Hi Rachel,
I am working with a mom who has some questions regarding thawing 
breastmilk. I remembered this post from a couple of weeks ago.  Is there 
anything I can find to send to this mom based on this research? Thanks,
Jamelle Lyons

On Sun, 16 Aug 2009 14:03:34 -0400, Rachel Myr <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>The informal experiment done by someone here in Norway some years back 
(not
>published except in an anecdotal report in the BF mothers' org newsletter)
>on a very few samples of breastmilk frozen directly after expressing, to see
>whether there was a difference in bacteria counts in milk dependent on
>method of thawing (standing on counter at room temp, thawing in a warm 
water
>bath, or microwaving) included tests of milk that was thawed by all those
>methods, re-frozen, and thawed again.  The only parameter they examined 
was
>bacteria counts.
>
>They found that even after thawing and re-freezing and re-thawing, the milk
>was not appreciably affected with regard to inhibition of bacteria growth as
>long as it had not been microwaved.  Microwaving frozen milk to serving
>temperature rendered it incapable of preventing bacterial growth; the sample
>that was exposed to heating by microwave had bacterial growth similar to
>breastmilk substitutes.  Please note that breastmilk substitutes must be
>used fresh, always, and can not be re-warmed and certainly not frozen and
>thawed, ever.
>
>If milk has even been scalded before freezing, the anti-immune properties
>that prevent growth of bacteria will have been weakened or destroyed. I
>would not advise even re-using, not to mention re-freezing breastmilk that
>had been pasteurized or even just scalded.  Such milk is as perishable as
>breastmilk substitutes are.  The less processed it is before being frozen,
>the more anti-infective qualities have been preserved.  Freshly expressed
>milk that has been refrigerated and then re-warmed to serving temperature
>can, it seems, be safely stored in the fridge and re-warmed later if the
>child leaves some after a feed.
>
>This means that mothers whose milk goes rancid if they don't scald it before
>freezing should probably discard whatever is unused after thawing. One way
>to minimize waste is to freeze in small portions so that there is less risk
>of thawing out more than the baby will take at a feed.  Small portions are
>also quick to thaw if more is needed. 
>
>Rachel Myr
>Kristiansand, Norway
>
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