High Lipase Milk and How to Scald Breast Milk

Answers to all your questions about high lipase milk and how to test your breast milk for high lipase. Plus step-by-step directions on how to scald your breast milk.

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Going into breastfeeding my first baby, I did know a little bit about high lipase and what it meant. I was a labor and delivery nurse so it’s something I had read about. But I didn’t know a lot.  So when I did start to notice that my warmed-up milk that had been previously frozen had a slight soapy smell to it, I knew high lipase was most likely the cause.

With all three of my babies, my milk’s taste and smell would change after freezing. I was very fortunate with my personal experience that my babies didn’t seem to mind the taste of the breast milk with high lipase.

I did do a lot of research about high lipase though. I even did a test to see if scalding would take care of the soapy smell to confirm that I had high lipase in my milk. The milk that was scalded, never developed the soapy smell and taste after freezing. Having high lipase can cause extra stress to an already stressful time. Especially if your little one won’t take your frozen milk.

I hope this guide can help answer all your questions and provide some tips and tricks to ease the extra stress.  

What is lipase in breastmilk?

Lipase is an enzyme found in all breast milk. It’s there to help break down fats and assist your baby to digest the fat in your milk. For some Mamas, they have a higher concentration of the lipase enzyme in their milk than others.

This high lipase causes the fat in their milk to be broken down quicker than milk that does not have high lipase. This can cause an altered taste and smell to the milk. Breast milk with a high lipase will have a distinct soapy or metallic smell. Your milk is still perfectly fine for your baby to drink.

Some babies will still drink the milk even with a high lipase and altered taste. Other babies may refuse to drink the high lipase milk. 

Freshly pumped milk has not had time for the lipase to break down the fat in the breastmilk. As the milk sits either in the fridge or even if it’s frozen, the lipase has time to break down the fat. This is why some babies will breastfeed or drink freshly pumped milk and refuse to drink refrigerated or frozen milk.  

How to test for high lipase in breast milk?

There is no scientific test to see if you have high lipase in your milk at home. Most Moms use the sniff and taste test. You can either freeze and thaw out frozen milk, or let your milk sit in the refrigerator for a couple of days. First, smell and take a sip of the milk when it’s freshly pumped. Then, once thawed or after a couple of days in the refrigerator, smell and taste your milk again.

If you have high lipase, the breast milk smells soapy or some describe it as a metallic smell. It might also have a slightly soapy taste or a change of taste from when it was fresh. 

How to prevent high lipase in breastmilk

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do or change to prevent your milk from having high lipase. You can, however, deactivate the lipase enzyme by scalding your freshly pumped milk before freezing or storing in the fridge.

The good news is, that high lipase in breast milk is not very common but if you’re a new mom wondering or worried about this being a factor, it would be a good idea to test it out before stockpiling a huge milk stash your baby won’t drink. 

Testing for high lipase in your breast milk

Follow these steps below:

1. Taste and smell your freshly pumped breast milk.
2. Then freeze the first few ounces of milk you pump or collect.
3. Thaw this milk out. Smell and taste it for any soapy or metallic taste. If it smells and tastes like it did when it was fresh, this should mean your milk doesn’t have high lipase. If it does have a soapy smell, you can try to feed it to your baby to see if they’ll drink it.  
4. If you do have high lipase and your baby won’t take the milk, you can start scalding your freshly pumped milk prior to freezing. This will hopefully avoid a freezer full of milk your baby won’t take. 

I have a freezer stash full of milk that has high lipase and my baby won’t drink it, now what?!

Once your milk is frozen, there is nothing that can be done to deactivate the enzymes. Once it smells soapy, it can’t be removed. BUT there are some tricks to try to encourage your baby to drink the high lipase milk. So don’t throw it out!

Below are tips to encourage your baby to drink your high lipase milk from the freezer:

1. Mix frozen milk with fresh milk. Some babies won’t mind the taste of the milk if it’s mixed with fresh milk. Experiment with 50/50 and go from there. 
2. Adding vanilla (just a few drops) to high lipase milk can make the milk more appealing for your baby. 
3. Save your frozen, high lipase breast milk for when your baby is older. They might become less particular about it. Or if they’re past one year, you can try mixing with another type of milk, like cow’s milk. 
4. Try feeding the breast milk chilled. Some babies will accept high lipase milk that is chilled. 
5. When all else fails and your baby won’t accept the high lipase milk, cook or make recipes with the breast milk. I made smoothies, popsicles, cheese, butter, lotion, and soap with my breast milk through the years. You can even use it for milk baths. The possibilities are endless.
6. You can also look into donating your breast milk to a milk bank if you have a stash in your freezer that your baby won’t drink or eat.  

How common is high lipase in breastmilk?

High lipase is relatively uncommon. Interestingly enough, just because you have high lipase with one baby, doesn’t mean you will have it with your second child. 

What causes high lipase in breastmilk?

There’s nothing a mother does that causes the high lipase content. It’s simply just how the breast milk is. You cannot do anything or eat anything different to reduce high lipase in breastmilk. 

What can be done to inactivate lipase in breast milk?

Going forward, scalding your freshly expressed milk will inactivate the enzymes (or extra lipase) and prevent it from breaking down the fat which causes the soapy and off taste. Once you scald it, you can freeze your milk or store in the refrigerator for the normal recommended amount of time.  

How to scald breast milk

Equipment

• Instant read thermometer
• Saucepan
• Ice bath (optional)

Instructions

Step 1

Pour fresh breastmilk into a clean saucepan

Step 2

Heat milk just until it starts to bubble on the edges of the pan. You don’t want your milk to reach a rolling boil. This will destroy more properties of your milk than needed. Use a thermometer to carefully monitor temperature.

Step 3

Once your milk reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit, you can remove it from the heat. Cool your milk as fast as possible by placing it in the fridge, freezer, or ice bath.

How to scald your breast milk with a bottle warmer

Obviously adding this step of scalding your breast milk creates an extra element of stress and difficulty. Especially when traveling or if you’re working outside the home.

Many moms use a bottle warmer to scald their breast milk. This would be for the Moms who have a very high lipase and their milk begins to smell soapy after a few hours in the fridge. You can still do the scalding process if you aren’t at home. Using an instant read thermometer, heat milk in a bottle warmer to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

I recommend using a stainless steel bottle. Although all baby bottles are BPA free, I would be more comfortable avoiding heating to high temperatures in plastic. You can do what you feel the most comfortable with. 

Equipment

• Stainless steel bottle or plastic bottle
• Bottle warmer (without automatic shut off)
• Instant read thermometer
• Ice Bath

Instructions

Step 1

Pour milk into stainless steel bottle. Leave the cover off the bottle and place into the bottle warmer. Stir the milk with the thermometer probe. Glass bottles wouldn’t be the best option if you are exposing it to extreme temperatures. 

Step 2

Heat with bottle warmer until temperature reaches 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

The first method of using the stove top is the best way to scald breast milk in my opinion but I wanted to present options that are doable for Moms who won’t have access to a stove top as soon as the milk is pumped. The bottle warmer method is the next best option. 

Can you scald breast milk after refrigerating?

For best results, you will want to scald your fresh breast milk. But you can experiment with refrigerated milk. You may be able to refrigerate it for a length of time before needing to scald it. Other mothers will need to scald their milk right away. It really depends on how much lipase you have in your milk. It might take some trial and error. 

Can you scald breast milk after freezing?

No, unfortunately once you freeze the milk with high levels of lipase you cannot scald it afterwards to remove the soapy smell or taste. 

Does scalding breast milk kill nutrients?

When scalding human breast milk, it will destroy some of its antiinfective elements. There can also be a slight decrease in some of the nutrient levels. This milk is still fine for your baby to drink. However, if your baby only drinks heat-treated milk, please discuss this with your healthcare provider or certified lactation consultant. 

Can you scald breast milk in the microwave?

Because it’s difficult to monitor the temperature and it would be easy to overheat the breast milk, I would not recommend scalding breast milk in the microwave. 

Important note

You’ll want to differentiate between spoiled milk and high lipase milk. Be sure you are properly cleaning and sterilizing your pump parts and storing your milk appropriately. Here is a full guide to proper handling and storage of breast milk.

If you’re a breastfeeding mom with high lipase breastmilk, I hope I provided all the answers to your questions. I would love to hear your own experiences with high lipase milk and if your baby didn’t mind the taste of your milk like mine or if any of the hacks mentioned above worked.