My expressed milk has a "soapy" smell! What can I do?

Lipase is a naturally occurring enzyme in breastmilk that helps to break down fats and makes digestion easier for your baby. The levels of lipase increase over time and tend to peak around 5-6 months after the parent begins producing milk. Amazingly, this is also around the time that most babies are ready to start solids. While it is not common, occasionally a high level of lipase can also cause frozen or stored milk to have what parents have called an “odd smell” or a “soapy or fishy” smell. This does not harm the baby, so there is no need to discard the milk unless your baby rejects it.

As a preventative measure, you can also try storing new milk in glass or “hard” plastic containers and monitor if the smell is present or not. If it is still present after taking these preventative steps, then you could scald your milk.

To avoid rejection, some parents turn to scalding their milk after pumping to decrease lipase in the milk. There are several ways to do this, but we are sharing one of the more efficient hacks that we’ve found thus far. The following method allows you to walk away from the process without fear of boiling your liquid gold. Some parents will plan to scald the entire day's worth of milk in one session, while some will choose to scald at each pumping session. What works best will depend on how quickly your milk “turns sour.” It is advisable to do a trial run before doing big batches. 

You will need:

• Bottle Warmer or Yogurt Maker (such as an Instant Pot)

• Thermometer

• Mason jar

• Aluminum foil

• Water

• Milk storage bag or container

Set up your bottle warmer or yogurt maker with about 1.5L of water. The temperature should be set to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour your expressed milk into a glass mason jar and insert a clean thermometer into it. Cover mason jar with aluminum foil and place into bottle warmer/yogurt maker. Once a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit has been reached, you can then remove the milk, let it cool, and bag it for storage.

If you have further questions regarding lipase, or any additional breastfeeding/bodyfeeding concerns, our consultants would be happy to support you. Text us at 202.293.5182 or book an appointment here.