How to travel with breast milk is an important topic for mothers who need to be away from home for extended periods of time. You want to make sure that you store the milk properly so that it doesn’t spoil and possibly make your baby sick. Whether you’re traveling by car or by air, here’s what you need to know about taking your breast milk with you.
Store breast milk while traveling
Best breast milk containers for travel
Using the right breastmilk container can be helpful when traveling with breast milk. Using a breast milk bag makes it easy to transport and takes the least amount of space. However, you may get stopped at TSA for a longer period of time when you use pouches. Glass bottles are the recommended choice when going through air travel because they are quickly scanned. While they take up more space and require more energy to keep them cold, TSA prefers the clear bottle to scan and inspect.
However, because any container is allowed with extra screening, you should choose a storage method that works best for you.
A mom's tips for travel with breast milk
Marquita Wright is a mother of twins and offered up suggestions on what to do when traveling with breast milk and kids. One trick that she recommended was using a thermos that would keep liquids cold for up to 20 hours. This prevented the need for multiple bags and would keep the milk fresh for consumption while on the trip.
“It was best if I froze the milk,” when traveling, Wright said. This would keep the milk cold for longer periods of time if she couldn’t change out her ice bags. She recommends finding hotels that have a fridge; an AirBnB is ideal because you can access a full freezer.
In Marquita’s experience, she went through TSA with no problems when her milk was frozen, regardless of how much milk she had. If it was even partially thawed, they would swab it to ensure it was okay to travel with.
