You’ve decided to breastfeed your baby, congratulations! Now comes all the questions. How long does breast milk last in the freezer or on the counter? What kinds of containers can I use to freeze or store breast milk? We answer those nagging questions on safely storing breast milk.
Expressing and storing milk:
Hygiene
- Wash hands well with soap and water
- Clean under your nails
- Dry hands with paper toweling
Containers
- Use small, clean, glass or plastic containers with a solid lid or bottle liners/milk storage bags
- Double bag when using bottle liners/milk storage bags and use twist ties to close the bags
- If adding milk to a container, chill the fresh milk first then add to the cold milk
Labeling
- Write date on tape and attach to container
Storage
- Do not store milk in the door of the fridge or freezer
- Store milk in the back of the fridge or freezer
- Leave space in the container for expansion when freezing milk
- Package expressed milk in feeding size portions
To store or freeze breast milk at home:
| 6 hours | 72 hours | 1 month | 2 months | 6 months | 6-12 months | |
| Room Temperature |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Refrigerator (0-4C) |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Freezer compartment in fridge |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
| Freezer with separate door as part of fridge |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Deep freeze (-20C) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
To Use:
- Warm chilled milk by holding under running warm water
- Keep cap out of water
- Defrost by holding container under running warm water, standing it in warm water or placing frozen milk in fridge
- Shake gently to mix separated milk
- Use thawed milk within 24 hours if refrigerated after defrosting
DO NOT!!
- Refreeze milk
- Use a microwave to thaw or warm milk
Shipping Milk
- If shipping/carrying milk for longer than 3 hours, pack containers tightly in a sturdy cooler using Styrofoam chips or crumpled newspaper to fill extra space. This will keep milk frozen for about 20 hours
- If shipping for a longer time add dry ice. If using dry ice please check with the shipper for specific instructions
- Containers with dry ice should not be transported by car as dry ice is a hazardous substance
- The cooler should be sealed with packing tape
- Weather temperatures should be considered when packing milk for a shipping
- When milk is shipped, it must be shipped frozen overnight by courier or bus
Storage of Breast Milk
Developed by C&W Lactation Services
Approved by: BC Women’s Family Education Advisory Committee, October 1991
Revised: June 2005