Hello everyone,

I have a question regarding antibodies in pumped breastmilk.  I received a
call from a local MD (family practitioner) yesterday.

Her question to me was this:  When you pump milk and save it either in the
freezer of refridgerator, does the milk lose its antibodies?  My answer was
no but unfortunately I was unable to tell her how I knew.  I told her I
would try to find the source for this information.

Her niece has a 3 day old baby and the nurses at the hospital told the niece
that if she was planning to pump, she might as well just give formula
because when breastmilk is not given directly from the breast it loses all
of its good properties.  UGH!!!

The MD who called me did not believe this either and is willing to go and
speak to the nurses at this particular hospital IF I can provide her with
the reference for this information.  I searched the archives using the words
"pumped milk".  I found some interesting posts but nothing directly related
to this. Should I have used different search words?  I know this seems so
obvious but I feel it is important to have a source for information
especially when dealing with doctors and nurses.

I did tell her that microwaving the milk would kill some or all of the
antibodies and some of the nutrients in breastmilk.  I also talked with her
about the fact that some of the immunoglobulins might stick to the plastic
storage bag if the milk was frozen and thawed BUT that this milk was still
much, much better than formula!

Just one more quick thing.  I remember reading somewhere that as long as
breastmilk was not heated beyond 100 degrees F that there was no danger of
destroying the antibodies or nutrients.  Do any of you have any information
about this?  I just know I read it in a reputable source but where I don't
know.  I try to keep everything straight but I guess this info. went into my
brain without it's source information.

Thank you so much for your help.  If you feel this information is too basic
to clutter up the list with, please feel free to e-mail me privately.  I
really appreciate your wisdom and knowledge.

Sincerely,

Lori McCulloch
Breastfeeding Coordinator and Peer Counselor-TX
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