Scrub, rinse, & Sterilise

Keep baby away from gems.

The first few months of your baby’s life are vulnerable ones. During   pregnancy, you would have passed him some antibodies to fight disease and infections. But your baby’s immune system is still immature and susceptible to viruses and bacteria. Sterilisation and thorough cleaning of the things your baby use will create a relatively clean and virus-free environment.

Baby’s feeding equipment (e.g. bottles, teats, spoons, and breast pumps) are extremely fertile breeding ground for bacteria, germs, and viruses, as traces of warm milk curd may linger. Before sterilising, always make sure you wash out the equipment properly with a hot, weak detergent solution.

Teats are slightly trickier as they have holes. Run water through the teat holes and scrub the insides with a bottle brush to get rid of any residue. Alternatively, tip a little salt into the teat, grind it between your fingers, and then rinse thoroughly.

Sterilisation methods

• Electric steam sterilising One way of sterilising feeding equipment is through electric steam sterilising. Items safe for boiling are placed in a specially designed electrical unit, with the equipment placed upside down and not touching to ensure thorough sterilisation. Add water according to instructions. Usually, the process takes around 10 minutes.

• Microwave steam sterilisation This is another way of electric sterilisation. The feeding equipment are placed with water in the sterilising unit, which is then fastened securely and placed in the microwave oven. Heating time depends on instructions.

As metal items will damage the microwave ovens, do not sterilise feeding equipment made of or containing metal. There has also been a recent innovation–microwaveable bottles. These can be heated in a microwave oven on their own, in under three minutes. However, they must not be sealed during heating as pressure could build up.

• Chemical sterilisation The method is also known as the cold water method.
It uses sterilising tablets or non-toxic solutions mixed with cold water. All you have to do is to completely immerse all feeding equipment in the mixture and ensure there are no air bubbles for bacteria to survive.

This can be carried out in a clean bucket or a lidded container, preferably with something to keep the bottles submerged. Immersion time depends on accompanying instructions. But typically, it takes 30 minutes. Equipment can also be left in the solution for up to 24 hours. Avoid soaking metal items in chemical solutions as they may corrode.

• Boiling Feeding equipment are to be placed in a large saucepan or pot of boiling water, which should be left to boil for a further 10 minutes at least. The pan or pot should be used exclusively for this purpose. Boiling is also suitable for metal items, although it renders teats swollen and spongy more easily than other methods.

Finally, other than knowing how to sterilise, it is just as important to know how long to sterilise baby’s equipment.

Many paediatricians and caregivers recommend that parents sterilise equipment for up to baby’s first year, as baby would have started to produce his own antibodies by then. Before that, however, take no chances when it comes to baby’s health! •