Q: I learnt that breast milk doesn’t get sour except you express it out of the breast and leave it in a container; then it get sour after 8 hours. So my question is, if you don’t express it out how long does it stay in the breast if the child refuses to suck it before the breast milk gets bad?

A: Thanks for your question. 

Indeed, breast milk does not get sour unless it’s out of its natural ‘container’: the breast. Breast cannot get sour in the breast even if the baby does not suck for a while. The main issue you will be contending with at that time is breast engorgement as your breast gets filled with all that milk that is not being taken. Subsequently, if this continues for a while, the milk production may reduce as the production and supply of breast milk is related to the demand for it. If the demand reduces, the supply reduces…sounds like economics in a sense, right? 😀

So, we need to focus on finding out why the baby is not sucking. Is he ill? Please see his/ her paediatrician to determine what’s going on. In the meantime, you could try expressing the breast milk and store in the fridge/freezer as I had advised in my post, a couple of days ago, if power supply is not a problem. Please click on the link below for more information on storage of breast milk.

https://chatwithdrketch.com/2014/07/10/daily-health-tips-how-long-should-i-store-expressed-breast-milk-before-it-expires/

Have a great week ahead, people 🙂