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I know in some places it is not quite Friday and in others Friday has yet to come. But I wanted to get this fun fact out there.
Breast milk is not warm. Whether hand expressed or suckled straight from the tap it is cool or at room temperature. The only time I’ve had warm breast milk was after laying under a heated blanket or soaking in a hot tub.
Anyone else want to submit a fun fact for this thread?
Happy Fun Fact Friday Liz. I’ve been fortunate enough in my two previous adult nursing relationships that my partners were lacking. The first one we induced lactation together and in the second, she was lacking when we met. I’m a lover of breastmilk in all its forms. Straight from the source ( my favourite ) from a pump or however I can get it. I have a question for you? Can breastmilk be used in cooking/baking as a replacement for regular milk? I mean would there be any difference?
I meant to say lactating not lacking
My research and understanding is that fresh milk actually does come out of the breast warm at right around core body temperature. It can feel cooler when you hand‑express because the moment it hits the air or your hands then it loses heat really quickly as your skin is much cooler than your core, so the contrast can make it seem like it’s room temperature even though it wasn’t when it left the breast.
Breast milk is also full of HMOs and other bioactive components that start breaking down once they’re exposed to air, which is one of the reasons feeding straight from the breast offers benefits a bottle can’t fully replicate.
So your experience makes total sense but the science is pretty consistent in that milk starts warm and it cools fast once it’s expressed and many of its goodies are at their best right at the source.
Nice coolers Rumina ! I would gladly volunteer to collect samples and use my food thermometer to compile the data. Looks like I have to make plans for a tour.
My guess/assertion is that if the temperature of the milk, “fresh off the tap”, is too much off body temperature (in either direction), it would hurt the new born (particularly) infant’s mouth and digestive track!
@Milky Lunch this information is not based on touching breast milk from hand expressing it is from my partner when nursing.
I totally hear you @fun-fountains that your partner’s experience was based on nursing and not hand‑expressing. Bodies vary and sensations vary too and so his observation is absolutely valid from your side. I was just pointing out that the science just shows that milk is produced at core temperature and then cools quickly once it’s exposed to air or travels through tissue that’s cooler than the body’s core.
The temperature relates to keeping essential antibodies and enzymes stable. Low temperature (mostly just freezing) will destroy some immune properties while heat, can do that too, including enzyme degradation.
The milk comes out as body temperature which feels cold to the touch, but still same temperature at around 37C.
Human skin only detects as warmer temperatures anything that is hotter than it is itself. So it may feel cold when it is the same temperature. I remember that early when milk comes into a bottle from breasts (when I was producing actively) it felt warm, but at end of the session it would cool down, so it maybe that. Also, we all have slightly less/more sensitive skin abd feeling of temperature is different based on our receptors. I have sensitive skin, but I can withstand high temperatures. I know folks that they can’t handle half the heat I can handle. So, it really varies based on personal differences.
Not sure why this is confusing to some. But breasts are not the same temperature as the core of a human. Time for some science:
The mammary glands and ducts are closer to the skin than the core. Typical chest skin temperatures in a cool room are around 30C, whereas the core is approximately 37C. Just under the skin will yield temps between these. Heat conductivity through the insulative fat interior to the glands is decreased, which makes the glands a lower temperature than they would be without the fat. During lactation, vascular density can also increase, leading to increased heat dissipation.
All that said, it should be noted that proper research on temperature fluctuations of milk during expression is lacking. And I’m not talking about Google or AI here; those will return results from non-scientific sources, such as flo.health. No, actual research in this area tends to focus on temperature of storage of milk, heating or cooling effects on antibodies, etc.
The point is that the milk is cooler than the core. The exception, based on this, is when the room/exterior temperature is on par with or higher than body temp (such as when under blankets for an extended time or in a hot tub).
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