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10 Answers
- justanothamothaLv 710 years agoFavorite Answer
If you are formula feeding I would recommend you boil the water you use to prepare the bottles and use fluoride free water. That would be a bigger concern to me than the nipples. I did some pumping early on & did a couple of bottles of breastmilk & I never sterilized anything unless I had thrush or something. Otherwise I washes in hot water & air dried. If you WANT to sterilize I would no recommend boiling. It is a pain in the rump. You can buy sterilizer bags in the baby section or a sterilizing "carousel" (it looks like a travel cake plate with cover) and then you just follow directions & add appropriate amounts of water & put in the microwave. I think I remember it was 3 mins for the small bags & 6 mins for the carousel. MUCH easier than boiling a pot of water & trying not to forget stuff in there. I once melted all of my bottles (I worked & he got pumped milk and I happened to get thrush) and had to buy ALLLLL new. That cured me of boiling for sterilizing & now I am die hard for doing it the microwave way. No oopsies involved!
As for the suggestion to boil water - people think I am nuts I know. But this is what the FDA says about it:
"Formula preparation. In most cases, it's safe to mix formula using ordinary cold tap water that's brought to a boil and then boiled for one minute and cooled. According to the World Health Organization, recent studies suggest that mixing powdered formula with water at a temperature of at least 70 degree C—158 degrees F—creates a high probability that the formula will not contain the bacterium Enterobacter sakazakii—a rare cause of bloodstream and central nervous system infections. Remember that formula made with hot water needs to be cooled quickly to body temperature—about 98 degrees F—if it is being fed to the baby immediately. If the formula is not being fed immediately, refrigerate it right away and keep refrigerated until feeding. "
E. Sakazaki is a very real bacteria that is commonly found in powdered infant formulas. It is best prevented with proper formula mixture & never allowing a bottle to get too old. It is thankfully rare that an infant actually gets infected by it, but it is WHY hospitals now only use ready to feed (liquid) formulas instead of powder. If you read ANY can of powder formula it states right on it (by law it has to) "this is NOT a sterile food product". The above quote about formula preparation is from here: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/uc... The problem with E Sakazaki is not it'sprevalencee, its the level of danger if a baby catches it. It has dire consequences & high mortality rates. :(
Here are more links about it:
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/uc...
And here the WHO says newborns should receive sterile liquid forumlas OR there should be a decontamination step involved (boiling) to reduce risk: http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/micro/e...
Source(s): I included my sources in the answer. Congrats on the baby!!! - Anonymous10 years ago
If this was my way of sterilising then yes I would to make sure my daughter is safe from infection. I'd also boil everything else to do with feeding like bottles etc.
I personally use an electric steam steriliser & it's so easy! I just wash everything in hot soapy water, rinse off the soap then put it all in the steriliser to do it for me =) it's also safe to use it for breast pumps etc
Source(s): Mummy to my 6 week old daughter! We use an electric steam steriliser! - MelissaLv 510 years ago
Id boil Once a week! Wash in hot water and make sure that you clean them really well!
- Da-LisaLv 510 years ago
I boiled them everyday the first month, when I asked my baby's pediatric at her 1 month check-up he said it is not necessary everyday as long as we wash them really good and air dry them... now I boil them once a week.
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- IBCLC & Nurse JCLv 710 years ago
Since you are using bottles I am going to assume that you are also using formula. If this is the case then you need to know that powered formula is not sterile. It is more likely that your child gets sick from the bacteria in the formula not on the nipples (which doesn't happen often). http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/micro/e...
- 10 years ago
i boil my twins bottle every week. i just wash them really good. i have 4 kids and that's what i did with all of them and they are just fine. if they are sick just make sure you wash them more. good luck.
Source(s): mom of 7,5 year old. and 8 month old twins. - Anonymous10 years ago
lol, I thought you asked if you needed to boil your newborn's nipples
- Anonymous10 years ago
I didnt. I think you should just wash them and make sure theyre clean. Congratulations on your new baby.
Source(s): Personal experience. - Anonymous10 years ago
No, just wash it real good.