Travelling this winter with expressed breast milk? Make it easy with these simple tips.
For storing your breast milk:
- put breast milk in glass or hard plastic (BPA free) containers with air tight lids (for example, small jars and bottles with lids).
- special breast milk freezer bags can be used. Do not use bottle liner bags as these are thinner plastic bags that may break when frozen.
- put only a small amount of breast milk in each container to prevent wasting.
- leave a one inch space at the top of the container.
When travelling with breast milk (fresh, refrigerated or frozen) use these tips for safety:
- carry expressed breast milk in a cooler bag with ice packs.
- make sure to use breast milk within 24 hours.
- if not used within 24 hours, throw away the unused breast milk.
- warm breast milk by placing the container in a bowl of very warm water, or holding it under warm running tap water.
- frozen breast milk that has been thawed can be kept in the cooler bag with the ice pack for 24 hours.
Flying with Breast Milk
Breast milk can be brought on to the plane in either your carry-on or in your checked baggage. It is okay to bring your breast milk in qualities greater than 100 ml in your carry-on luggage. However it must be presented to the screening officer for inspection. Pack your breast milk so that it can be easily removed from your carry-on baggage for screening. Gel and ice packs can be brought on board ifthey are being used to refrigerator your breast milk.
