# TOXINS: storage of breast milk in Freezer



## ladyslipper (Apr 21, 2006)

My husband informed me that putting breast milk in plastic containers for freezing could leak toxic chemicals in the breast milk upon defrost. He explained that their was a John Hopkins study that confirmed that the microwave was unsafe to defrost liquids when using plastic and the same toxins were found in water that was placed in plastic bottles and frozen. Therefore I have been trying to store my milk in glass spice jars, but I am wondering if anyone has a better storage idea that does not require plastic.


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## arismom1029 (Apr 16, 2006)

So it said that the microwave led to these deposits? Why would you use the microwave to defrost bm?


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## lunasmommy (Jun 30, 2005)

I read that study too. It says not to freeze in plastic.

But some other places I read that its not true...who knows









I am leary of plastic in the micro though.


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## mommy2julia (Mar 15, 2005)

what about plastic bags?


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## anyuka (Aug 10, 2005)

I just opened my new Medela pump tonight and read the following info. in the Breastfeeding Info. Guide that they include:

What type of container is best to use for breastmilk storage:

-Glass containers are best, however polypropylene (hard plastic) bottles and thick plastic bags meant for human milk storage (Medela breastmilk bags) are also acceptable.

-All Medela breastmilk containers are safe, Bisphenol-A-free polypropylene. Bisphenol-A is an industrial chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic, such as some baby bottles. Recent studies document that Bisphenol-A can leach out of the product and affect human health.

I still want to do some more research before I use their bags for freezing. So for now I'll be using Evenflo glass baby bottles that I bought to freeze any milk in.


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## Emilie's Mommy (Jul 8, 2006)

Hi Mommies! I'm new to the board and thought I'd just jump right in here and give my thoughts on this subject.

First, the information that supposedly comes from some Johns Hopkins research is bogus - check out http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp

Second, I believe that the milk storage bags that Medela sells are OK for freezing. The LC at the nursing mom's group we go to said that the Medela bags are made of vinyl rather than plastic so more of the nutrients are preserved.

Also, you shouldn't need to defrost milk in the nuker... just put the bag in a dish of warm water and it thaws in just a couple of minutes.

...Cyndi...

mommy to an almost one year old happy BFing little sunshine named Emilie!


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## nabigus (Sep 23, 2004)

The plastics to watch out for are the hard, clear ones, like in Nalgene bottles (or the Ameda storage bottles, Dr. Brown's, Avent, etc). Medela bottles and the Medela bags (NOT vinyl, which is also nasty--like in children's squishy bash toys) seem to be okay. The other system that uses bags is the Playtex Natural Latch system.


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## weeirishlass (Mar 30, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Emilie's Mommy*
Hi Mommies! I'm new to the board and thought I'd just jump right in here and give my thoughts on this subject.

First, the information that supposedly comes from some Johns Hopkins research is bogus - check out http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cookplastic.asp










:


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## spughy (Jun 28, 2005)

I freeze my booby juice in 125-ml glass mason jars. I didn't want to deal with plastic, and they stack nicely in the freezer


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## Mom'n it (Nov 3, 2005)

I thought the concern with glass is that it will break when you freeze milk (or anything else) in it. Do you just put less than the glass bottle size so it doesn't shatter? I'm definately not a lover of plastics for the above reasons, but if there's a way to freeze with glass, I'm all for it!


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## tsfairy (May 19, 2004)

I stored my milk in the Evenflo 4oz glass baby bottles. They attached to my pump just like the bottles that Ameda provided. I've seen them at BRU and Burlington, and also online. I didn't have any problem with breakage, but I never pumped a full 4oz, let alone actually filling the bottle to the brim. To defrost, DH or DCP just ran the bottle under warm water for a few min.

You're never supposed to put BM in a nuker. Microwaving (even just defrosting) destroys the protective antibodies in breastmilk. Heating the bottle in the nuker can also cause uneven heating and create dangerous "hot spots" in the bottle.


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## jenny-g (Nov 10, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bredette*
I thought the concern with glass is that it will break when you freeze milk (or anything else) in it. Do you just put less than the glass bottle size so it doesn't shatter? I'm definately not a lover of plastics for the above reasons, but if there's a way to freeze with glass, I'm all for it!









Not that I"ve ever had enough milk to freeze, as I'm a low-supply mama (I am jealous of all of you), but the trick is to not cap the jar while it is freezing so the milk inside can expand. THEN put the cap on after it is frozen, and make sure it's on tight. (We freeze stuff in canning jars all the time, and they may be the most economical choice out there if you need a lot of them, and the little widemouth ones stack very nicely.) -j


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## Mom'n it (Nov 3, 2005)

while it's definately not ok to microwave your bottles, wouldn't heating a plastic bottle on the stove have the same leaky-toxic affect? I use the medela bottles that came with the pump, but have some of the 8oz gerber plastic bottles as well. I hate hate hate the idea of using plastic.. I think I'm going to start doing the mason jar thing.. if only there was a pump that would fit those mouths!


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## jenny-g (Nov 10, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bredette*
while it's definately not ok to microwave your bottles, wouldn't heating a plastic bottle on the stove have the same leaky-toxic affect? I use the medela bottles that came with the pump, but have some of the 8oz gerber plastic bottles as well. I hate hate hate the idea of using plastic.. I think I'm going to start doing the mason jar thing.. if only there was a pump that would fit those mouths!









YES, bisphenol-A can leach out of polycarbonate bottles when heating them. The bottles that come with the Ameda purely yours and most bottles (dr browns, advent) are polycarbonate. Medla bottles, on the other hand, are cloudy plastic- not polycarbonate. MUCH SAFER. I am not familiar with the gerber ones. If they are clear hard plastic, they are polycarbonate.

However, if you want to go glass, there are bottles that will fit your pump, I think. Some people use the evenflo bottles (very heavy). I found one person on a blog who was a smartie who purchased formula nursette bottles, poured/gave away the formula inside, and used those! (I think enfamil 4oz nursette bottles). They are all threaded to accept a standard nipple attachment. Since I have to suppliment, I got a few cases of the good start formula nursette bottles which are smaller (3oz) a bit less heavy, and I pump right into those. Since I have low supply, I never come close to filling them, but I imagine a Big Producer might find the bottles too small. I find it highly amusing that *formula* gave me a way to pump/store into glass.

Anyway, that might be a useful tip for those needing glass bottles to fit their pumps. -Jenny


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## mfp02 (Jan 5, 2005)

Isn't this why breast milk bags are specially designed for their use? I've read elsewhere that they don't have the stuff in them like regular plastic bags?

Either way, I have to use bags to donate my milk. So .. :/


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## mikeandtoribaby (Oct 27, 2005)

So the Gerber breast milk storage bags are no good?


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## NameThatMama (Oct 26, 2004)

Everything I see about the Gerber bags says that they're made of "freezer grade plastic." I have no idea what that means.

From this site, which was linked from the Snopes site: _...In addition, freezing actually works against the release of chemicals. Chemicals do not diffuse as readily in cold temperatures, which would limit chemical release if there were dioxins in plastic, and we don't think there are._


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## NameThatMama (Oct 26, 2004)

My sources tell me that both the Lansinoh and Gerber bags are BPA-free.


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