Many new mothers will at some point feel the need or simply desire to store their breast milk so their child can have it at a later time. This is especially important for mothers who have to be away from their babies for an extended period of time such as those who are going back to work or school. The following guidelines can help new mothers learn about the safety of storing and mixing their breast milk for future use.

Can You Mix Breast Milk?

If you pump your breast milk frequently, it is completely possible to mix the milk from different batches. If you do so, however, you should take care to mix batches that were pumped around the same time and that are the same temperature. This means that if you pumped milk on Tuesday, you would be better off mixing it with milk pumped on Monday as opposed to on Sunday.

In terms of temperature, you should always cool down your breast milk before you combine it with breast milk that is already cold or frozen. This means that whether you are adding milk to refrigerated or frozen breast milk, you should always cool it down by placing it in the refrigerator first. The best way to freeze breast milk and avoid waste is to do so in smaller quantities in case your baby doesn’t want all of it at once.

The most important thing to remember is to never add your freshly pumped milk to a previous patch that is refrigerated or frozen. Always wait until it has cooled in the refrigerator before adding it.

If you would like to learn more about storing and mixing breast milk, take a look at this video: