Why do you sterilize baby bottles

Sterilising baby bottles - NHS

It's important to sterilise all your baby's feeding equipment, including bottles and teats, until they are at least 12 months old.

This will protect your baby against infections, in particular diarrhoea and vomiting.

Before sterilising, you need to:

Clean bottles, teats and other feeding equipment in hot, soapy water as soon as possible after feeds.
Use a clean bottle brush to clean bottles (only use this brush for cleaning bottles), and a small teat brush to clean the inside of teats. You can also turn teats inside out then wash them in hot soapy water. Do not use salt to clean teats, as this can be dangerous for your baby.
You can put your baby's feeding equipment in the dishwasher to clean it if you prefer. Putting feeding equipment through the dishwasher will clean it but it does not sterilise it. Make sure bottles, lids and teats are facing downwards. You may prefer to wash teats separately by hand to make sure they are completely clean.
Rinse all your equipment in clean, cold running water before sterilising.

The advice above applies to all your baby's feeding equipment, and whether you are using expressed breast milk or formula milk.

How to sterilise baby feeding equipment

There are several ways you can sterilise your baby's feeding equipment. These include:

cold water sterilising solution
steam sterilising
boiling

Cold water sterilising solution

Follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Leave feeding equipment in the sterilising solution for at least 30 minutes.
Change the sterilising solution every 24 hours.
Make sure there are no air bubbles trapped in the bottles or teats when putting them in the sterilising solution.
Your steriliser should have a floating cover or a plunger to keep all the equipment under the solution.

Steam sterilising (electric steriliser or microwave)

It's important to follow the manufacturer's instructions, as there are several different types of sterilisers.
Make sure the openings of the bottles and teats are facing downwards in the steriliser.
Manufacturers will give guidelines on how long you can leave equipment in the steriliser before it needs to be sterilised again.

Sterilising by boiling

Make sure the items you want to sterilise in this way are safe to boil.
Boil the feeding equipment in a large pan of water for at least 10 minutes, making sure it all stays under the surface.
Set a timer so you do not forget to turn the heat off.
Remember that teats tend to get damaged faster with this method. Regularly check that teats and bottles are not torn, cracked or damaged.

After you've finished sterilising

It's best to leave bottles and teats in the steriliser or pan until you need them.
If you do take them out, put the teats and lids on the bottles straightaway.
Wash and dry your hands before handling sterilised equipment. Better still, use some sterile tongs.
Assemble the bottles on a clean, disinfected surface or the upturned lid of the steriliser.

Find out more about expressing breast milk and how to make up formula feeds.

Page last reviewed: 24 September 2019
Next review due: 24 September 2022

You're Wasting Your Time if You're Still Sterilizing Baby Bottles. Here's Why

As a new parent, keeping everything nice and clean for your baby is top of mind. However, sterilizing your baby bottles may be a a waist of time. We'll guide you on when you should sterilize a baby bottle and when it's not necessary.

Plus, here's what to do if you're running low on baby formula, a list of our favorite breast pumps and some baby registry must-haves (including some bottles we love). You can also check out our picks for the best diapers, best baby monitors, best car seats and best baby clothes.

Read More: How Many Baby Bottles Do You Really Need?

Why is it important to sterilize baby bottles?

Babies under 3 months old are still developing their immune system, and many infections that would be more mild or moderate at older ages can be severe in these months. While cleaning bottles thoroughly and immediately using them is usually enough to remove harmful bacteria, viruses and other contaminants, for the first three months of a baby's life, sterilizing bottles daily or more often is another recommended level of protection.

ImageSource/ImageSource/Getty Images

When should you sterilize and clean your baby's bottle?

Be aware that cleaning involves soap and hot water and the removal of any residues on the inside or outside of the bottle and its associated parts. Sterilizing, on the other hand, is specifically about using either heat or chemicals on the bottle and any associated parts to further kill any remaining microscopic bacteria that might have escaped the cleaning process.

You should clean bottles when you buy them, as well as after each use and before reuse if it's been some time since the clean bottle was used. Ideally, bottles should also be sanitized when you buy them and between uses.

Read more: Best Baby Food Delivery Services and Subscriptions for 2022

How often should you sterilize baby bottles?

Bottles are used many times a day, and depending on how many you have, you may only need to sanitize a batch of bottles once a day before every use. However, many of the resources from pediatricians are less focused on sanitizing than ever before, leaving sterilizing frequency up to parents in many cases. Many dishwashers have a sanitizing setting, which quickly does the job for you if your bottles are kept in the top rack of the dishwasher.

When to stop sterilizing baby bottles, according to the CDC

The CDC recommends sanitizing at least daily until the baby is 3 months or older and for longer if they're immunocompromised. Otherwise, it's not as big of a priority, but you may still want to sanitize your older baby's bottles if:

You know the bottle had milk sit in it for many hours or even a day
Your baby has been sick or is on a medication that weakens their immune system
Your water supply has been critiqued for some kind of contamination
You're on well water (which can be fine, but you also might have less information on the water's overall quality)
You have a way to do it quickly and safely and without inconveniencing yourself or the baby's other caregivers

Morten Falch Sortland/Moment/Getty Images

How to clean and sterilize baby bottles

There are dedicated sterilizers designed for particular kinds of baby bottles and sterilizing settings on dishwashers. When these are used correctly, they don't require additional sterilization. If you don't have these options, there are three other ways to sterilize your bottles.

Sterilizing baby bottles with boiling water

1. Thoroughly wash all baby bottles and parts. Leave them disassembled.
2. Put all items in a clean pot and fill the pot with water to where all of the bottle parts are submerged.
3. Bring to a boil and keep at a full boil for 5 minutes.
4. Use clean tongs to remove the bottle parts and place them on a clean towel or paper towel to fully dry.

Sterilizing baby bottles with steam

1. Thoroughly wash all baby bottles and parts. Leave them disassembled.
2. Read the instructions on your particular steam-in-bag sterilization system, such as the Medela bag system.
3. Place the required amount of water and only as many parts as fit the bag, allowing it to close.
4. Follow the instructions on how long to sanitize in the microwave.
5. Remove using a clean pair of tongs once the bag isn't too hot to open. Place on a clean towel or paper towel to fully dry.

Sterilizing baby bottles with an antibacterial chemical

1. If boiling and steaming aren't possible, using a dilute solution of bleach (2 teaspoons of unscented bleach per gallon of water) in a clean basin is an alternative method mentioned by the CDC.
2. Thoroughly clean all baby bottles and parts and leave them disassembled.
3. Place all parts in the solution carefully, adjusting them to make sure no air bubbles prevent part of a surface from being touched by the solution.
4. Leave all items fully immersed for 2 minutes.
5. Use clean hands or clean tongs to take the items out and place them on an unused towel or paper towel.
6. No need for rinsing as long as the items are fully dry before they're used again. Rinsing reintroduces trace microorganisms that were destroyed by the bleach.

How to store baby bottles after sanitizing

Once your baby bottle parts have dried completely, you can assemble the bottles for easy use when you next need them. Closed kitchen cabinets are good places to store the bottles, where they won't interact with as much air as they would on a kitchen counter, and they should only be stored with other clean items.

If any step in your drying or storage process traps moisture on the bottles, it can make germ growth more likely. Drying racks that sometimes lead to some trapped moisture, so sanitize the rack itself every few days if that's your preferred method.

Sanitizing bottles is no longer a universal recommendation for all of the time that babies drink from bottles. However, if you can fit it into your schedule or you have a circumstance that makes it a good fit for your family, it can provide just one more layer of protection for the new addition to your family.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Is it necessary to sterilize feeding bottles: opinions for and against

Baby

Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

nutritionist

Western doctors believe that the birth itself should be possible train immunity. Otherwise, the baby will not be able to effectively fight pathogenic bacteria. For this reason, foreign pediatricians do not recommend sterilizing bottles. Russian experts have a different opinion.

The first argument is that gut microflora and defense mechanisms are formed on average by the end of the first year of life, so if there is any way to reduce the risk, it should be used.
Another argument: breast milk is microbiologically safe. In addition, with it, the baby receives antibodies to fight infections. An "artificial person" is a priori deprived of such natural protection. But if he drinks from an unsterilized bottle, the risks for him will only increase . Leftover formula (or expressed milk) is a breeding ground for pathogens, including E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. From dirty dishes, bacteria can first enter the baby's mouth, and then into the intestines, from where they will very soon displace beneficial lactobacteria and bifidobacteria. And this is fraught with digestive failures.

Parents, of course, decide for themselves which view is closer to them, but it is better to sterilize the bottle during the first months. The simplest and most modern way is processing in an electric steam sterilizer. You can also carry out the procedure in a microwave oven in a special container - a microwave sterilizer or use non-toxic tablets for disinfection by dissolving them in cold water. It is also allowed to boil the bottles for 10 minutes in a clean saucepan - the method is old, but effective.

It's time to stop

There is no exact timeframe for stopping bottle sterilization, but most domestic pediatricians suggest keeping this habit up to a year and a half on average.

It would seem that when a baby begins to crawl and forcefully pull everything that comes into his mouth into his mouth, no sterilization will save him from the invasion of harmful microbes. But this is an erroneous conclusion. Germs that live on the floor have a much harder time getting into a baby's intestines than bacteria that thrive in milk residue on the sides of a bottle (or in stale foods and foods). It's simple: the former are mostly excreted from the mouth with abundant saliva, and the latter almost inevitably enter the stomach. The immune system learns to neutralize “food” microbes only by the age of one and a half, so you need to stick to this date.

More useful materials about caring for a baby - in our channel on Yandex. Zen.

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Why and how to sterilize baby bottles for feeding

12/28/2018 Tips for the home0

Babies most susceptible to attack by germs and pathogens - Babies often have a mild attack of fungus before a serious gastrointestinal problem.

Food related illnesses tend to be most common in children and if not properly treated can lead to serious health problems.

Why sterilize?

You may be cleaning your baby's bottle properly using soap and water, but that's not enough - sterilization is an important step that most moms tend to forget.

Before sterilization methods were applied, thousands of children became ill from exposure to viruses and bacteria.

It is therefore important to ensure that your baby's feeding bottle is properly sterilized to protect it from a wide range of possible illnesses.

Cleaning the bottles

It is important to clean the bottle well before sterilization. Clean the feeding bottle thoroughly with soap and water and make sure all traces of milk are removed.

Rinse the bottle several times with water to completely remove any detergent or milk that may have stuck to the edges of the bottle.

Sterilization Methods

Once the bottle has been thoroughly cleaned, move on to sterilizing it - Microwave and electrical sterilization methods have gained popularity in recent years, but if you don't have a microwave, here are a few ways to sterilize your bottle.

Steam sterilization

Based on the principle of hospital sterilization, this method is simple and easy to use. It takes about 10 minutes, plus cooling time, making it a fast and efficient sterilization method.

Make sure you are using bottles that are safe to boil for this method. Also remember to place the parts upside down so that they are completely sterilized.

Microwave sterilization

Microwave bottles are the latest method to make life easier for moms. These bottles can be sterilized in the microwave without any extra effort - and best of all, it only takes 9 minutes to sterilize a bottle.0 seconds.

It is important to know that you should not keep the bottle capped while it is in the microwave, as this can cause pressure to build up inside the bottle.

Boiling

Boiling is probably the oldest and most traditional method of sterilization. All feeding utensils and bottles should be in boiling water for at least 10 minutes for proper sterilization.

In addition, you must ensure that the saucepan you are using must be suitable for the purpose for which it is being used. This method is relatively time consuming and therefore not the preferred method for modern moms.

Cold water sterilization

Cold water sterilization is another effective way to sterilize baby bottles. This method uses a non-toxic solution, which is also available in a convenient tablet form.

This solution is believed to remove all bacteria while still being safe enough to be applied to the skin or even swallowed.

You can use sterilization equipment or just use a clean bucket of water with liquid solution in which you dip the bottles.

Make sure there are no air bubbles inside to ensure complete sterilization. After half an hour of immersion, the bottle will be completely sterilized and can be used safely.