, so it's easy for me to pop over twice a day to nurse. I have some emergency milk in the infant room's freezer but I didn't want them to use that just for learning how to use a cup.
@junebugsmama: i hadn't thought of partially defrosting/refreezing!
@catomd00: @birdofafeather: okay, Im glad you guys and junebugsmama all said water. That's what I'll tell them to do!
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6 comments