Does Your Stored or Frozen Breastmilk Have a Soapy or Metallic Taste or Smell?
If you answered ‘yes,’ this could be a sign of high lipase. Lipase is an enzyme that naturally occurs in breastmilk, but some women can have an excess of lipase, which can make their stored milk smell/taste off. This can lead to potential rejection of your stored breastmilk by your baby.
Understanding High Lipase in Breastmilk: Causes of Soapy or Metallic Taste
As the breastmilk sits in cool temperatures (fridge or freezer), the lipase starts to break down the fat in the milk. The longer it sits, the more you may start to notice the soapy or metallic smell/taste.
Having high lipase is not dangerous and the breastmilk is still perfectly fine for baby to drink, but many babies will reject this milk because they don’t like the taste. Nothing is worse than finding this out when you have a freezer full of stored milk!! So what can you do?
Conducting a Lipase Test: How to Check Your Stored Breastmilk
Do a lipase test on your stored breastmilk!
The sooner you do this the better!
Thaw a frozen bag of breastmilk to see if it has a soapy or metallic smell/taste. Try feeding it to your baby and see if they drink it.
Scald your breastmilk to reduce high lipase.
If your breastmilk does have high lipase, you can scald your milk before freezing or storing to prevent this from happening. Here’s how to do it:
- After expressing your milk, put it in a saucepan over medium heat
- Heat until it reaches 180 F, you’ll see little bubbles around the edge of the milk in the pan (do not boil!).
- Once you reach this temp, remove the milk from the heat, cool and store as quickly as possible
Mix frozen breastmilk with freshly pumped milk.
Do you have a large stash of high-lipase milk that baby won’t drink? You can try mixing the frozen milk with freshly pumped milk to see if they will drink it. This blend can help mask the soapy taste.
Finding out your breastmilk has high lipase can be disheartening, especially if you already have a freezer full of stored milk. Understanding high lipase and knowing how to manage it can save you from frustration and ensure you’re baby will still drink your stored milk. Remember, every mother’s breastmilk is unique and trying these tips can help you navigate this common breastfeeding challenge.