Breast Milk Smell Like Eggs - Why & Is It Safe For Baby?

During breastfeeding, you’ll deal with different odors, from your baby’s poo, vomit, baby formula, or even from your milk.

Some common odors you may get from your breast milk are; cheese, vomit, metallic, or eggs.

At least one in ten women have had breast milk smell like eggs before you, so if you perceive that from your milk, read through this article to know the possible causes and remedies.

Why Does Breast Milk Smell Like Eggs?
What is Lipase?
How To Know If I Have Too Much Lipase in My Milk
- Is Breast milk with a high level of Lipase safe for babies?
How To Treat Breast Milk With High Lipase
- How To Scald Milk
Breast Milk Smell like Eggs – FAQs
Conclusion

Why Does Breast Milk Smell Like Eggs?

Excess secretion of lipase can alter the taste and smell of breast milk. It can give it a soapy, sour taste and an off odor, usually like cheese, vomit, metallic, or eggs.

If you’re fond of pumping and storing breast milk for your baby, you will perceive an off smell or even notice the soapy appearance of the milk after some time.

This is usually different from the naturally clear milk you pumped. While it may not appear immediately, once the lipase acts on the fats in the milk, the smell will change.

Other factors that could make your breast milk smells like eggs include

Food and Medication

The food you eat can change the taste and color of your breast milk. And not even food but some medications can also alter the taste of your milk.

As a result, breastfed babies enjoy more flavor variety than formula-fed babies when they begin solids.

Poor Storage techniques

It is also essential to consider how you store your breast milk. For example, if you leave it at room temperature for a long time, it will separate into layers.

But this does not mean it has gone bad. The contents should mix back together if you swirl the container. If so, then it is safe for your child.

What is Lipase?

Lipase is an enzyme secreted in breast milk. It breaks down the fats in breast milk, making it easier for digestion.

Since babies have a delicate digestive system, enzymes like these are required, and while excessive lipase itself isn’t harmful, it can be a turn-off for many babies.

Babies can still take breast milk with excess lipase in it. However, women who secrete excess lipase don’t have the liberty to store breast milk for long because the more it stays, the worse it becomes.

So if you secrete excess lipase, you can only feed your baby with fresh breast milk.

How To Know If I Have Too Much Lipase in My Milk

The first sign of excessive lipase is taste and smell, but it is not limited to these signs.

Once the smell and taste of your breast milk change after a few hours of refrigerating it, your best guess should be that it contains too much lipase than required.

However, there are several other reasons for a change in the taste and smell of breast milk, like poor refrigeration or contaminated utensils. So you may have to look out for other signs like;

Baby’s Response

Observe how your baby reacts to stored milk Vs. Fresh milk. Since the smell changes after a while of preservation, you’ll not notice the effect of excess lipase in fresh milk that hasn’t been refrigerated.

If your baby enjoys taking the fresh milk and rejects refrigerated milk, it means there has been a significant change in the taste, odor, and texture. Stored milk with excess lipase isn’t so attractive.

An easy way to notice how long it takes for the taste to change is by periodically tasting the milk. Try giving your baby the milk at different intervals beginning from when you pumped it, an hour later, to two hours later.

This practice will not only help you know how long it takes the breast milk to go bad but also help you know when to scald the milk for better storage.

Is Breast milk with a high level of Lipase safe for babies?

Despite the soapy smell, milk with high lipase is safe for the baby to drink, and no evidence has been found to indicate that milk with high lipase causes any health problems.

The milk is the same that your little one would drink if he drank it directly from the breast; it’s just that it smells different after freezing.

How To Treat Breast Milk With High Lipase

While high lipase milk is safe for babies, many refuse to drink it because they recognize the aroma and taste of their mother’s breast milk, similar to the amniotic fluid they receive in the womb.

A slight change in it can make some uncomfortable, if not all, but there are a few ways to eliminate the strong taste and odor caused by lipase.

50-50 ratio

You can minimize the flavor by mixing stored breast milk with freshly pumped breast milk. This will again sweeten the taste.

If your baby is 6 months or older, you can mix the stored milk with some solid food. Nevertheless, your baby may refuse to take it, and you may discard it.

Scald the milk right away

This is one of the effective ways to reduce lipase. Collect 1-2 bottles of milk and freeze them for 5 days to see if they are affected by lipase. Now offer it to your baby and see if he will drink it.

If your baby rejects it, scalding it right after pumping is the best choice. Here’s how to do it:

How To Scald Milk

It doesn’t take much to scald milk before refrigerating. Once you’ve pumped it, get ready with the following items and follow the steps to scald the milk.

Requirements

An instant-read thermometer
A stainless steel bottle
A saucepan
A big bowl for the ice bath
A bottle or bag to store the milk

Before you begin the entire process, sterilize all the utensils you’d be using to prevent contamination because it will be futile if, after you’ve pumped and scalded the milk, it still becomes sour from contamination.

Steps

Pump the milk into a sterile bottle and cover it properly.
Use the big bowl to prepare an ice bath. Pour some water into the bowl and add enough ice cubes.
Turn the pumped milk into the saucepan and heat.
Use the instant-read thermometer to monitor the temperature until it reaches 180 Fahrenheit (82° Celsius).
Once it reaches 180° Fahrenheit, bring it down and turn it into the stainless steel bottle.
Put the stainless steel bottle in the ice bath to cool.
After it has cooled, turn the milk into your preferred storage container (bottle or bag) and refrigerate.

Note: Do not pour hot milk into a plastic bottle/bag. It will melt and release chemicals that can contaminate the milk.

Also, insert the stainless steel bottle in the ice bath bowl when turning the milk to prevent it from burning.

Breast Milk Smell like Eggs – FAQs

Does Scalding Stop Milk From Smelling Like Eggs?

Scalding will lower the effects of excessive lipase on stored milk. And scalding means preheating the milk to about 82° Celsius before refrigerating it.

Of course, it doesn’t get rid of the lipase (because your baby needs lipase to aid digestion), but it will make it last longer before it goes bad.

Scalding is the saving grace for many women who intend to store breast milk and feed their babies later. It is very effective for fresh milk but ineffective for already sour milk.

Scalding cannot reverse the taste if you’ve already stored the milk and it goes sour.

Does Scalding Remove The Nutrition in The Milk?

Breast milk in its fresh, natural form is very nutritious, but once there’s a physical or chemical change, the nutrients are tampered with. While scalding is effective for prolonged refrigeration, it reduces the nutritional value of the milk.

Some of the nutrients in breast milk do not require high temperatures; once exposed, they become weak or inactive. So yes, scalding doesn’t necessarily remove the nutrients in the milk but reduces its potency.

Does Excess Lipase Affect Refrigerated Milk or Just Frozen Milk?

Except you scald the milk before storing it, frozen and refrigerated, all stored milk can become sour from excess lipase.

That is why if your milk contains excess lipase, the best option is to feed fresh milk instead of stored milk.

Not only for the stress involved but because your baby needs it.

However, we understand that some situations will compel you to store milk for your baby, so scalding before refrigerating or freezing is the way out.

Conclusion

If you’re used to perceiving weird smells from your milk, it is not necessarily that you have health complications. The first guess is the milk has too much lipase, which can make breast milk smell like eggs, vomit, metallic, or other foul odors.

While there’s little to do about the breast having too much lipase, this article has provided in-depth knowledge on how to treat milk with excess lipase and scald your milk the right way.

Breast Milk Smell Like Eggs – Why & Is It Safe For Baby?

Table of Contents