Everyone knows that breast milk i.e. mother’s milk is the life-giving nectar for the child. But the difficult thing is that if for some reason the mother has to go out for some time or it becomes difficult to supply breast milk when she goes to the office after the maternity leave is over, then what to do, it becomes a matter of tension for the new mother. Is. For such times, the breast milk can be pumped and stored in the refrigerator in advance.
Now the question comes that how is breastmilk pumped and stored? Will storing breast milk and giving it cause any harm to the baby’s health? Or will the nutritional value of breast milk get destroyed by storing it? Many such questions will arise in the mind of the new mother. Let us try to answer the questions in your mind one by one in the next article.
First of all, we will talk about how to pump breastmilk and how it can be easily stored at home.
How is breastmilk pumped?
To express and store breast milk, a breast milk pump is used and hands are also used. Let us know How to store breast milk in three ways–
1. First, milk can be expressed by pressing and squeezing the nipple of the breast with fingers. But for this, the method of removing the mother should be known properly, otherwise, it may cause pain in the breast.
2. The second method is to manually extract breastmilk through a breastmilk pump. After applying the shield that comes with the pump on the breast, the milk is pumped manually and stored in the bottle.
3. The third method is to express and store breastmilk through an electric breastmilk pump. With this, milk comes out from both the breasts quickly and easily and hence it takes less time to store it.
You can pump breast milk manually or through an electric breast milk pump. The bottle in which you will pump the milk should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected and the mother’s hands should also be washed with natural foaming hand wash or mild soap, so that That the baby is not at risk of any kind of infection.
Apart from this, if the nipples are cracked or there is pain in the breast while pumping breast milk, then to give relief to the mother, she should lightly massage the breast skin with organic coconut oil, this will also keep the skin moisturized and reduce breast pain. will also be less.
Tips to store mother’s milk by pumping breast milk
A look at things to keep in mind before, during, and after storing breastmilk using a breastmilk pump Let’s put-
Before breast pumping, along with washing hands, the storage container also needs to be cleaned.
1. The date when the breast milk was expressed and the name of the child should be written on each container.
2. Breastmilk should be stored in small batches. It is recommended to store 2 to 4 ounces so that the milk is not wasted. If milk is left in the bottle after drinking, it should be fed within 2 hours or kept in the refrigerator immediately. Before feeding, it should be put in a separate container and allowed to melt or thaw.
3. Breast milk should be stored in the refrigerator after expressing or expressing it. Freshly expressed milk can be stored at room temperature (up to 77°F or 25°C) for up to 4 hours (or 6 to 8 hours if expressed very cleanly), but it is safest and safest to refrigerate as soon as possible. There is a good way.
4. Breast milk can be stored in the back of the refrigerator (39°F or 4°C). It is best to use stored breastmilk within 4 days, but it can also be refrigerated for up to 8 days.
5. Thaw the milk stored in the refrigerator after pumping breast milk before feeding it and then place the bottle in a bowl of hot water or keep it under hot water. If the milk gets too hot in the microwave, there is a risk of mouth burns if fed to the baby.
6. If you are not using breast milk within 24 hours then it is safe to freeze the breast milk. The milk expressed after pumping breast milk should be kept in the back of the freezer, not on the door.
7. If milk is stored inside a refrigerator with a freezer with a separate door (0°F or -18°C), milk can be stored for up to 9 months.
8. If the freezer is a chest or deep freezer (-4°F or -20°C), milk can be stored for up to 12 months.
9. To store breast milk expressed from the breast milk pump Use breast milk storage bags or clean food-grade containers, Make sure the container is made of glass or plastic and with a tight-fitting lid.
10. Avoid bottles with the recycle symbol number 7, which indicates the container may be made of BPA-containing plastic.
11. Never store breast milk in disposable bottle liners or plastic bags, these are not made to store breast milk.
Expert Tips– You have come to know the correct way of pumping and storing breast milk, but along with this it is important to keep one thing in mind that it is very important to take care of hygiene while storing breast milk and at the time of feeding. as stated before.