This topic seems to come up every once in a while on LACTNET, and no one seems to have any answers.  The usual suspects of alcohol or especially high fat or sodium content, or a defective freezer are brought up, but then everyone shrugs and goes on to the next subject.  

This is especially interesting to me because it happened to me personally on several occasions while my son was in a PICU long term following heart surgery and significant complications.  There was a huge walk in breastmilk freezer (they had a 75 bed NICU)and I was pumping 8x/24 hours, obtaining 8-12 oz at each session.  I was freezing lots and lots of milk (much of it ended up at the Georgetown Milk Bank in Washington DC!).   I was fastidious about sanitation, and did not drink alcohol at all.  I would have milk not freeze, despite being in the freezer for 48 hours.  The milk pumped at the session prior to, and after, the non-freezing milk froze fine.  The non-freezing milk was very cold, but not frozen.  Eventually it would freeze, after 48-72 hours.  There is even a 15 year old LACTNET post from the hospital IBCLC about my case, and there was substantial suspicion that I was drinking, but not disclosing it.  (That was not the case.)  I was encouraged by the physicians to dump this milk out of an abundance of precaution, especially with a very compromised baby, which I did while he was ill.  However, when he was out of PICU I fed it to him without concern.

I would implore those interested in research to PLEASE explore this topic.  It happens often enough that the subject finds its way to LACTNET on a semi-regular basis.  Clearly there are much more instances of it happening in "the wild" than are brought up to IBCLCs, much less on LACTNET.  There is still so much we don't know about lactation and breastmilk and this is one of those things!!   My professional opinion now is that I would advise the mother to continue to use this milk, as I believe even unusually appearing/behaving breastmilk is safe and normal unless and until proven otherwise.

Leanna Moore Watson, BS, IBCLC, RLC
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
 

 

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