What if someone told you your breast milk could safely last up to three years? Or that you'd never again have to worry about keeping your breast milk cold while on the road? Freeze-dried breast milk attempts to make that a reality.
This form of preserving breast milk is gaining traction among parents. Companies are popping up across the country and going viral on social media with claims they will safely turn your breast milk into powder, for a price. One such company received a $400,000 investment from financers including Gwenyth Paltrow on Shark Tank earlier this year.
But is the powdered form of human breast milk too good to be true? Experts still have a lot of questions about its safety, and the price tag runs pretty high. Here’s everything you need to know about freeze-dried breast milk and what to consider before trying these services.
What is freeze-dried breast milk?
Freeze-dried breast milk consists of human milk that’s had its water content completely removed. The end result is a powder that resembles standard infant formula.
A number of companies are leading the freeze-dried breast milk charge. Booby Food, Milkify, Leche and Booby-Licious are just a few of them. Though the brands differ slightly in their pricing, the procedure is fairly standardized.
How is freeze-dried breast milk made?
First, you'd pump breast milk and freeze it. It’s entirely up to you how much milk to send in. Some companies provide special, sterile storage bags for this part.
Next, you'd ship the frozen storage bags to the company in an insulated cooler. Upon receipt, the milk is deep frozen in a chamber at temperatures below negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, a reaction called sublimation transforms the ice crystals in the frozen breast milk directly into gas, leaving behind a powder that’s completely devoid of moisture.
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Once freeze-dried, the breast milk is packaged into special airtight bags that block out light, contaminants and moisture to preserve the product and mail it back to you.
According to Booby Food's website, the powder-to-bottle conversion is simple: Every 100 ounces of breast milk it freeze-dries can be remade into 100 ounces of milk.
Since every person's breast milk has a different water content, moms receive specific water-to-powder ratios for rehydrating their milk. For example, some bags may require three ounces of water while others may require five ounces.
What does it cost to freeze-dry breast milk?
The smallest shipments can cost around $110 to $300, depending on the brand. One company accepts shipments of up to 2,400 ounces of breast milk, which it'll turn into powder for almost $3,000 dollars. (They also donate a portion of every sale to a local breast milk bank.)
If freeze-dried breast milk isn't in your budget, there are plenty of other safe, nutrient-dense and affordable feeding options for your baby, including fresh or properly frozen human breast milk, donor milk and infant formulas.
What are the benefits of freeze-drying breast milk?
Freeze-drying breast milk could help moms who want to breastfeed by addressing a number of common issues.
"I commend people for leaning in and finding ways to prolong human milk feed[ing] of their children," says Lisa Stellwagen, M.D., a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' breastfeeding executive committee. Here are some potential upsides to consider:
It's conducive to extended breastfeeding
"Moms can feel stigmatized for extended breastfeeding, especially out in public where they may feel uncomfortable or get unwanted comments from others," says Janna Hattingh, founder of Booby Food and a mother of two. This can cause some to stop breastfeeding before they're really ready.
"Freeze-dried breast milk is a way to breastfeed without breastfeeding," Hattingh says. "You know your baby is getting nourishment that you made — and you can be private about it if you want to."
Promoting extended breastfeeding also aligns with the newest AAP feeding guidelines, which supports continued breastfeeding as long as mutually desired by mom and baby — for two years or beyond.
It has a long shelf life
Freeze-drying can prolong the shelf life of breast milk. Compared to fresh breast milk that only lasts four hours at room temperature, four days if refrigerated or up to a year in a home freezer, freeze-dried breast milk could stay good for up to three years when stored properly.[1] (Once a pouch of freeze-dried breast milk is opened, though, parents should use it within 24 hours to four weeks, per brand recommendations. Single-serving packaging is ideal.)
Having a stash of breast milk that's safe in the case of a power outage can feel like a savior, particularly for parents living in areas where extreme weather conditions are common.
"I had a situation where I lost a bunch of frozen breast milk from a power outage," says Marisa Caramanico, a mom of one who used Booby-licious to freeze-dry her breast milk. "You work so hard to provide for your baby, you can't risk losing your breast milk."
Freeze-drying services may also provide some parents with peace of mind given the recent infant formula shortage.
It can help if you have high lipase breast milk
Freeze-drying may also be an attractive option for moms with high lipase breast milk. Lipase is a natural enzyme that breaks down milk fat, but high levels can create a soapy or metallic taste that's unpalatable to your little one. It's especially noticeable after the milk is pumped and stored.
"Freeze drying felt like my last hope at giving my daughter my breast milk," says Caramanico, who has high lipase milk. "She had allergies and weight gain issues, so we had to switch to formula. I continued to pump and freeze my milk in hopes that she'd drink it again at some point, but she wouldn't even touch the milk from the freezer."
It's important to note that properly stored high lipase milk is completely safe for infants to consume. And there may be more affordable ways to rectify the flavor if freeze-drying isn't in your budget.
"Lipase is very heat sensitive," Dr. Stellwagen says. "When you express your milk, you can use a quick heat scalding step to kill the lipase." In other words, microwaving or heating your milk on the stovetop before refrigerating or freezing it could help.
What are the downsides of freeze-drying breast milk?
For starters, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not oversee or regulate facilities that freeze-dry breast milk. There's also not a lot of research on whether freeze-dried human milk is safe.[2]
Joanna Parga-Belinkie, M.D., a neonatologist in the Division of Neonatology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, says she'd need to see more studies on the freeze-drying process as well as the makeup of of freeze-dried breast milk compared to freshly expressed breast milk and commercially available formulas before endorsing this type of service.
Here are some of the other downsides of freeze-dried breast milk experts have flagged:
There's a risk for contamination
"My major concern is that the freeze-drying of human milk does not kill the bacteria in the milk," Dr. Stellwagen says. "Dried products have a very low moisture content, which has antibacterial properties, but it is not sterile."
For example, Cronobacter — the harmful pathogen behind the 2022 infant formula recall — loves the dry milk powder environment, she says.
She'd like to see freeze-drying companies add a pasteurization step to their processes. Proper pasteurization maintains macronutrients and most micronutrients as well as other milk components like immunoglobulins, Dr. Stellwagen says, but removes bacteria, viruses and living cells.
It might alter the milk's makeup
Exactly how freeze-drying impacts the nutritional composition of breast milk isn't entirely clear. Some research suggests that breast milk's natural carbohydrate and protein content remains intact for up to six months after freeze-drying.[3][4] But other studies report that freeze-drying may lower the amount of key antioxidants, like vitamin C, that are naturally present in breast milk.[5]
It could lead to malnourishment if not reconstituted correctly
There's room for error when reconstituting freeze-dried breast milk. Since each bag may require a different amount of water for rehydration, all caregivers preparing bottles with freeze-dried breast milk need to pay close attention to shifting ratios.
One feeding that has too much or too little water is not a big deal for an infant, Dr. Stellwagen says, but repeatedly giving a child extra water in feedings can lead to adverse outcomes like dangerously low sodium levels.
It's pretty expensive
Of course, there's also the hefty price tag attached to these services that makes them inaccessible for many moms.
"My only complaint is the price," Caramanico says. "I spent about $800 for under 400 ounces of [freeze-dried breast milk]. Pretty crazy."
Can you freeze-dry breast milk at home?
Despite what you may see on TikTok, freeze-drying your own breast milk at home is not advised.
"I can't say this is something you should try at home, again because of concerns about bacteria growing in the milk and potentially causing infection in the baby," Dr. Stellwagen warns.
"It could be challenging to know how much water to mix with the milk to reconstitute it into a liquid," Dr. Parga-Belinkie adds.
What's the bottom line for moms?
Freeze-dried breast milk is enticing, but these services are still fairly new and not without drawbacks, including the high price tag. Carefully consider what's right for you, your child and your family situation.
"At this point I would not recommend freeze-dried breast milk over formula because of concerns for how it is prepared, how it would be mixed at home and the risk of bacterial contamination," Dr. Parga-Belinkie says. "As a reminder, a mother's milk can be stored for up to one year in a freezer, which is sufficient for most families."
Talk to your pediatrician if you're interested in freeze-drying your own breast milk, and know that every person has a unique breastfeeding journey. Whether you choose to exclusively breastfeed, use formula from day one or try a combination of approaches, know that there is no single "best" choice for nourishing your baby.
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