Pale green breastmilk?!

[lorraineliyanage]

My daughter has gone up to visit her granny up North so has been away from me (for the first time!) overnight so I've been expressing milk and noticed it has a pale green tinge to it. I've not been eating anything unusual and I feel well, so is there any reason why it might have gone green? Is it OK to give it to her? I've googled it, but come up with the usual random bunch of results so not sure what to make of it. I hate chucking away breast milk, and had she been with me, I would have been feeding her as normal.

[candj]

I'm sure it's fine as it came out of your breast. I remember the nurses in hospital saying that our bodies filter pretty much anything we eat in breast milk except alcohol (and some medicines). There must of been something you ate, during the day that might have changed the colour slightly. It would be great for St. Patrick's Day!

[The Nappy Lady]

I agree, nothing to worry about I'm sure, how cool if we could produce different colours on demand eh?!!!

[sillywoman]

Have you been eating green playdough Lorraine?;-) One of my babies' had green pooh which alarmed me for a while 'til I worked out the cause - could this be related?!!

[lorraineliyanage]

ha! nope no playdough for me, although i did have 1 paracetamol in the early evening, could it be that?

i was toying with giving the milk to the cat so that it wouldn't be a complete waste!!!

[Fuschia]

i think it's normal.. mine is often yellowish, or pale blue... foremilk can be blueish, hind milk yellow

[sillywoman]

. . .and what do yellow-ish and blue-ish mixed together make??? . . .

[Fuschia]

sillywoman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> . . .and what do yellow-ish and blue-ish mixed

> together make??? . . .

That was my thinking...

[lorraineliyanage]

lou refused to give it to her last night as it was green, so i think it's past it's sell-by date now having been in the fridge since midnight on wednesday?

[agathoise]

In a refrigerator human milk can be stored for up to 8 days at 0-4 degrees C (32-39F); it lasts for two weeks in a freezer compartment inside a fridge (ice compartment), 3-4 months within the freezer compartment of a fridge-freezer, and 6 months or longer in a stand-alone deep freeze (-19C)

[ref. Pardou, A et al Human milk banking: influence of storage processes and of bacterial contamination on some milk constituents. Biol Neonate, 1994; 65:302-09]

Here's a helpful article about storing your own pumped milk http://www.llli.org/FAQ/milkstorage.html

Fresh human milk separates, as it is not homogenized, and may appear bluish, yellowish or brownish. Simply shake the container gently to re-mix it before using. Frozen milk may take on a yellowish colour, but this does not mean that it is spoiled, unless it smells sour or tastes bad.

Milk from Wednesday should be fine -- don't forget that the antibacterial properties of human milk make it less likely to spoil.

The La Leche League 24h helpline is useful for queries like this -- it's free, and you'll be connected directly to a qualified breastfeeding counsellor in her own home who will be able to help you. 0845 120 2918

The LLL Breastfeeding FAQ covers just about every common breastfeeding question, and a lot more besides:

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/FAQSubject.html?m=0,0,3

La Leche League is the worlds largest breastfeeding support organisation, set up in 1956 by mothers for mothers. Several LLL groups meet in and around South London for coffee mornings and support/help meetings. See http://www.laleche.org.uk/pages/groups/county_list.htm for local contact details.

hope this helps

Best wishes

Agathoise

[KateMontero]

Mine is often green! Yours has probably been green other times too but you just don't know because you didn't see it. No cause for concern methinks.

[lorraineliyanage]

I am sure it's still green now that she's back on the breast. Thanks for the advice Agathoise and Kate, I've given her the green milk and she seems none the wiser!