>I received a call from a mother this morning who was concerned about the
>smell and taste of her expressed breast milk. She has been back at work for
>some time and reports that recently her husband (who feeds the baby while
>mom is at work) and older child thought the milk they were thawing and
>feeding to the baby smelled bad. The mother tasted her milk herself and
>reports it has a "metallic" taste to it.

I have had clients who said that their milk tasted metallic or taste
descriptions other than soapy. I tell them to not worry if baby takes it
without noticing.

I advise my clients to use the frozen milk for emergencies and
fresh/refrigerated milk for current use--pumping on Monday for Tuesdays
feedings, etc.  Many mothers are pumping and freezing each day, dating, and
using the first frozen first, etc.  That is adding time and effort plus not
giving the baby the benefit of those properties that are diminished by
freezing.

If the mother's milk is changed in taste by the freezing she is just
compounding the problem by continued freezing. I suggest that she keep the
frozen milk for occasional use and if she wants to add to her freezer
stockpile, I describe the scalding before freezing technique.

But as stated above I strongly recommend fresh milk for the baby.

Pat Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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