At 11:39 AM 6/28/04, you wrote:
>Can anyone answer this question for me?  I've looked in all my reference
>books and searched the archives but can't find the answer.

As Jan writes there have not been the studies that we wish and we give
answers that someone came up with once upon a time.  When women began
pumping they began asking questions about the milk and answers were
created. I believe that Rachel Myr's post about a "test" done in Norway has
something to tell us about the antibacterial properties of human milk.  I
will send it.

Some of the caution is because of a bacteria phobia.  Now, in the NICU (or
hospital at all) the rules are different, but in the home setting there is
very little bacteria-free exposure for an infant. And it is a good thing.
You have heard of the term "Hygienic Mothers" whose babies are sick often
because of not developing resistance to the normal home bacteria.

Here is the report of the test.

[A test *was* performed a few years ago, by some members of the Breastfeeding
Council in Norway, in which bacteria were inoculated into samples of freshly
expressed breastmilk; breastmilk that had been frozen, then thawed at room
temperature; breastmilk that had been frozen, then thawed in a microwave
oven; breastmilk that had been frozen, thawed at room temp, re-frozen and
re-thawed at room temperature, and freshly mixed formula.

The formula and the microwave-thawed samples grew similar and large amounts
of bacteria. The samples that were thawed at room temperature, even the one
that had been thawed and re-frozen, grew almost nothing, as did the freshly
expressed milk. This is part of the reason we advise against thawing or
warming breastmilk in a microwave oven, the other part being the risk of
burns to the baby from uneven heating of the milk.]

I had a client whose husband gave their baby a bottle of milk when mom was
gone and she panicked when she returned.  The bottle had been frozen,
warmed, and left in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. She forgot about its
being there.

Mom called me at 10:30 at night asking what would happen. I said that if it
was spoiled he would vomit it up. She could feed him again and he might
vomit again.  I asked her to call me the next morning.  She called to say
that he slept fine and had no negative effect from the milk.

I would not recommend repeating this but to me it said that there is a
*lot* that we don't know about human milk. But to fear adding fresh milk to
refrigerated milk sounds like advice that was handed down before we knew of
the antibacterial and antiviral properties of human milk--and its aliveness.

Patricia Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin



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