Message text written by Lactation Information and Discussion >Date: Sat, 13 Sep 1997 17:14:16 -0400 From: Cynthia Dillon Payne <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Breastmilk storage We've had a lot of discussion lately about how long bm is good in the frig. The majority of you all seem to say 3 days or 3 to 5 days. What about milk at room temp? How long do you tell moms that milk is good at room temp after expression? I was told by a WHO rep a few years ago that she tells mom it's good up to 12 hours! :-O I don't think too many pedi's would go for that. Cynthia D. Payne LLL of Berkshire County Mass.< Dear Cynthia: The most currently published guidelines for milk storage that I've found are in the rev. 1997 ed. Breastfeeding Answer Book by LLLI on page 188: In a refrigerator, mature milk at 32 to 39 degrees F (0 to 4 degrees C) can be stored for eight days with the study cited by Pardou 1994 At room temperature, mature milk at 60'F (15'C) for 24 hours (Hamosh 1996) at 66 to 72'F (19 to 22'C) for 10 hours (Barger and Bull 1987) at 79'F (25'C) four to six hours (Hamosh 1996; Pittard 1985) The are also guidelines for term colostrum expressed within six days of delivery and stored at room temp. and the freezer guidelines for mature milk. Sounds like your WHO source has incomplete information because it appears that length of time mature milk can remain at room temperature depends on what room temp you are talking about. To just say 12 hours doesn't take into account this important factor. Susan Condon, BA, CLC, San Francisco, CA