How to Warm Up Breast Milk and Preserve All Nutrients
As a mother or caregiver, you can choose how to feed your baby. Breastfeeding is the most common way through which mothers feed their little ones (s). However, others pump the breast milk and feed them from a bottle. If you opt to follow the latter option, you should know how to warm up breast milk and preserve nutrients.
Before we get started, let’s get it right with the stats about pumped breast milk. According to the CDC, you can store pumped breast milk for six months in a freezer and four days in a fridge/refrigerator before it goes stale.
Must I Warm Up Breast Milk?
It is not a must to warm up breast milk before feeding it to your baby. Some babies might even prefer to take the pumped breast milk at room temperature or cold.
However, warming the pumped breast milk has its advantages.
First, babies are used to taking lukewarm milk direct from their mothers’ ducts. Therefore, warming pumped milk accords them the same.
Second, babies digest lukewarm milk better and easier than when it is at room temperature or cold. Research published in 2019 showed that warm breast milk was beneficial to premature babies.
What is the Ideal Temperature for Pumped Breast Milk?
Now that we have defined the benefits of warming pumped breast milk before feeding it to your baby let us look at the ideal temperature.
First things first, the high temperature of pumped breast milk might destroy its immunizing properties and critical enzymes.
Second, every baby has a different preference for warm milk. This is a breakdown of milk temperatures and their effects:
30-78º F- You can feed a baby the milk at this temperature. However, some babies might consider this temperature too cold to take. In other cases, the temperature might alter the normal digestion of the milk.
98.6º F- This temperature matches the one that comes out of the mother’s breast. When warming the pumped milk, consider keeping it at this temperature.
99-105º F- This temperature is slightly higher than the recommended one. However, the milk at this temperature cannot burn the baby’s mouth.
106º F+- Any milk warmed to 106º F and above poses a risk to the baby’s delicate mouth. The milk’s important nutrients are also destroyed at high temperatures.
How Should You Warm Up Breast Milk?
There are four ways of warming up pumped breast milk before feeding it to the baby.
1. Bottle Warmer Method
Bottle warmers are becoming a common method of warming pumped breast milk since they save time. They also come with a manual to guide you on how to warm the milk.
However, using bottle warmers to warm up breast milk could result in overheating, which destroys crucial enzymes and probiotics.
2. Warm Water Bath Method
To warm pumped breast milk using the warm water bath method:
- Fill a bowl with warm water.
- Put the bottled milk in the bowl for several minutes.
- Swirl the bottle while turning the bottle to mix evenly.
- Pour a few drops of the milk on your wrist to check the temperature before feeding the baby.
Note: The milk should not feel cold or hot against your skin.
3. Countertop Method
- Place a closed bottle or bag of pumped breast milk on a countertop.
- Allow it to reach room temperature.
- Swirl it until the milk mixes evenly.
- Pour a few drops of the milk on your wrist. If it is at the right temperature, feed the baby.
4. Running Water Method
- Open a warm water tap and let it flow.
- Place a closed bottle or bag of pumped breast milk under the water.
- Swirl and turn the milk evenly and gently.
- Test the milk’s temperature before giving it to the baby.
Note: Although this method is considered effective, it leads to water wastage. You can minimize the wastage by using the warm water bath method.
Mistakes to Avoid When Warming Up Breast Milk
There are three things to avoid when warming up breast milk.
- Using a Microwave
The microwave is not an effective method of warming up stored breast milk for several reasons:
First, a microwave distributes heat in the milk unevenly, creating hot pockets. The hot pockets can easily explode, burning the baby’s mouth.
Second, warming breast milk using a microwave often results in overheating, which destroys probiotics and essential enzymes.
- Using a Pan
When warming up breast milk for a baby, you should not put it directly in a pan and heat it. Warming the milk directly exposes it to harmful bacteria, which adversely affects its quality.
Besides, using a pan increases the risk of overheating, which kills the nutrients and poses a risk to the baby’s mouth.
- Using Hot Water
Hot water also increases the risk of the milk losing its important nutrients; avoid it.
Frequently Asked Questions on Warming Up Breast Milk
These are the frequently asked questions on warming up breast milk before giving it to a baby:
- Can I warm back breast milk that was already warmed up?
Warming up breast milk over and again might destroy its crucial bacteria.
Besides, if the baby had taken the milk, their saliva could have introduced unfavorable bacteria into the leftovers.
To avoid warming up breast milk multiple times, it is advisable to store it in small containers or bags.
- How long does warmed milk stay before it goes bad?
When breast milk is left to warm under room temperature, it can stay fresh for 6-8 hours. However, if you warm the milk using the methods discussed above, use it within two hours.
- Can you refrigerate breast milk after it has been warmed?
Refrigerating breast milk after it has been warmed destroys most of the bacteria, making it less nutritious for the baby. Therefore, it is advisable to consume all the milk after warming it up.
Advice: If some of the milk remains after feeding the baby, throw the rest away since it loses most of its vital nutrients.
Bottom Line
Although breast milk contains strong antibodies to fight off harmful bacteria, it still goes bad. The most common signs of spoiled milk include:
- Change in color or texture.
- Foul smell
- “Strange” taste.
- Thick particles that do not soften even after rigorous swirling.
If you suspect that the pumped breast milk is spoiled, throw it away. After all, you can still pump more milk or buy some more.
Note: This guide to warming milk does not apply to baby formula as summarily discussed on this article on how to dry up milk supply.
