Traveling with Breastmilk

By Kittie Frantz, RN, CPNP-PC
Web Exclusive - March 16th, 2007

When our country goes to orange alert at the airports, everyone is asked to endure the minor inconveniences required to pass through security checkpoints. One group of travelers in particular faces additional challenges: mothers traveling without their children, but with expressed breastmilk. Primarily this means working, breastfeeding moms traveling for business. Conventional wisdom has been to keep pumped breastmilk on ice, so women often took it in their purse or carry-on bag.(1) Now, however, toting breastmilk in your carry-on bag without a baby in tow is apparently "suspicious"—and thus subject to highly specific packaging guidelines. According to the latest information at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website, breastmilk must adhere to the same "3-1-1" carry-on guidelines as other liquids, gels and aerosols: it is required to be in containers three ounces or less and, if you have more than one, all the containers must be placed in a 12 ounce zip top plastic bag. These bags must be declared prior to entering the checkpoint. Only one 12 ounce bag of (three ounce or less) containers is allowed per traveler, thereby rigidly limiting the amount of breastmilk that a mother traveling without her child can carry. Ironically, the TSA policy also notes that breastmilk can be carried on in "unlimited quantities" by a mom traveling with her child —despite the fact that she could nurse baby and therefore wouldn't need to pump and carry precious breastmilk. The bad news is that these carry-on regulations seem to stack the deck against the multitude of mothers who pump and travel without their babies. The good news is that breastmilk, as with other liquids and gels, can be transported in larger quantities in checked baggage.

The even better news is that, according to new findings in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine (2), checking breastmilk is actually a fine option. The researchers took frozen breastmilk and thawed it, refroze it, refrigerated it and left it out at room temperature. Essentially, they beat it up. What did they find? Breastmilk is fairly robust and does not grow bacteria easily nor lose vitamins A and C or free fatty acids (FFA) to any degree that would harm a full term baby. Breastmilk fresh from the breast or thawed in a clean container can be left at room temperature for less than 8 hours.(3) (4) This means on a day trip, you can safely pack expressed breastmilk in your checked bag and take it home just as it is. Lets consider the example of Los Angeles to Phoenix and back for a day meeting: you nursed at 7am and headed off to the airport. You pumped at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and were home by 5:30 p.m.—less than eight hours from pumping, at room temperature. The cargo holds of airplanes are cold at 30,000 feet so all the better. Some of the manufactures of polyethylene plastic bags now have zip closures so they won't leak during travel. However, polyethylene bags rob the milk of some of the immune factors (5) so some companies make polypropylene hard plastic bottles with screw or snap on lids for storing breastmilk. A little bulkier, but also won't leak in transport.

Thawed breastmilk can stay in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Fresh breastmilk in a clean container can stay in a refrigerator for less than eight days (6). Fresh breastmilk can stay in an insulated bag with frozen gel packs for 24 hours. (7) Refrigerator temperatures are 38 - 45° F. An insulated pack with frozen gel packs is 60° F (3). Your pumped milk in the hotel refrigerator is fine for a week business trip. The milk coming home in your checked luggage in an insulated pack with frozen gel packs for 24 hours will work also.