Patient's question:
Because I work at a company, my maternity leave is only a short period of time. I don't want the child to drink formula, and I always think that breast milk is the healthiest option. However, since I have to work, I've heard from others that you can express breast milk in advance and store it in a bottle. You can then feed the child with it when needed. But I'm worried that if it's stored for too long, it might not be good for the child.What kind of help do I need: How long can breast milk be stored?
Doctor's answer:
Breast milk is the natural food for infants and cannot be replaced by any other food. However, some young mothers, due to work or other reasons, need to express their milk and store it for later feeding. The expressed milk was tested and cultured for bacteria. The results showed that under room temperature conditions of 19 to 26 degrees Celsius, the bacterial count in the milk did not increase significantly within 2 to 4 hours, but after 6 hours, the rate of bacterial growth accelerated. The lysozyme in breast milk can break down the bacterial mucopolysaccharide complex, while the secretory immunoglobulin A in breast milk can cause microbial aggregation. However, under room temperature conditions, these lysozymes and immunoglobulins will undergo changes in molecular structure over time and gradually lose their function of inhibiting bacterial growth. Therefore, after expressing breast milk, it should not be naturally stored at room temperature for more than 6 hours.