Hi everyone,
I worked this weekend, and I am feeling so upset about some of the things
I saw. I work occasionally in a local hospital in mother-baby. This past
weekend I was pulled to the intensive care nursery, just helping out the
nurses there, as this is not my primary area. We were chatting about the
way the babies are fed. They encourage the moms to express and freeze their
milk -- they have a freezer for this purpose. I noticed that all the milk
is placed in the freezer immediately -- none is saved in the refrigerator.
I also noticed that the nurses don't actually use the EBM. They have to
defrost it, and it is a nuisance when the baby is crying for his/her milk,
so they grab a bottle of ABM and feed it to the baby. When I commented on this
to one of the nurses, she told me she feels more comfortable feeding ABM
because "you know it is clean" and that EBM "is not coming from the cleanest
source anyway." I mentioned to her that I thought they should refrigerate some
of the EBM, rather than freezing it all, and she said that their rule is that
milk that is not frozen is thrown away after 24 hours, but that *she* would
never use EBM that had not been frozen IMMEDIATELY, because it would not be
clean. She was very upset with me for suggesting differently. She said their
LC at the hospital goes to alot of conferences and knows much more than I do.
(which is undoubtly true.)

How long can EBM be safely refrigerated? Is there any advantage to using
the milk before it is frozen? I realize I can not change this hosptial's
policies, as I am only a temporary employee there anyway, but I would like
to know for my own knowledge. I had the impression that EBM is good for 5
days refrigerated, and that never frozen milk is preferable over defrosted,
if there is a choice.


Excuse me for asking such elementary questions, and thanks for all I have
learned from you.

Anne Pfannkoch, RN
who has read the complaints about nurses not encouraging breastfeeding in
the obstetrical units and realizes that it is too often true.