Comments on: Lipase And Bad Tasting Breast Milk

By: Eleonora

Eleonora — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:11:56 +0000

I pumped with my first son, now 3 yrs old as I had to get back to work. Fortunately he never had to take the bottle as I could always find a solution ( work from home or daddy bringing him to my office). So I had huge amounts of BM in the freezer and I used them all when we started solids. I mixed it with soluble oat or the veggies. I had the same lipase problem and it smelled awful but he took it so I never worried. On the and i could breastfeed for 19 months. Now I have a 6week old second son and will go back to work at 4 mo so I started pumping again but I’m researching the subject as I don’t know how my second will react to the smell. I could do scalding with my avent bottle heater but does it really gets so hot that it has an effect on lipase? If anyone is using this technique pls share your experiences. I did take lots of calcium supplements with both of my pregnancies and also during breastfeeding. I also take Femibion ( vitamin supplements plus dha).
I was also thinking may maternal metabolism be the cause of the lipase issue? I’m overweight, does it have anything to do with maternal weight?

By: TFA

TFA — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 21:20:45 +0000

Is there some type of test my OB can do to see if I produce too much Lipase? Or, do I just defrost some milk, give to LO and see what she does? I am so worried I will have to throw out my 1,500 oz!

By: Laticia

Laticia — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:43:56 +0000

I just recently went back to work and my son is 2 months old, so I nurse while I’m home with him, and I pump while I’m at work so my husband can feed him. But lately Emmett hasnt been taking the breast milk in the bottle, and it has that metal smell immediately after pumping and a sulpher smell the next morning. But he’ll nurse without objections. I cant scald the milk while I’m at work and I work 2nd shift 1/2hr away from home. I have considered quitting my job to be home and nurse him. Is there a suppliment that I can take that will help reduce the lipase? I couldnt nurse my daughter and I will be devestaed if this effects my milk supply. Please help.

By: Richelle

Richelle — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 06:14:54 +0000

Thank you Rochelle for the detailed information! I am a mother of three and heading back to work for long 12 hours shifts as an L&D nurse in a few weeks. I recently discovered all of my sacred frozen milk is also sour and my 4 month old son won’t touch any of it. I wish I discovered this before I invested all of the time freezing it! Great point regarding scalding and milk donations. I will give it a try. Any concrete information on DHA?

By: May

May — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 03:38:16 +0000

I have stored approx. 1800ml of breast milk starting November 2011. I was told that I can put them in the freezer for up to 6 months. I have decided to use the first badge of my frozen milk to make sure It does not go wasted.

I am devastated to find out that my breast milk smelled and tasted awful. I have been diluting the breast milk with formula to reduce the bad taste but it is still very strong and my son does not like it at all. I also feel bad giving it to him. On the other hand I spent half an hour eight times a dqy pumping the first two months. Hence I am finding it very difficult to throw away the milk supply. I am not sure what I should do with all that milk! If I knew my breast milk will have a bad after taste I would have given it to my sister’ baby instead of trying to stock up on my breast milk supply for the “rainy” days.

My research says it is still ok to use the breast milk although it taste bad. How sure can I be that my breast milk is not spoil indeed?

By: Rochelle

Rochelle — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:29:13 +0000

Mommy brain! I meant pubmed.gov

By: Rochelle

Rochelle — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:28:32 +0000

Just a correction: the website is pubmed.org

By: Rochelle

Rochelle — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:08:07 +0000

I am a pediatrician and a mother of two. I have high levels of lipase. My first daughter did not mind my thawed milk, despite it’s soapy taste. My second daughter, however, does. Of course, not having to scald my milk would be most convenient, but in the end, I need her to take the milk as I work.
A few things to address some of the questions I have read in others’ posts.

1. The composition of your milk varies day-by-day, so if some of your frozen supply seems fine, by all means use it.
2. ALL of the milk truly is fine, so if your baby will take it, give it to them (it is NOT harmful). My milk always made me want to gag but my first daughter loved it. She was exclusively fed breast milk until ~15 months of age with 50% being expressed milk, 50% breastfed. She is almost 3 years old and healthy as a horse!
3. While scalding is less ideal than not having to, remember that milk banks pasteurize milk so scalded milk is fine for consumption. It does decrease some of the benefits of breast milk but most of the benefits are still there.

If you’d like to read some of the research, go to pubmed.org and put in the following number in the search field: 21091243. This article is open-access so you don’t need an account to see it. In this particular article they are looking at “flash-heat treatment” (scalding) in the setting of HIV-positive mothers, but the effects on the milk are generalizable too all of us who scald our milk. It also details how they heated the milk, so that’s a bonus for anyone wondering about the details of scalding.

Hope this is helpful!

As a parting word: the fact that we have devoted this much time, thought, and effort to our baby’s nutrition is a testament of what wonderful moms we all are. It’s our love, not whether our babies get unadulterated breast milk, scalded breast milk, or formula, that will help us raise happy, healthy children!!

By: Vikki

Vikki — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:03:28 +0000

I nursed 2 babies just fine, but have had this problem with my third. I noticed my milk spoiling after it being in the fridge after 3 days. My baby was sick and hospitalized for 11 days after his birth and I had a huge milk supply in the freezer. I was even more devastated to realize all of my frozen milk was this way as well. I recently talked to a lactation specialist and she said it is not “bad” and can be fed and recommended mixing in bananas with it to cover the bad flavor. This is definitely an option for me as my guy is 7 months old and is eating baby food at this point. It is something I am going to try before getting rid of all my liquid gold. I have scalded some of my extra milk I get when I am home, but doing so at work is next to impossible. But the stuff I did scald smelled and tasted fine so it worked for me when I was able to do it. It is amazing to see so many other people struggling with this as well.

By: Chi

Chi — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:52:40 +0000

Do you know where I can donate the milk? I have 15 Litters in my freezer within 1.5 months. My son is 2 months old now. I had to buy a new freezer to store them, but my son doesn’t like the smell. He’s absolutely not taking it even though I add 50% with formula.
Thanks,