Notes by Lilian : In certain unavoidable circumstances when a mother has to be away from her small baby, she finds a certain connection and closeness to her child if she can continue to carry on expressing milk. Whether it is a few hours when she is working or weeks when she is away on assignment. By this act, she is comforted with the thoughts that she is still able to nurture her child even in her absence. Being able to do something for her child somehow lessen the heartaches when she misses her child. Therefore, ideally all women will consider expressing milk and extend breastfeeding even if she is met with difficult situations. The moms mentioned above have proven that nothing is too inconvenient when it comes to providing the best – mother’s milk.

This photo of frozen ebm is taken from the fridge in the Paed ICU of a Government Hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

All expressed breastmilk should be stored in sterilised containers either made from glass or food grade plastics. Each container should be labelled with the date, time the milk is expressed and if possible, the quantity in each container. If one is storing ebm with other mothers’ ebm (e.g. in hospitals, babysitters), remember to also label with either you or your baby’s name.