Many of the mothers I see have marginal/low milk production.  Throwing away
any milk is heartbreaking for them.  While there is no research to confirm
the safety of reusing breastmilk, many do.  It's rather like the co-sleeping
issue - research shows that many more mothers are doing it than physicians
think, so it's better to tell folk how to do it safely.  I ask moms (of
healthy, term babies) to refrigerate the leftover milk immediately, and use
it at the start of the next feed (and not mix with fresh milk).  If they
forget to use it at this feed then they should toss.  

We know that you can use formula for an hour from start of a feed.  Given
the bactericidal properties of freshly expressed milk it is reasonable to
extrapolate that "used" milk is safe for several hours in the fridge.

However, the HMBANA guidelines state that milk should be discarded after
completion of feed.  They asterisk this and comment "this is based on
current infant feeding practice, because research does not specifically
address this issue." (2005 issue)

Joanna Koch, IBCLC



  

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