How to properly sterilize baby bottles?

How to sterilize baby bottles? This question is asked by every mother whose baby is bottle-fed. All pediatricians unanimously recommend thoroughly washing and sterilizing items intended for feeding a small child. How to do this correctly? Until what age does it make sense to sterilize children's dishes?

Why sterilize bottles?

Formula-fed babies receive formula from special baby bottles. Every mother knows that the newborn’s immune system is not yet formed and any intervention in his body can be fatal. That is why Russian pediatricians advise cleaning and sterilizing all items used for feeding children. Also, do not forget about pacifiers and nipples that the baby uses in the first years of life.

Not all doctors in the world share the opinion of Russian pediatricians. In European countries, on the contrary, doctors do not advise sterilizing bottles and pacifiers for babies. According to Western doctors, a child should grow up in natural conditions, and not get used to sterility from birth. What should I do? There is no single correct answer to this question. Each mother must choose the optimal tactic for herself and stick to it when feeding her child.

Women who are breastfeeding may also benefit from learning how to sterilize baby utensils at home.Sometimes young mothers have to leave home to do their own business, and then dad or grandmother can feed the baby. It is only important to prepare clean bottles in advance and express milk there. How to properly prepare and sterilize dishes for a child?

Preparing for sterilization

Before starting sterilization, you should thoroughly wash all children's utensils. Bottles must be washed to the very bottom and free of food residues. Experts recommend using baking soda or special cleaning products to clean dishes. Brushers that penetrate to the very bottom of baby feeding bottles will help you reliably get rid of any remaining milk or formula. Before washing, the pacifier must be removed and treated separately.

Children's dishes can also be washed in the dishwasher. Pediatricians recommend doing this separately from washing the cups and plates of other family members. You should also use special mild detergents in the dishwasher.

4 ways to sterilize bottles

• Boiling.

Sterilizing feeding bottles with boiling water is the most accessible and well-known way to disinfect utensils. Pediatricians advise boiling a child’s bottles and pacifiers from birth to the age of 1.5 years. The boiling scheme is simple and accessible to every young mother. The bottle without nipple is placed in a container of boiling water. Boil for at least 5 minutes, after which all items are removed from the pan of water and laid out on a clean, dry towel. When the sterilized dishes have cooled, they can be used to feed the baby.

Advice

Remember that not all bottles can be boiled. Use only high-quality children's dishes!

• Microwave.

At home, it is not at all necessary to constantly boil baby bottles. You can clean dishes and make them safe for feeding using a regular microwave. Bottles and pacifiers are placed in a saucepan with water and tightly closed with a lid. Before sterilizing in the microwave, the pacifier must be removed and placed separately.

How long does sterilization take? As practice shows, 5-7 minutes in the microwave is enough to destroy all pathogenic bacteria and make dishes for a newborn perfectly clean. Many parents like this method, and more and more often modern mothers and fathers prefer sterilization in the microwave. In addition, many bottle manufacturers produce their products ready for such a procedure. You no longer need to put baby dishes into a pot of water; you just need to put the bottles in the microwave and press the “start” button. During sterilization, they do not deform and do not lose their properties.

Advice

Read the instructions for children's dishes before starting disinfection.

• Electric steam sterilizer.

When thinking about how to sterilize bottles, many parents prefer to entrust this process to “smart” technology. A steam sterilizer is the most modern way to quickly and efficiently clean baby bottles and pacifiers. You no longer need to boil dishes and worry about whether they will deteriorate under high temperatures. Sterilization takes place in a special apparatus. Before starting work, you need to fill the sterilizer with water and set the desired mode. Sterilization time is about 10 minutes.

A steam sterilizer is not only simple, but also very convenient.The device allows you to disinfect up to 6 items at a time. After finishing work, children's dishes can be left under the sterilizer lid. All bottles and nipples will remain sterile for 6 hours after the device is turned off.

• Antiseptic tablets.

Sterilization using antiseptic tablets takes place in cold water. The method is quite simple: you just need to dissolve the drug in a container of water and place all the baby dishes there. The nipple must first be removed from the bottle. Sterilization lasts half an hour under a closed lid. The spent solution can be used within 24 hours. All this time, antiseptic tablets retain their properties and effectively destroy dangerous bacteria. After completing the procedure, you should rinse all dishes with clean boiled water.

Many parents wonder: at what age should baby bottles be sterilized? The opinions of pediatricians on this issue are divided. Some doctors say that the dishes should be boiled and processed for up to 5-6 months. Other experts are inclined to think that it is necessary to sterilize nipples and bottles for at least 1.5 years. Most parents prefer to carry out sterilization the entire time the baby is using bottles and pacifiers.