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Does refrigerating breast milk kill off the antibodies?

April 26, 2017antibodies baby breast kill milk newborn Parenting pregnancy refrigerating

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Does refrigerating breast milk kill off the antibodies?

4 Answers

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I work with antibodies, and refrigerating them will not harm them at all. It’s the most stable way to store them over a 12 hr period. You can put them in the freezer and then thaw them once. You cannot re-freeze, and re-thaw without destroying them (but then you wouldn’t refreeze milk anyway).

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No. You can refrigerate it or freeze it without killing the antibodies. The only thing that will kill them is microwaving it. The best way to reheat the milk is to put the sealed bottle into a sink with hot water and allow the water to increase the milks temperature. Take the milk out and test it on the soft part of your wrist. It should be slighlty warm to the touch. Remember the milk is only good for around 3 days in the fridge.

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No it won’t, antibodies are more resilient then that – it just puts the milk into a quiet state that’s all.

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This link explains that refrigerating the milk will not kill the antibodies. However, freezing does. It also contains a great chart about breastmilk storage times in all sorts of conditions.