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Subject:
From:
Anne Hinze <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 1 Sep 2007 14:40:50 -0400
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Purely anecdotal....

When I was nursing my daughter (born 2005) I had several instances where I found my 
milk to be spoiled even though it was inside the parameters of normal milk storage 
guidelines. Most say expressed milk should be good in the fridge for up to a week. Mine 
is bad in three days. The guidelines say that milk stored in a freezer should be good up to 
3 months. I can pump and freeze and thaw it the next day and it's rancid. 

It's not just soapy, but completely soured. You can smell it and taste it. I've gotten to the 
point that now all i have to do is smell and I can tell if it's good or not. 


That and she'd outright refuse to drink it....


So my son is now 8 months old and I still have the same problem. 


It wasn't until I got my copy of the LLL Breastfeeding Answer Book that I found a section 
about rancid milk and felt like it was describing my situation perfectly.

At the time I found out about lipase I had a good 40 ounces in the freezer and it was all 
bad. I thawed it all just to see (in batches over a few days) and sure enough it was all 
bad.

I've even pumped and done my own "testing" to see at what point my milk sours and it 
definitely has something to do with the cold of the freezer because just sitting in the 
fridge it's good for at least 2-3 days before it turns sour. 

so if i'm going to freeze my milk now I scald it. 

I hate doing it - it just goes against every breastfeeding cell in my body! Not to mention 
the time involved and the hassle.

But it's a sure guarantee that it's not bad and I can rest easy knowing someone at church 
isn't feeding my baby sour milk. My son will actually drink it, but then he spits it up for 
the rest of the day...


I wish I knew what caused the excess lipase in my milk. I've googled it and found 
virtually nothing in the way of research. I have had maybe one bottle that wasn't sour 
upon thawing and I wonder if that might have come from a day when I felt less anxious 
and stressed... That would be my only hunch - to see if there was a connection with how 
my body deals with stress and lipase production... 


My pump parts gets broken down and cleaned and sterilized and the bottles as well. It 
doesn't make a difference in my situation.

If anyone has any research or other info on lipase, I, too would love to read it. 


So to answer your question, in my case - it was repeated with the next child. I've found 
because of this issue, I don't store milk very often. It's a pain to scald four ounces at a 
time! You have to scald it immediately after pumping - it can't go in the fridge before 
hand (while waiting to accumulate more pumped milk) because it's the cold that activates 
the lipase... I suppose you could leave it out on the counter until the next time you pump, 
but I get a little squeamish about leaving my milk out at room temp for more than about 
2 hours just in case...


HTH,

Anne Hinze
Niceville, FL 
who became the proud owner of a 2007 Honda Odyssey this week - the space is so nice! 
and my children are appreciative of the rear air conditioning in this still swelteringly hot 
Florida summer.

             ***********************************************

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