Our milk policy is this:  Use first week or two of colostrum first.
Then fresh expressed hind milk if it's a little baby, then refrigerated
fresh milk, then oldest frozen.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Lactation Information and Discussion
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Christina
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 3:08 PM
Subject: A different question about using frozen milk in the nursery

I have a question about using frozen breastmilk in the hospital nursery.
I
was just having a conversation with a fellow RN and we both admitted
that we
were a bit perplexed about what approach was best.  If a baby is born
at,
say 25 weeks gestation and mother pumps very successfully and ends up
with a
ton of milk, what approach is best for using it?  An infant born at that
age
will sometimes not have ANY breast milk for a long time.  And when she
does,
she'll start off with just drops and a few cc's, working up to larger
amounts.  In the meantime, the milk piles up in the freezer because
mother
is making MUCH more than a baby would use at that age.  So my question
is:
Do you recommend pulling the oldest milk out and feeding that first?  It
would seem logical that you'd want the baby to have nutrients and
antibodies
in the colostrum.  Or do you use the most current milk since it's
designed
more for the baby's current age?  If you use the most current milk, what
about the milk in the freezer?  When does the old stuff get used?  If
mother
continues to make enough to meet the baby's needs, does the rest just
get
wasted?  (I realize she could also donate it.)

Anyone care to chime in?  Each time I go to the freezer in the middle of
the
night to pull milk out for a baby, I always stand there for a moment,
trying
to figure out whether to use the oldest or newest milk.

Thanks in advance for anyone that can help!

Christina Harris, RN
Seattle, WA

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or
[log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or
([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]