Lipase?

[Lil'Momma]

Okay, I have an issue with lipase. If my milk even sits in the fridge for three or four days it tastes like someone dumped dish soap in it. After being frozen it just tasted terrible. The funny thing is, DD doesn't mind at all. She'll scarf it down like fresh pumped milk.

We left her at a friends house who also has a nine month old while we went to visit a very dear friend who is terminally ill.

I completely forgot to explain what was up with the milk and when my friend smelled it, she thought it had gone bad so she gave DD some of her sons formula.

When I got back and she explained I was shocked... the formula is a whole other issue, but when I explained about the lipase, she told me she had heard that you should NEVER feed you child milk that doesn't smell right, taste right, ect...

Am I wrong? I am VERY careful how I store the milk, DD was a preemie and we were extra careful with all the milk that was stored for her time in and right after the NICU...

She gave me a tongue lashing that I was going to make DD sick... she has drank milk that smells, tastes off SOOOO many times and never had a single problem... am I wrong???

BTW: she puked all night after eating an EIGHT OUNCE bottle of formula. (she only ever takes around 3.5-4 oz of milk at a time...)

[broodymama]

I've only pumped a handful of times, but I have lipase issues with my milk also. If your DD doesn't have a problem with how the milk tastes then she's fine, it sounds like your friend just doesn't know anything about it. Scalding your milk may help with the lipase issue, if that's something you wanted to try but it doesn't sound like your DD has a problem with the flavor. I would be upset about the bottle of formula too!

Do you think your friend would read this article explaining what the issue is?
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/l...essedmilk.html

[berrymama]

I also have lipase issues with my frozen milk and had to scald it because DS would never drink it otherwise. I have read that if baby has no rejections to it that it is perfectly safe to not scald. Sorry you had to get lectured by someone who was unknowing and/or misinformed.

From Kellymom.com:

"A few mothers find that their refrigerated or frozen milk begins to smell or taste soapy, sour, or even rancid soon after it's stored, even though all storage guidelines have been followed closely. Per Lawrence & Lawrence (p. 781), the speculation is that these mothers have an excess of the enzyme lipase in their milk, which begins to break down the milk fat soon after the milk is expressed. Most babies do not mind a mild change in taste, and the milk is not harmful, but the stronger the taste the more likely that baby will reject it.

Lipase is an enzyme that is normally present in human milk and has several known beneficial functions:

Lipases help keep milk fat well-mixed (emulsified) with the "whey" portion of the milk, and also keep the fat globules small so that they are easily digestible (Lawrence & Lawrence, p. 156).
Lipases also help to break down fats in the milk, so that fat soluble nutrients (vitamins A & D, for example) and free fatty acids (which help to protect baby from illness) are easily available to baby (Lawrence & Lawrence, p. 156).
The primary lipase in human milk, bile salt-stimulated lipase (BSSL), "has been found to be the major factor inactivating protozoans" (Lawrence & Lawrence, p. 203).
Per Lawrence & Lawrence (p. 158), the amount of BSSL in a particular mother's milk does not vary during a feed, and is not different at different times of day or different stages of lactation. There is evidence that there may be a decrease in lipase activity over time in mothers who are malnourished.

What can I do if my storage problem is due to excess lipase? Once the milk becomes sour or rancid smelling/tasting, there is no known way to salvage it. However, newly expressed milk can be stored by heating the milk to a scald to inactivate the lipase and stop the process of fat digestion. Scald the milk as soon after expression as possible.

To scald milk:

Heat milk to about 180 F (82 C), or until you see little bubbles around the edge of the pan (not to a full, rolling boil).
Quickly cool and store the milk.
Scalding the milk will destroy some of the antiinfective properties of the milk and may lower some nutrient levels, but this is not likely to be an issue unless all of the milk that baby is receiving has been heat-treated.

Per Lawrence & Lawrence, bile salt-stimulated lipase can also be destroyed by heating the milk at 144.5 F (62.5 C) for one minute (p. 205), or at 163 F (72 C) for up to 15 seconds (p. 771)."

Looks like I posted at the same time as PP