Babies powdered milk question

JBD

I don't think you can have completely sterile conditions outside of a labaratory anyway. There is even a risk of infection within an operating theatre in spite of the stringent cleaning procedures used.Obviously parents have to be as careful as possible but the vast majority of babies do gradually develop natural immunity.

daska

of course there is, the problem is with people who insist that there is nothing unsafe about not following the advice given by the manufacturers and the FSA. If there was no risk then the FSA would not explicitly state that

it’s always safer to make up a fresh feed whenever possible

if someone told you that they never bothered with car insurance because their mum never had an accident with them in the car would you assume that you didn't need car insurance?

Lotus-eater

Well thanks for all the replies:)

From what I understand you are disagreeing about whether to put the boiled water into bottles in the morning and then add powder when needed, or boil and cool water when needed?

Is that right?

So the questions I have are these.

If you use sterilised bottles in the morning and boiling water, surely the amount of bacteria growth in them, in normal household conditions (if left throughout the day), must be nill to almost nothing?

If you want to boil and use water up to half an hour before a feed, how do you keep the bottles sterilised all day? Surely if you do them in the morning and seal them, the air in them won't be sterilised.

skylight

Lotus-eater wrote: »

Well thanks for all the replies:)

From what I understand you are disagreeing about whether to put the boiled water into bottles in the morning and then add powder when needed, or boil and cool water when needed?

Is that right?

So the questions I have are these.

If you use sterilised bottles in the morning and boiling water, surely the amount of bacteria growth in them, in normal household conditions (if left throughout the day), must be nill to almost nothing?

If you want to boil and use water up to half an hour before a feed, how do you keep the bottles sterilised all day? Surely if you do them in the morning and seal them, the air in them won't be sterilised.

I think you should stop worrying too much. If you have a healthy child then just go with flow and do what suits you and your family best. Good hygenie and chuck used feeds away (dont reuse them). You will be fine.

If its something you are really concerned about, have a chat to your health visitor about it. There are so many opinions, they are going to be confusing and add to the hassle of having a baby!


(And nothing will ever be totally sterile!)

Lotus-eater

skylight wrote: »

I think you should stop worrying too much. If you have a healthy child then just go with flow and do what suits you and your family best. Good hygenie and chuck used feeds away (dont reuse them). You will be fine.

If its something you are really concerned about, have a chat to your health visitor about it. There are so many opinions, they are going to be confusing and add to the hassle of having a baby!


(And nothing will ever be totally sterile!)

I'm not actually that worried, I started off the thread as a matter of interest more than anything.
This is our 2nd, so it's not new parenting panicking

My oh is going to ask the hv next time she sees her, I expect she will be pretty nonplussed between the two different options, but it's always interesting getting other opinions.

I'm someone who doesn't believe in totally sterile conditions for children anyway, otherwise how will they build up immunity?

mightymolly

Try not having feed made up when you have multiples! It's a scary thing being a mummy, so much conflicting advice.

tiamai_d

The risk is from the milk powder, which may contain bacteria. Guidelines say that the powder should be added to water that is 70'c to kill any bacteria that may be present in the milk powder itself.

But as you can see, we don't all agree on how big a risk bacteria in milk powder actually posses to babies.

From what I read, the risk was to neonates (premature or very sick babies), newborns upto 4 weeks old and those with underlying health conditions. The one case of an older baby becoming sick in the UK was with a bacteria that has been found in milk powder but is also found in the adult digestive tract, and in that case, the milk powder wasn't tested, it could have came from someone not washing their hands after going to the loo or not washing their hands long enough.

So in my case, DD was 13 weeks when I started making up bottles for a full day (before that she was breastfed and bottles were made up as needed and cooled for instant use because it was easier) so she didn't fall into any of the risk categories.

Lotus-eater

tiamai_d wrote: »

The risk is from the milk powder, which may contain bacteria. Guidelines say that the powder should be added to water that is 70'c to kill any bacteria that may be present in the milk powder itself.

But as you can see, we don't all agree on how big a risk bacteria in milk powder actually posses to babies.

From what I read, the risk was to neonates (premature or very sick babies), newborns upto 4 weeks old and those with underlying health conditions. The one case of an older baby becoming sick in the UK was with a bacteria that has been found in milk powder but is also found in the adult digestive tract, and in that case, the milk powder wasn't tested, it could have came from someone not washing their hands after going to the loo or not washing their hands long enough.

That's all very interesting, thankyou.

xmaslolly76

This is just my two penneth i have alwasy made the days bottles up int he morning with just water and kept them in the firdge until required then added the powder. I also heat them up in the microwave:eek:. 3 children over the course of 11 yrs have never had any tummy upsets from their milk.

Guidelines are just that a guide not a law written in stone. Do whats best for you and your baby OP.

This is just a persoal point of view but i think that sheltering children from every bug and bacteria going is causing half of the problems we have with allergies, asthma and food intollerances it is also breeding superbugs which due to us not allowing children to build a good strong immune system due to never being in contact with germs means they have no way of fighting them off and alot of bugs now are immune to antibiotics too. My three have crawled around my clean floor (no antibactierial rubbish hear just good old soap and water) with their piece of toast. They played in the garden till their hands and faces are black and then sat and eaten their crisps, they eat nuts and soft cheese and products containg wheat and gluten and you know what shock horror not one of them has any allergies and they are very healthy children and are very rarely ill.:p

daska

yep, as have mine, and apart from an inherited problem with the belladonna family (potatos, tomatos etc) they're all fine. What I object to is the 'there's nothing unsafe' attitude. You presumably wouldn't let your kids crawl around in the garden if you had stray dogs using it as a toilet because you know there's a risk of toxoplasmosis. Same deal.

It's the blanket 'there's nothing unsafe about ignoring recommendations' that's dangerous. When people are aware that there are risks associated with what is proposed they can make an informed choice. We know first hand what it's like when you're the family who proves that it is a risk and, understandably, it's not one that we would ever recommend to anyone else when it is so easily avoided.