Air Travel with Pumped Breastmilk

Are you able to freeze the milk while you are out of town before you leave on the flight? Then just keep it in a cooler for the flight, maybe with an ice pack. That way it will stay cold.

I travelled frequently without my daughter the first couple of months after I returned to work. I was nervous about checking the milk I pumped (what if it melted everywhere?, would baggage handlers/inspectors mess with it?) but to take it as a carry-on it must be packed in dry-ice (if you're flying Southwest). My tip is to call/e-mail you airline beforehand and have them give you clear instructions on what you need to do to bring the milk back. Each airline seems to have different policies regarding the transport of pumped breastmilk. Good luck and good for you on continuing breastfeeding. I know how hard it is to pump on the road!

I used a soft-sided cooler and packed it in my checked luggage. I used the cooler and ice packs that came with my pump, since it was supposed to keep the milk at a safe, cold temperature for 10 hours. I kept the cooler and ice in the freezer and the milk in the fridge until the very last minute when I put the milk in the cooler and packed the cooler. I also taped a note onto it saying that it contained human breast milk and to please close the cooler completely, just in case someone needed to search my bag. The ice was still frozen when I got the cooler out of my bag once I got home, so I'm certain it worked.

I had to travel a few times without my son and almost missed my flight because I tried to carry-on my ice packs. Just a warning that it's best to just check that stuff because they're very picky about it. I ended up having to check that stuff, but still carried on my pump. While I was at the hotel, I would use the hotel freezer (or one in my room) to freeze my milk and then packed it that morning with the ice packs. I checked that bag as well, just to make it easy. Good luck!

Being a working mom, I have to travel without my daughter as well. What I did is take my Pump n Go breastpump with me. This counted as my carry on for the airline (Midwest) that I traveled. I put a small ice pack in there with any fresh milk that came with my breastpump. According to TSA guidelines a few months ago, the ice pack had to be hard plastic (it couldn't be one of those soft gel type ice packs). When I got to my destination, I froze all of the breastmilk I had. That way when I flew back home, even if the milk thawed (which is didn't at all) I would give it to my daugher right away. I traveled from Milwaukee to South Carolina so with the stop in between it took about 5 hours. The milk stayed frozen. Hope this helps!

In the past when I have had to travel, I have taken a cooler as a carry-on with my expressed breast milk in it. I used frozen ice packs to keep the milk cold during travel. If you don't have those, you can always you ice cubes and just replace them when they begin to melt but it's a big pain. Hope this helps

If you have access to a freezer, try freezing the milk. You can bring frozen items thru security. If it is more than a few puches then you amy want to freeze and travel with a small cooler that you can check. Call TSA for guidelines.

I am actually doing this same thing at the end of next month. I don't need the supply of milk so I'm just going to "pump and dump". I'll be gone for four days so I'm just bringing along my pump and one bottle and I will pump at the times I need to and then just dump the milk. That way I don't have to worry about freezing/storing or airplane guidelines. My son is older (8 months) and I have a huge supply of frozen breast milk so like I said I don't really have to worry about saving it, so if this option works for you I'd try that. I hate wasting it but its less of a hassle.

I know that you are not able to bring ice packs on the plane and I am not sure if you are able to bring the milk on the flight if there is not a baby present. If you could freeze it and pack it in a soft sided cooler with lots of freeze packs in your bag that you check that will probably be the only way to get it home. Good luck and I hope that it all works out.

I recently flew Delta and the travel agent called the airline for me and I took my bottles of milk back with me as a carry-on in a soft flexible cooler with ice bags. I did not freeze the milk because the hotel room only had a refrigerator. The airline had told my travel agent that if I needed they could put my milk in the refrigerator on the plane, but it was only a short flight and I didn't need to do this. I had no problems taking the milk through security, I did have my breastpump as a carry-on as well. Good luck.

Look at the post from 7/17/07 called "pumping out of town" http://www.mamasource.com/request/482398251652218881 this should be the link. I think you will find you anwer there.

I have flown twice since my now 8-month old boy was born, and he is also exclusively breast fed. One trip was 5 days, and the other was 3 days. I carried my pump with me in my carry-on bag. Be prepared to possibly have it hand-checked through security, they had to make sure my pump wasn't a "weapon", or a "device". I also pumped at the airport (bathroom) when I needed to. Regarding bringing back breastmilk--I was told at the time that I couldn't bring it on board with me because my storage bags would be over the 3 oz for carry-on. What I did was, I froze all my milk at my destination (most hotels will accomodate you with a portable freezer if you request it), then I placed all my frozen milk bags in a large plastic bag, wrapped the entire bag with bubble wrap insulation, THEN wrapped the entire thing up in a blanket. I packed it with all my other clothes in my medium sized suitcase that I checked. Both of my above mentioned flights were four hours...and with the 45 minute drive home from the airport, all my breastmilk was still completely frozen. I couldn't stand the thought of dumping all that precious milk, so I was very happy that I was able to bring it all back with me. I must say, the most difficult part was pumping a ton BEFORE my trips, to have enough milk for when I was gone. :) Good Luck!