Sterilizing bottles and equipment

It’s essential to sterilize your breast pump, bottle, soothers or any other equipment that comes into contact with milk and your baby. Germs in milk can be particularly harmful to a baby with an immature immune system. Forgetting to properly clean and sterilize your baby’s feeding equipment can lead to tummy upset and diarrhoea.

Before using your new baby feeding equipment, clean it first, either by hand with warm water, washing up liquid and a baby bottle brush. This cleans the equipment, but to kill off the last of the germs the items must then be sterilized.

Steam sterilization is quick, easy and efficient, with no chemicals involved – just the heat of the steam to kill off the bugs. To protect your baby from illness, be sure to sterilize all feeding equipment for the first 6 months. If you’ve introduced solids before 6 months it’s wise to sterilize the bowls and spoons. After that time, only milk feeding equipment like bottles and breast pumps need to be sterilized until your child is one year old.

Please be aware that the information given in these articles is only intended as general advice and should in no way be taken as a substitute for professional medical advice. If you or your family or your child is suffering from symptoms or conditions which are severe or persistent or you need specific medical advice, please seek professional medical assistance. Babies.co.nz cannot be held responsible for the use of the information provided on this website.