Milk storage
Freshly expressed breast milk keeps for up to 4 hours at room temperature, 24 hours in a cooler, 4 days in the fridge, and 6 months in a freezer. Milk already thawed from frozen keeps for only 24 hours in the fridge and must never be re-frozen.
There’s a free printable version of this guide to keep.
Get the PDFWhen storing milk, remember to properly label and date storage containers in order to use the oldest milk first. Frozen milk should be defrosted in the fridge or in a bowl of warm water (never the microwave). Leftover milk — any milk that baby didn't finish at a feed — should be used or discarded within 2 hours. Guidelines vary depending on country, health organisation and area. The below is guidance for home use only.
The essentials
- Room temp
- At 25 degrees or colder: freshly expressed milk keeps for up to 4 hours, and milk thawed from frozen keeps for up to 4 hours.
- Cooler
- At 5 degrees or colder: freshly expressed milk keeps for up to 24 hours, and milk thawed from frozen keeps for up to 24 hours.
- Refrigerator
- At 4 degrees or colder: freshly expressed milk keeps for up to 4 days, and milk thawed from frozen keeps for up to 24 hours.
- Freezer
- At -18 degrees or colder: freshly expressed milk keeps for up to 6 months. Never re-freeze thawed milk.
- Deep freezer
- At -21 degrees or colder: freshly expressed milk keeps for up to 12 months. Never re-freeze thawed milk.
Take this one with you
The whole guide on one page — the version to keep. Pop your email in and it lands in your inbox.
Some things need hands and eyes, not a guide
If you've read your way through these and feeding still hurts, or your baby isn't gaining, that's exactly what a visit is for.
This guide is informed by current evidence and clinical practice. Individual circumstances vary — it isn’t a substitute for advice from your own midwife, doctor or lactation consultant.