One of our readers asked what does bad breast milk smell like? Let’s try to answer the question while giving related information in this article!
There’s nothing painful as your breast milk’s smell is getting foul sooner than you expected. Knowing that it took you hours to pump out your breast milk, unluckily, the signs say that it has gone bad. There may be many reasons for it, but the main reason might be that you’ve not stored the milk in a suitable container. That is why its smell has gone wrong, and the milk has turned unfit for drinking. But what does bad breast milk smell like? Know all details about bad breastmilk in this article.
Reasons for Bad Breast Milk
1. Less Shelf Life
Most feeding mothers collect breast milk by pumping and storing it in a bottle or any container and storing it in a suitable place. However, this milk is natural and does not have storage capacity for long. So, this may be one of the reasons why breast milk smells terrible sometimes.
2. Foods You Eat
Food that you eat might also affect breast milk’s smell. However, usually, it doesn’t, but sometimes, when you eat non-vegetarian food frequently or any antibiotics, it can alter the breast milk’s taste, and hence the smell goes terrible. The way you store it also causes a bad smell. For example, if you are not aware of keeping tactics and, by mistake, reserving the milk in a plastic bottle that you do not sterilize, this may be the prime reason for the sour breast milk smell.
You must always taste the milk before feeding it to your baby. If you feel that it smells bad or tastes sour, you must avoid giving it to your baby as it might be harmful.
How to Prevent Breast Milk from Going Bad?
These are some proven ways to avoid breast milk from going bad:
1. Choose the Correct Storage Container
Before you start pumping your milk, choosing the suitable container or bottle to store it is essential. Most mothers prefer to use sterilized bottles which can provide breast milk more strength to stay healthy. If you do not have these bottles, make sure you wash the container properly before using them. Minute germs can also be a reason for the foul smell in breast milk.
2. Refrigerate Breast Milk
Suppose you chose to store the breast milk in an insulated cooler bag and keep that in the refrigerator, then its smell would not go wrong for up to five days. But it is highly recommended to use the breast milk within 24 hours of pumping out to avoid any chances of expiration.
3. Freeze the Breast Milk
As per the specialists, keeping the breast milk at a freezing temperature might preserve the milk for a longer duration. So, it is advisable to keep the container near the freezer to remain fresh and maintained.
Ways to Check Whether Pumped Breast Milk is Spoiled
Breast milk comes with numerous advantages and essential nutrients necessary for your baby’s mental and physical growth. Mothers must always take care of the quality of breast milk before serving it to the baby. Before feeding your baby with the pumped breast milk, make sure you check whether or not it is spoiled.
Frozen breast milk can stay good for long, but if you’re confused about its freshness, here are some ways to determine whether your breast milk has expired or not.
1. Take an Enhanced Look at the Milk
After you pump breast milk, it is natural that the water and excess fat gets separated after a few hours. If your breast milk quickly gets mixed after shaking it thoroughly, it means that the breast milk is fit to feed your child. However, if it continues to swirl or chunks are floating separately, it is a sign of bad breast milk. You might as well get a bad smell out of it.
2. Smell
Mothers typically smell the milk before feeding. The foul smell easily gets caught, which are the signs of lousy breast milk.
Is the smell of your breast milk ‘sour’?
Breast milk contains an enzyme known as ‘lipase.’ When there’s excessive lipase in your breast milk, it means that the usual smell of your breast milk will be slightly sour. Lipase is present in human milk to break down the fat present in the milk to make it easy for the baby to digest it. Buttery texture or sour smell is due to this enzyme ‘lipase,’ which is not harmful to babies.
What Does Bad Breast Milk Smell Like
Many mothers complain that after a few days their expressed milk goes bad and they identify this with the appearance and the smell of the milk. The smell can vary from being too sweet or it could smell funny like a soap. Everything kept aside, bad breastmilk would smell anything but fresh. Therefore, if you notice any foul smell coming out of the expressed milk, taste it before feeding your baby.