How to Store Expressed Breast Milk

If you are a working mama, you must master how to properly and efficiently store your precious breast milk. From my experience, i think moms must develop her own system of storing breast milk 2 to 3 weeks before the end of their maternity leave.  

The first thing you have to decide on is whether to  refrigerate or freeze breast milk or to leave in the fridge. This depends on the amount of milk you have on hand.  Do you think you have enough to freeze or do you have just enough supply for until tomorrow? Some "lucky" moms do have the problem of whether to freeze or not because, yeah, they have that much breast milk. Oh... i remember those days when i was able to fill the entire freezer with breast milk. I remember grinning from ear to ear, amazed at how much milk i produced for my son.   


After more than a year of pumping and nursing, i think it's best to freeze BM, that you're sure you won't be needing in the next 2 days.  Otherwise i store it in the coolest part of refrigerator, the coolest part would be the top shelf just under the freezer. Don't store it at the compartments located at the door. It's convenient to have cold milk ready in case i  unexpectedly need to go out and leave baby for some time.

Here's a local guide on how long breast milk can be stored. Breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator up to two days. If frozen, it can last for up to two months! 

Got this from Dr Lei Camiling's blog 

Another issue to decide on is where to store the milk. You can choose BPA - free plastic bags, plastic bottles or glass containers.  

Glass containers

• I used old jars of baby food. They're really the cheapest option, but don't freeze breast milk in them. 

Plastic breast milk bottles

• Bottles come with screw caps,  so it's a safer option when you're pumping at work and transporting the milk. These are reusable and washable, i use warm soapy water to clean them.

Breast milk storage bags

• Plastics bags are flexible. They can be stored up right or horizontal to allow more space in the freezer
• They are pre-sterilized, so ready to use upon purchase. 
• Breast milk bags are single use only.  I minimize the use breast milk bags to lessen plastics to throw out. I reuse these bags as medicine container or laundry detergent storage.

A few more reminders:  

Store milk in single serve amount - only  3 to 5 ounces.This lessens amount wasted since you thaw just enough per feeding. 

When freezing using plastic bottles, make sure to leave space, about 1 inch below the screw caps. Freezing causes EBM to expand.

Label your milk. Write the date and time when the milk was expressed. Write this on a masking tape and place it on the bottle if using a plastic bottle. Breast milk bags have space for this data. 


Follow the "first in, first out rule", use up the older batch of frozen breastmilkt. This way you can make your stash last longer. 

If brownout strikes, don't fret just yet. If the core of the milk remains frozen, then you're good to go. Personally refreeze milk that partially thawed. Avoid opening the freezer door to keep the cold air in.

I hope find these tips helpful. 

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