The following are general guidelines for collecting and storing breastmilk when using a hospital-grade electric breast pump. If the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) gives you more specific instructions, follow their recommendations. Show
Getting readyBefore you begin to pump, read the instruction manual for the breast pump and collection kit you are using. Keep it sterileBreastmilk is not sterile, but you do not want to introduce "outside" bacteria when getting ready to pump, during pumping, or when storing milk or transporting it to the NICU.
Try different settingsYou may have to try different techniques and settings on the breast pump before you find ones that work best for you. The following are some general tips:
Storing your breastmilkCombining milkIf you pumped both breasts at once and the total amount of milk will fill one bottle no more than two-thirds full, you may combine the contents in one bottle by carefully pouring the milk from one sterile container into the other. Don't combine milk from different pumping sessions when pumping for a high-risk baby. Label the collection container(s) right awayLabels should include the baby's name, the date, the time of day pumped, and any medicines or substances, such as cigarette byproducts that you have taken or been exposed to since the last pumping session.
Frozen breastmilk may be kept:
Transporting refrigerated or frozen breastmilkPlace it in an insulated bag or cooler with a cool pack. The farther you live from the NICU, the more likely it is that you will have to pad the inside of the cooler with extra cold packs to keep frozen milk from thawing. Fresh breastmilkFresh breastmilk contains the most active anti-infective properties. Refrigerated breastmilk has fewer anti-infective properties than fresh milk, and frozen breastmilk has the least. Thawing breastmilkThe following are general guidelines for thawing frozen milk:
Taking care of your breast pump and collection kitIt is important to maintain the breast pump and collection kit in good working order:
Don't use a dishwasher to clean or sterilize the parts that come in contact with the breast or milk unless you have received permission from the NICU and the instruction manual suggests this method as an option. Can you mix two different pumping sessions?Can I mix milk from different pumping sessions? Yes, it's okay to combine breast milk from different pumping sessions, as long as you cool the milk to the same temperature before mixing them together. Label the container with the age of the oldest milk and store it accordingly.
Can I pump into the same bottle all day?Safety is priority number one, of course, but convenience isn't far behind which leads to the question: Can you pump breast milk into the same bottle all day? “[You] can absolutely keep adding to the same bottle within that day's time,” says Ashley Georgakapoulos, Motif Medical's lactation director.
|