As a nursing mother or caregiver, you need to know how to fly with frozen breast milk if you intend to go on a long flight. When going on a journey with an infant, it is important to be aware of all the necessary information needed for the trip. You also need to have a robust knowledge of the guidelines and precautions that govern flights involving a minor.
Traveling with a minor can be overwhelming – in fact, it is hardly what you would have expected because babies react in different ways to air travel. So, why you should hope for the best, do expect the worst.
Taking a baby on a plane can be a lot more demanding than it ordinarily looks, so do not be deceived by all that advice that the baby will sleep all the way. You need to be extra prepared and should consider taking some reserved breast milk.
But there are often million-and-one questions surrounding how to fly with frozen breast milk, considering the numerous flight regulations and precautions. In this article, we have answered all your possible questions, and addressed your concerns. Let’s get to it already!
How Much Breast Milk Can You Bring On a Plane?
When traveling by plane with a baby on board, there is every tendency that you need to bring some reserved breast milk on a plane. But how much breast milk can you bring on a plane that won’t be considered as too much – or against flight policies.
Yes, you are allowed to bring in reserved breast milk on a flight as far as they are in ice packs, freezer bags, or gel packs that will keep them frozen solid. Now, there is something you need to understand here – a mistake I myself had made the first time I traveled with my baby.
Contrary to what many people think, you can take your reserved milk in liquid form on a plane but be prepared for additional checks and screening of the content by airport officers. These repeated and multiple checks may contaminate the breast milk or at the least cause it to get spoiled quicker than normal.
Another point of note is that if the breast milk has any liquid in it, then it must follow the 3.4-ounce rule. According to flight regulations, all liquids must be 3.4 ounces or less for them to be brought on a flight. So, it is advisable to freeze the breast milk completely especially if you are going on a long flight.
In addition, you should also try to make sure to contact your airline agency and inform them beforehand that you would be having a baby on board and will bring some reserved breast milk. The airline and travel authorities know that a hungry baby will give everyone – not just the mother or caregiver a horrid time during the flight. So they will do all they can to assist you and provide all the information you may possibly need.
Tips for Flying with Breast Milk
If you are not well informed, you will experience a hard time flying with breast milk or a breast milk pumping kit. You don’t want to be like me during my first trip with my baby on a plane. After passing through multiple security checks, I was still made to trash my reserved breast milk at the point of entry when I got to my destination.
It was like a part of me was being trashed and it is one experience I can never forget. Worst still was the fact that I would later find out that my reserved breast milk was wrongly disposed of – the airport official made a wrong call.
So, you can never assume that the airport officials know it all or will sympathize with you because of your baby – no, they won’t. Below, we have listed some helpful tips that will guide you when flying with breast milk.
12 Tips for Flying with Breast Milk
1. Always declare to airport security at the checkpoints that you have reserved breast milk for your baby.
2. You should insist that the security officer wears fresh gloves before inspecting your breast milk to avoid contamination.
3. When your reserved breast milk is completely frozen, only physical checks are required.
4. If your reserved breast milk is partly liquid or mushy, then it is subject to all security protocols that are required for liquid substances.
5. Your breast pump equipment does not count as a piece of luggage, but as a “medical device”. So, do not allow anyone to fool you that it has to be weighed as part of your luggage.
6. A breast milk cooler is a “carry-on” item, so it will be weighed as part of your luggage.
7. Make sure your cooler is water-tight, and contains lots of ice packs and extra empty feeding bottles.
8. When you book a hotel room for your trip, always insist on a room that has a freezer. If the hotel does not have a room with a freezer, request to use the hotel freezer. But you should seal your bottle with duct tape and label it accordingly.
9. When you make stopovers, feel free to ask for ice in your cooler from Ice cream outlets or restaurants. Trust me when I say they will be open to oblige.
10. While there are restrictions on the transportation of liquid on flights, breast milk does not fall into that category and sometimes it is exempted from the “3.4 ounces rule” rule.
11. Your reserved breast milk does not need to be opened or x-rayed. So start by saying no. But if they insist, do not force it.
12. Feel free to ask airport officials if they have a lactation accommodation for nursing others. In a situation where there is none, try to raise a voice for other nursing mothers. Yes, there should be an area specially dedicated to nursing mothers who want to breastfeed their infants or pump breast milk for later use.
Conclusion: – How to fly with frozen breast milk
Going on a trip with a baby can be very overwhelming, but there are times when you have no choice but to travel with your infant. The trip can be fun and exciting or one you wish to forget as soon as possible.
So, to make sure it is one to remember for good, you should prepare yourself by equipping yourself with all necessary information beforehand. Best of luck!
