The best food for a newborn is breast milk. It is perfectly absorbed, and its composition is most suitable for a particular child. However, there are situations when the mother cannot be with the baby all day or she urgently needs to undergo a course of treatment that can harm the newborn. In this case, you can stock up on milk and store it in chilled or frozen form. Young mothers immediately have a question about how to heat breast milk from the refrigerator.
Storage of breast milk for several days
If expressed breast milk is stored at room temperature, then it should be consumed within four hours. In this case, heating is not always necessary. However, if breast milk was warmed up, then the baby should drink it no later than forty-five minutes later.
In the refrigerator, the product can be stored for four to five days. Then it is taken out and heated in any way possible.
Product storage for a long time
There are times when breast milk must be frozen in the freezer for a long period of time. Such a product can be stored for 6 months or more. Then the question arises of how to properly heat breast milk from the refrigerator. First, the liquid containers are removed from the freezer and placed in the refrigerator closer to its door. Then give time (about eight hours) so that the product can defrost on its own. After complete melting of the ice, the heating process is started. If time is limited, then the milk bottle is gradually heated under running water.
It may seem that using frozen breast milk is very inconvenient, but it is not. Due to the duration of storage, it is always in easy access and can help in an emergency. But expressed milk can only help with a short absence of the mother.
It is important to remember that due to the storage of various products in the freezer, frozen milk can become unpleasant. Therefore, it is important to pack the product in sealed bottles and sachets, as well as to exclude proximity to other products.
Running water heating
There are many tips for warming breast milk from the refrigerator. One of the available and quick ways is to use running water. To do this, put the container under a stream of cold water.
However, several recommendations should be followed to help preserve all the beneficial properties of breast milk:
- Water should not be hot or warm. It is better to use a liquid with a temperature a few degrees below room temperature.
- It has long been known that hot water destroys the nutrients found in foods. Therefore, do not lower the container of milk into boiling liquid.
- Cold water is used until it completely melts into the milk in the bottle. Then carefully inspect the container. There should be no ice cubes in it.
- The temperature of the water after the refrigerator needs to be raised gradually. At first the liquid is cool, then it becomes room temperature, and then a little warm.
- Before feeding the baby, a container of breast milk is placed in hot water, but not in boiling water. And stir with a spoon to evenly warm the product.
Breast milk heating in a water bath
One way to heat breast milk from the refrigerator is to use a water bath. It is considered very convenient and affordable. To do this, you need to perform a number of steps:
- take a small pan and half fill it with water;
- then put on a small fire;
- turn off the stove after boiling the liquid (of course, it is better not to bring the water to a boil, otherwise the milk will heat up too quickly);
- the container with the product cannot be heated above the burner;
- the pan is removed from the stove, then a container of breast milk is placed in it.
If the feeding liquid is slightly cool, it will take only five minutes. But if it was frozen, then much more time is needed.
After this heating, the bottle is shaken slightly so that the liquids have the same temperature in any part of the container.
Heated feed liquid with a heater
Very often, a young mother is concerned about the question of how to heat breast milk from the refrigerator quickly and without extra time. For these purposes, scientists have developed special heaters. Despite the fact that all devices are different, they have the same principle of operation. All of them work on the basis of steam or a water bath. However, there are differences in the details, therefore, before use, you must read the instructions.
Some models are equipped with containers for several bottles. So, for example, in one you can warm breast milk, and in the other - a container with complementary foods.
If the heater is operated using a water bath, then the milk bottle is placed in a warm liquid. But with steam a large amount of water is not required. In such a device, there is a special compartment for the liquid, which is heated. Then the hot steam is transferred to the container with the bottle, thereby warming it.
A few recommendations on how to heat breast milk from the refrigerator with a heater:
- Water is poured into the capacity of the device to the desired mark. If it is not, then carefully study the instructions. It indicates the required amount of water for the heater to work.
- Before the next use, water is poured and a new one is collected. This tip is relevant for both steam and water heaters.
- The bottle is carefully placed in a special container. If there is a device, then it is fixed in the required position.
- By setting the temperature, you can heat. After the process is complete, a special indicator will light up on the device.
The latest models of heaters are equipped with indicators that indicate when the required amount of water is running out.
Microwave heating
Currently, some parents are worried about how to heat breast milk after the refrigerator in the microwave and whether it will remain useful for the baby after such exposure. The experts have no single answer to this question. Critical people are sure that microwave waves can kill antibodies and nutrients in breast milk. But some amino acids that make up milk, when heated very strongly, turn into toxic elements that can even harm the baby’s health.
In addition, the liquid in the bottle heats up faster than the container itself. Therefore, it may seem that the container is still cold, but the contents have already become hot and can burn the newborn's throat and mouth.
Even though there is still no convincing evidence of the harm of the microwave oven, many parents hesitate to experiment and endanger their child’s life.
Breastmilk Tips
There are several simple rules, compliance with which will help to feed a child a tasty and healthy product:
- Before warming expressed breast milk from the refrigerator, thoroughly wash all containers and sterilize them before use;
- Do not re-freeze the product, since all useful components disappear in it;
- you can use warmed breast milk only once;
- In no case should you bring the product to a boil;
- you should immediately get rid of milk that has an unpleasant odor or a suspicious appearance;
- you can not give the child to drink milk from the residues in different bottles.
These rules are very simple and easy to put into practice. After all, this concerns the health of the newborn.
Conclusion
Now you know how to heat breast milk from the refrigerator. It should be remembered that all the tips will help parents bring their child the maximum benefit from feeding and saturate his body with useful substances.