St. Luke's Emergency Department

Store breast milk in clean storage containers or plastic bags made for breast milk storage
Date all milk that you pump and save
Fresh milk is good 5-6 hours on the counter (at normal room temperature), 5-6 days in a refrigerator, 5-6 months in a freezer and up to a year in a deep freeze (below zero)
Fresh milk is good for 24 hours in a cooler
Thaw frozen milk in a bowl of warm water or overnight in the refrigerator. Use the oldest milk first. (once thawed, swirl/jiggle milk to mix, do not shake vigorously)
Thawed milk is good 24 hours in the refrigerator and should be used 24 hours after thawing
Do not microwave breast milk

Please call the St. Luke's Lactation Consultant with questions at (319) 369-8944.