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Breastmilk Storage Guidelines

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

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Hi everyone, This table is an essential for all bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived, pumping moms out there!

Human Milk	Room Temperature	Refrigerator	Time in Freezer
freshly expressed	≤ 4 hours at 26˚C/79˚F ≤ 24 hours at 15˚C/59˚F* *(cooler with frozen gel packs)	≤ 8 days at ≤ 4˚C/39˚F	≤ 12 months at 18˚C to 20˚C below zero/ 64 to 68˚F
previously frozen, thawed in refrigerator but not warmed	≤ 4 hours	≤ 24 hours	do NOT refreeze
previously frozen and brought to room temperature	for completion of current feed	4 hours	do NOT refreeze
infant has started feeding	only for completion of feeding, then discard	discard	discard
frozen donor human milk	only for completion of feeding, then discard	≤ 24 hours	do NOT refreeze