#ISUPPORTEXCLUSIVEBREASTFEEDING

I am sharing this wounderful piece from Mothersbond and I hope it will be helpful to women who wish to practise exclusive Breastfeeding. Before you read the piece let be kindly correct the popular believes; I am made to believe that some women think it is not right to extract milk. They even think it is only women who are lazy to breastfeed that need breast pumps. Whereas breast pumps makes it easy for women to breastfeed exclusively because you can continue your work and still make sure your baby gets the full nutrition on breast milk. Another popular believe is the myth that breast pumps make your breast sag or in extreme cases that it could cause breast cancer. These are unfounded myths which are spread by people who have never used a breast pump before. Saying a breast pump causes cancer is worse than saying mobile phones cause cancers too. They are not true. 

How to Store BreastMilk for your baby.

There are several reasons why a mom may have to extract milk from herself and then store it. Sometimes, baby is a preemie (born before the expected delivery date) and in the NICU. It could also be that baby is having problem latching on, or mommy is having problem/delay lactating (producing naturally), or mommy is injured/sore, or for some reason, mommy has to be away from the baby for a few hours or days and can’t take baby along. So in any of these circumstances, extracting using a pump becomes necessary. Here are six tips for milk storage.

1. If you're pumping to store for later, refrigerate pumped milk as soon as possible.
Milk, like all body fluids have a short life without preservation. If it’s not refrigerated immediately, it becomes sour and that would affect the taste; it could also affect your baby’s health and digestion. The milk could even start to smell. Now also bear in mind that refrigeration if not done immediately, there is no need doing so when you remember later. It’s better to extract another which you can now do the right thing.

2. Breastmilk can be stored in the refrigerator for 24 hours and in the freezer for up to 1 to 2 weeks. (Sometimes even up to months),
This is very important; for your baby’s’ best nutrition, you should store the milk in the refrigerator section for a maximum of 24 hours. If you have to extract for long periods, let them all be in the freezer and you take them out as the need arises. You should have several bottles or storage bags as the case may be. Anyone you bring out from the freezer can’t go back to the freezer after it melts. Dispose it if baby can’t finish it. So it’s best to know the quantity your baby consumes each time and make that the storage quantity you keep.

3. Do not Microwave the milk
After bringing out the milk from the freezer or refrigerator and it’s taking time to melt, the temptation comes to hasten things up and the microwave is one of the first places considered. This shouldn’t be. Please keep the milk at room temperature to allow it melt on its own. If you are worried that baby is crying because of hunger, then next time, be sure to calculate the time accordingly. Allow a few minutes for the milk to get to room temperature before baby’s feeding time.
For more information visit Motherbond