Updated May 03, 2015.

Written or reviewed by a board-certified physician. See About.com's Medical Review Board.

At some point during your breastfeeding experience you may need to, or want to, express your breast milk. If you are not going to use the milk right away, you can store it to use in the future. When properly collected and stored, expressed breast milk can be frozen for 6 months or even longer.

Reasons You May Express Your Breast Milk

• To relieve engorgement.
   
• To slow down a forceful milk ejection reflex or fast flow.
   

• To provide breast milk to your baby when you cannot be with him or her.
   
• You are returning to work.
   
• You would like to create a supply of breast milk to use when you are no longer breastfeeding.

If you are expressing breast milk for a premature baby or to donate to a milk bank, the collection and storage process may be more strict. Follow the guidelines of the hospital or milk bank.

How to Collect Breast Milk to Be Frozen

• Always wash your hands before expressing or handling breast milk.
• Make sure your collection container is clean.
• Use a glass container, BPA-free (Bisphenol A) plastic container, breast milk storage tray or plastic storage bag made specifically for breast milk collection. Do not use regular plastic sandwich bags. They can leak or break during storage.
• Use a breast pump or hand express your breast milk into the storage container.
• Do not fill the container to the top. Stop adding milk when the container is 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full. Breast milk will expand when it is frozen, so it will need room.

• Seal the container with an airtight cap. Do not use a nipple from a baby bottle to seal your container.
• Place the date on each container.
• Freeze your breast milk as soon as possible after collection.
• Store the container at the back of the freezer where it is the coldest.

 

Types of Freezers

The type of freezer you have will determine how long you can store your frozen breast milk. 

A Freezer Compartment Within a Refrigerator: Breast milk can be stored in a freezer compartment inside a refrigerator for approximately 2 weeks.

A Freezer Attached To a Refrigerator With Its Own Door: Breast milk can be stored in a standard Side by Side, or Top and Bottom Refrigerator/Freezer Unit, for up to 6 months.

A Stand Alone Freezer:Breast milk can be stored in a deep freezer without a defrost cycle for up to one year.

 

See Also: Breast Milk Storage: A Quick Reference Guide

 

 

<sub>Sources:

American Academy of Pediatrics. New Mother’s Guide To Breastfeeding. Bantam Books. New York. 2011.

Lawrence, Ruth A., MD, Lawrence, Robert M., MD. Breastfeeding A Guide For The Medical Profession Seventh Edition.  Mosby. 2011.

Riordan, J., and Wambach, K. Breastfeeding and Human Lactation Fourth Edition. Jones and Bartlett Learning. 2014.</sub>