Use Instructions

37
11. Storing and thawing breast milk
11.1 General storage guidelines
Storage guidelines for freshly expressed breast milk (for healthy term babies)
Room temperature
60 to 77 °F
(16 to 25 °C)
Refrigerator
39 °F (4 °C)
or colder
Freezer
0 °F (–18 °C)
or colder
Breast milk thawed in
the refrigerator
Up to 4 hours is best
*Up to 6 hours for milk
expressed under very
clean conditions
Up to 3 days is best
*Up to 5 days for milk
expressed under very
clean conditions
Up to 6 months is best
*Up to 9 months for milk
expressed under very
clean conditions
At room temperature:
Up to 2hours
Refrigerator:
Up to 24 hours
Do not refreeze!
*Guidelines for expressing milk under very clean conditions:
Before expressing breast milk, mothers should wash their hands with soap and water or an
alcohol-based hand sanitizer. The pump parts, bottles and pumping area must be clean.
Breasts and nipples do not need to be washed before pumping.
• These guidelines for storage and thawing of breast milk are a recommendation. Contact
your lactation consultant or breastfeeding specialist for further information.
• Store breast milk in the coldest spot of the refrigerator (at the back of the glass shelf above
the vegetable compartment).
11.2 Storing breast milk in a Medela cooler bag
Your Medela cooler bag requires one Medela contoured ice pack. Up to four 150ml bottles
of breast milk will stay cool for up to ten hours in a room temperature environment inside your
pump bag. Up to four 150ml bottles of breast milk will stay cool for up to eight hours in a
room temperature environment, inside the cooler, stored outside of the pump bag.
• As soon as you are finished with pumping, place the breast milk bottle or breast milk storage
bag in the cooler bag with the ice pack.
• Transfer breast milk bottles or breast milk storage bags to the refrigerator or freezer once
you are at home.