Sarah,
Defrosted, previously frozen milk is more perishable than fresh, but should
be good for 48 hours after thawing (per HMBANA guidelines in JHL 8(3),
1992).

<<I do suggest that milk that has been warmed and not finished be discarded
without futher storage.  Am I being over cautious?>>  I know that every
guideline I have ever read says to do this, but I'm going to go out on a
limb here and tell all 1400 of you what I tell mothers when asked this
question.  I pretty much have a speech that goes:

"Everything you read will tell you to throw out anything baby doesn't
drink.  This is because there is no research as to whether it's really safe
to reuse or not.  So the official answer is discard it.  On the other hand,
in the real world, most mothers work hard to get the milk and don't have a
lot extra, so many do reuse it.  If you're going to do this, I would advise
putting it back in the refrigerator and using it at the next feeding within
a reasonable period of time, say 4 hours.  I'm fairly comfortable that this
is safe because years ago when I was an NICU nurse we would hang previously
frozen breastmilk for continuous gavage feedings for 6-8 hours at room
temperature--for little-bitty sick preemies.  If it was okay to do this
with preemies, I have a hard time believing that your big ol' healthy
breastfed baby is going to have a problem with milk that has been warmed
and reused."

I do tell them how to warm a little at a time if they're not sure how much
baby is likely to drink, etc., and that this would be the very safest
thing.  But bottom line--I think if it comes down to using rewarmed
breastmilk (note I'm saying a few hours here) or ABM, rewarmed breastmilk
wins hands down.  Personally, I do think we go overboard on this one.

Any comments?

Becky Krumwiede, RN, IBCLC, Appleton, WI
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