how long can you leave EBM out of the fridge?

[charlotte_]

i've started expressing a bottle at night, so my OH can give zach his first feed at night.
i express it early on in the evening (about 6/7), and i put it straight in the fridge. we usually go up to bed about 11, and zach usually wakes up about 1 for his first night feed. my question is, can we take the bottle out of the fridge & up to bed with us & leave it on the bedside table to give to zach at 1? or should it be kept in the fridge right up until we need to use it?

 

[Sherlock]

6 hours at room temp iirc. I'd say it really Ddepends if your LO prefers it possibly not warm and more room temp/chilled as to where you store it to use a few hours later. Our LO hated EBM at room temp and it always had to be warmed up.

 

[kalia]

Does he have the milk you expressed that day or from the day before? If it's from that day I don't know how chilled it would be after a few hours in the fridge, though as there is only a 2 hour gap between you going to bed and him waking I'm sure it would be fine. If it is from the day before it would definately be chilled so there would be no problems having it out of the fridge from when you go to bed.

Possibly consider how you would feel about the milk if he slept through - would it be sad that it has to be thrown out or would it not matter in the excitement of a full nights' sleep?

Frozen breast milk is not as good as fresh but it is better than formula. If you use the breast milk freezer bags and lie them down flat when you freeze the milk it is actually quicker to heat that in warm water than it is to heat a bottle from the fridge.

 

[Lola's Mummy]

I found this on Wikipedia

"Breast milk may be kept at room temperature for up to ten hours, refrigerated for up to eight days or frozen for up to four to six months. Research suggests that the antioxidant activity in expressed breast milk decreases over time but it still remains at higher levels than in infant formula"

 

[kalia]

That advice gives drastically longer times than any breastmilk related website I have seen. I'm saying it's wrong, just that normally site say either 4 or 6 hours at room temperature, 24 or 72 hours in the fridge and the time in the freezer varies according to you freezer but between 3 and 6 months.

 

[Lola's Mummy]

I'm not sure then

I only ever kept EBM in the fridge for upto 24 hours. I would always warm it straight from the fridge so it was never left at room temperature that's why i searched on wikipedia

 

[Mildly]

kellymom.com has guidelines of 10 hours at room temp. I have quite often left EBM in the fridge for a couple of days at a time and it has been ok, the chart suggests 8 days.

 

[abcd1234]

I think it depends on individual breast milk (or i've read it lol) my milk will last for days in the fridge and i can take it out the fridge on the morning and it's still good to feed her on an evening.

The general advice is as sherlock posted, but some websites do say longer. It should be fine for the few hours but if your concerned i use the freezer bag ands her milk defrosts and warms up really quickly in them

 

[Laur_250]

I had to feed LO EBM for about 6 weeks and so ddi alot of storing and giving milk at room temp and the guidelines i followed are:

Safe storage of breast milk in the home
PLACE MAXIMUM TIME
Fresh breast milk
Room 6 hours
Fridge: 5 to 10oC 3 days
Fridge: 0 to 4oC 8 days
(If temperature rises above 4oC after 3 days, use within 6 hours or throw away)
Freezer: -18oC or lower 6 months
Previously frozen breast milk
Defrosted in fridge 12 hours
Defrosted outside fridge Use immediately

so if its within 6 hours you will use it i wouldn't bother putting it in the fridge as LO can drink it fresh at room temp which is what they woud be used to from the breast, otherwise put it in the fridge.

TBH if you smell the milk and get used to the smell of it fresh, this is the best way i was told to check its still ok as long as it doesnt smell sour.

I regularly gave milk that had been left out at room temp for a few hours or even refridgerated a few days with no problems. xx

 

[CH0C0H0LIC]

Not relevant