Does your pumped breast milk taste bad? Does your baby refuse to drink it or perhaps they still accept the bad-tasting milk? If so, we need your help.
If your breast milk is offensive in taste, it is most likely caused by excess lipase activity. Lipase is an enzyme that is in the breast milk of all women. It helps break down the fats in the milk during digestion. When lipase is a bit over-active, it starts to break down the fats in the refrigerator or freezer instead of waiting to break down the fats in your baby’s stomach.
There are many things that can change the taste of breast milk including vitamins, medications, supplements, and diet. However, excess lipase activity causes such an offensive taste that many babies refuse to drink bottles of the pumped milk.
If you suspect you may have excess lipase activity, read Why Does My Breast Milk Taste Bad? to learn more about the condition and find out how to stop the bad taste from forming.
If you are confident that you have experienced excess lipase activity in the past or you are currently dealing with this breastfeeding problem, we need your help. There has been very little research done on excess lipase activity. Currently, experts don’t know what causes some women to have this problem, but not others. They don’t know if it is preventable.
You have the power to impact other breastfeeding moms by providing some much-needed research about excess lipase activity. Dr. Ruth Lawrence, the author of Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession and distinguished alumna professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, is collecting data with the hopes of doing formal research on excess lipase activity. She needs your personal story.
If you are a nursing mother (past or present) with excess lipase activity and are interested in participating in Dr. Lawrence’s preliminary research, follow this link to complete a brief survey. You’ll be asked 10 questions based on your personal breastfeeding experience.
My own experience with excess lipase activity was devastating at times. I had 575 ounces of breast milk in my freezer that my baby girl wouldn’t drink because it tasted bad. I was frustrated and felt defeated, but now I am hopeful that much-needed research can be done to help prevent other moms from having my experience. On behalf of all the future mothers who will be positively impacted by this research, thank you.
I have dealt with excess lipase for two children so far and I have a third on the way. I didn’t realize there was a problem until my first daughter was 4 months old and still refused the bottle and would “starve” herself until she could have the breast, and when I tasted the milk myself I almost threw up and had to pitch my entire freezer stash 🙁 I tested the milk by heat treating the next pumping and voila, the problem was solved!
With my second child I knew better, so after the very first pumping, I tasted the milk every hour and sure enough 3.5 hrs later the milk was turning sour again, just like with my first daughter. Due to the short time frame, I had to heat treat after EVERY pumping session, but I stuck it through and both of my daughters were exclusively breastfed until 6-7 months old and finished weaning at 19 months and 24 months. I hope that with my third I will get lucky and this lipase issue will magically disappear :\
Allison, I certainly hope that your 3rd baby will magically not have an issue with excess lipase activity, but you should prepare yourself that you will once again have this issue. I know it is very frustrating to add the extra steps of scalding your milk after pumping. I’m sorry. 🙁
What do you mean by heat treating? I am having the exact same problem now. I also tasted it omg worst taste ever.!! I am sorry that you had to go thru that, I cpull really use your help understanding what to do to my milk?
I have given birth to four children. Had high lipase with each kid. Wonder if it correlates with high fatty milk to help babies break it down better? I have very fatty milk and a major overproducer. I pump and donate. Those babies take it no problem. My first is the only one who refused to drink it.