Additional Resources & Information for Families

Recommended Websites for Information About Pregnancy and Feeding Your Baby

Droplet (firstdroplets.com): videos and information about the importance of the first hour after delivery to successful breastfeeding. Offers tips for preventing common breastfeeding challenges. Also available in Spanish.
MotherToBaby: no cost information about the safety/risk of exposures, such as medications, vaccines, chemicals, herbal products, substances of abuse, maternal health conditions and much more, during pregnancy or breastfeeding
Drugs & Lactation Database: The LactMed® database contains information on medications and other chemicals breastfeeding parents may be exposed to with information on the levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood, and the possible adverse effects in the nursing infant. Safer alternatives are provided, where appropriate. All data are derived from the scientific literature and fully referenced. A peer review panel reviews the data to assure scientific validity and currency.
Office on Women's Health - Breastfeeding: provides more information and answers common questions to help parents make the personal decision of how to feed their baby.

Storing milk in a refrigerator (40*F) during a power outage:

An unopened refrigerator only stays cold for 4 hours during an outage. (USDA - Keep Your Food Safe During Emergencies: Power Outages, Floods & Fires)
Have an insulated cooler filled with ice and/or gel packs ready. Keep the temperature 40*F or less.
Never frozen, freshly pumped or expressed milk will keep up to 4 days if kept 40*F or colder. Thawed breastmilk will only keep up to 1 day if kept 40*F or colder. (CDC - Proper Storage of Breastmilk) See below for tips regarding frozen milk.

Storing milk in a freezer (0*F or colder) during a power outage:

Place milk in center of freezer, not in the door or near walls of freezer.
Avoid opening the freezer door.
Use bags, bottles, or blocks of ice to fill empty space in the freezer. A full and unopened freezer will keep frozen for 2 days while a half-full freezer keeps frozen for 1 day. (USDA - Keep Your Food Safe During Emergencies: Power Outages, Floods & Fires)
If milk fully thaws to liquid it must be used within 24 hours or thrown out. If milk is a slushy consistency and still has some ice crystals in it, it is ok to refreeze (CDC - Proper Storage of Breastmilk FAQs)

Expressing milk during a power outage: