Step-by-step instructions on how to ship breast milk, details and tips about shipping breast milk and comparing top breast milk shipping services.

Everything in one place for moms looking for options to transport their breast milk.

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frozen breast milk stacked in freezer. Second photo with breast milk graphic, ice and shipping box, and shipping truck

Why ship breast milk?

If you are either shipping frozen breast milk or shipping fresh breast milk, you have a few different ways to ship your liquid gold.

There are a lot of reasons why some moms are looking to ship their breast milk:

Moving long distances and needing to move a freezer stash to a new location
Moms travel and want to ship their breast milk home instead of bringing it with them on the plane
Some ship donor milk to milk banks (generally the milk banks will cover costs)

Cost of shipping breast milk

The cost of shipping breast milk will vary depending on the amount of breast milk you have to ship and where you are shipping it.

Things to consider are the materials cost, shipping cost, and dry ice cost.

Dry ice cost will vary from about $1-$3 per pound.

I recommend buying a heavy duty Styrofoam cooler (my recommendations are below). High quality shipping materials will help increase the chances of your package arriving in good condition. It will make a huge difference.

The shipping cost itself will be the biggest cost. Since this package will probably be heavy and you need to send it via overnight, it will most likely start around $100-$200 for a 25 pound package and go up from there (this is just an estimate as calculated from the UPS and FEDEX websites).

It’s a good idea to call and get these estimates when you know how big your package will be and how heavy.

You’ll want this detailed information when reaching out to FedEx or UPS when getting price options.

Picking a Styrofoam cooler size for shipping breast milk

This Styrofoam cooler shipping kit comes with a box to ship it in. It’s heavy duty and worth the quality. Below is a guide to help picking the right size of cooler for the amount of breast milk you’re shipping.

Breast milk amount	Inside dimensions	Link
100 ounces	9-1/2″ L x 9-1/2″ W x 7″ D	Polar Tech 214C
200 ounces	15.5″ Length x 13.75″ Width x 10.5″ Depth	Polar Tech 227C
300 ounces	17″ Length x 10″ Width x 8-1/4″ Depth	Polar Tech 245C
500 ounces	17″ Length x 10″ Width x 12-3/4″ Depth	Polar Tech 247/T37C
900 ounces	19″ Length x 12″ Width x 16″ Depth	Polar Tech 266/J56C
1500 ounces	30-1/4″ Length x 14-1/2″ Width x 16″ Depth	Polar Tech 281/J45C

How to package breast milk for shipping

Don’t want to use a breast milk shipping service? Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to ship frozen breast milk.

graphics of breast milk, shipping box with ice, and shipping truck

Packing Materials

Permanent marker
Dry ice
Styrofoam box or Thick-walled Styrofoam coolers
Cardboard Box
Newspaper
Shipping tape
Shipping labels
Gallon Sized freezer Ziploc bags
Gloves (for handling dry ice)
Breast milk frozen in breast milk storage bags

Step-by-step guide to using dry ice with breast milk

There are several key points to shipping breast milk with dry ice. The first step is figuring out the amount of dry ice you need.

This will depend on how much milk you have and how long you need to ship the package. In general, for a medium cooler, you will need about 8-10 lbs of dry ice that will last about 24 hours in a cooler. This is for about 200 ounces of breast milk.

How to pack a cooler of breast milk with dry ice

Wear gloves when handling the dry ice.
Split the dry ice into two portions. Half will go into the bottom of the cooler.
Place newspaper or cardboard on top.
Put your frozen breast milk bags into large gallon size Ziploc bags. Make “bricks” of frozen bags of milk (picture below). Double bag the bricks in zip lock bags for extra cushion and protection.
Place breast milk bricks on top of the newspaper.
If your breast milk doesn’t fill the entire cooler, crumple up newspaper and stuff in any extra space.
Lay down another layer of newspaper.
Break up the other half of the dry ice and layer it on top of the newspaper layer.
Use duct tape or shipping tape to seal around the lid of the cooler.
This is important- you don’t want to seal the cooler completely. Dry ice changes from a solid to a gas. The gas needs to vent as it does this. Leaving a small area untapped will allow the dry ice to vent while it’s in transit.
Place packed cooler inside of the shipping box. Use crumpled up newspaper to fill any empty spaces in the box.
Tape shipping box well with shipping tape. Label with shipping label.
Be sure where you plan to ship from accepts dry ice packages.
When you arrive, notify them that you are shipping human milk with dry ice.

frozen breast milk in storage bags arranged in breast milk brick

Dry ice safety

Here’s a great resource regarding safety and handling dry ice.

How to find dry ice

From what I’ve read, many grocery stores sell dry ice. You can call your local grocery stores ahead of time to see if they carry dry ice.

You can also use this dry ice directory to help find dry ice vendors near you.

Cons of shipping with dry ice

The downside of dry ice is that it can be hard to find and requires special precautions when handling it.

Please note, you don’t want the dry ice to come into contact with your breast milk bags. It can damage the bags. I found this website really informative if you’re considering using dry ice.

Tips!

Tip!– If you are really nervous about your package getting lost along the way, you could place an air tag in your shipping box to give yourself a little peace of mind.

Tip!– Do your research well in advance to the time you need to ship your milk. Get specifics about how much milk you’ll be shipping, how long it will take to ship, and price everything out so there’s no surprises.

Tip!- Look at your calendar and think about if you’ll be packing and shipping your breast milk over a weekend or Holiday and if that’s going to be a problem picking up your dry ice or shipping over those days.

Tip!- Make sure you collect all your supplies ahead of time and everything will fit in the cooler and box you have. Double check you’ll be able to get your pounds of dry ice when you need it.

Tip!- You’ll need to store your dry ice in a deep freezer until you are ready to use. Don’t buy your dry ice too far ahead of time, and don’t store it in your regular freezer. Make sure you buy enough dry ice for how much milk you have and how long you need it.

Tip!- Price out the cost ahead of time. The dry ice and shipping costs are going to be your biggest costs.

Tip!- If you’re shipping breast milk due to a work related business trip or moving for a new job, ask your employer if they offer compensation for shipping your breast milk. Some companies offer this.

Tip!- Think about who will be accepting your shipment of breast milk once it arrives at it’s destination.

Comparing breast milk shipping services

Don’t want to do it yourself when it comes to shipping breast milk?

There are a few breast milk shipping services that will assist you in shipping your breast milk. Some will take care of everything from start to finish, others will ship kits for you to complete the shipping process yourself.

Below is a list of the most popular companies and a little bit about their shipping services and estimated beginning costs.

Milk Stork

Keeps milk frozen for up to 96 hours
According to their website, they even help with shipping breast milk internationally.
Prices start at $129
Packages for refrigerated or frozen breast milk

Save the Milk

Ships frozen or refrigerated milk
Breast Milk shipping kits
Cost of shipping label is extra
Kits start at $64

Shipping breast milk with FedEx

You can also ship your breast milk via FedEx. They provide a insulated shipping container for you to ship your breast milk.

According to their website, this will keep your breast milk refrigerated. So if you have fresh milk, this would be a good option. It would not be a good option for frozen breast milk in my opinion as the temperature wouldn’t keep the milk cold enough to stay frozen.

According to their website -“Each package maintains a constant 2–8°C environment for up to 96 hours and safely refrigerates the contents from pickup through delivery — helping to ensure that your milk remains viable and safe.” This is 35-48 degrees Fahrenheit.

FedEx breast milk shipping information.

Happy shipping!

As you can see, shipping breast milk really takes careful planning. The best option for you will depend on your circumstances.

If you have any other questions about shipping breastmilk, please ask! I’m happy to help answer any questions I can!

If you have any breast milk shipping experience, I’d also love to hear about it! Whether you did it yourself, or used a shipping company!

Changed your mind about shipping your breast milk and want to travel with your breast milk? See my detailed guide to Traveling with Breast Milk.

Resources

Breast milk storage guidelines

Make a breast milk brick -Fast and easy tutorial