What is the appropriate temperature for breast-feeding milk when feeding directly from the breast or mixing formula? What if the case of frozen milk?
How to check the temperature of breastmilk directly from the mother?
Natural milk for babies feeds directly from mother's breasts at the perfect temperature for babies and mothers don't have to worry about heating or cooling the milk. However, when you start to express, store breastmilk, or prepare baby formula, checking the temperature of breast milk will cause you to wonder.
Once breastmilk has been frozen or refrigerated, in addition to proper thawing, you will need to know how to check the temperature of breast milk, to make sure it is not too hot or has not reached the point where it is needed.
But how do you know exactly what temperature your baby should be at? The balance between too hot, warm, and too cold can be difficult to pinpoint.
Warm but not hot breastmilk (ideal temperature for babies) is around 40 degrees Celsius. When the milk reaches around 51 degrees, the temperature of this breastfed milk is considered hot and breastmilk properties begin deteriorated.
If your baby is bottle-feeding, to check the temperature of the bottle, you should sprinkle a little milk on your wrist because this is the most sensitive place on your arm. The milk should be warm, but certainly not too hot or too cold. Many children refuse to drink too cold milk and milk that is too hot can burn them. Just touching a bottle with your hand is not the correct way to check the temperature of the milk and can lead to over-warm or unevenly heated milk.
The temperature of breastmilk when heated or thawed
Warms milk
If the milk is slightly cooled or kept in a cool compartment, even though it is still cool at this time, it is also the temperature of the method the mother uses to heat the milk.
Mom can put in a warmer or soak in 40 degrees Celsius of warm water. Absolutely do not use too hot water or boiling water, because it will lose the nutrition of the milk despite the temperature of the milk.
Be sure to rotate the bottle gently to warm evenly. Then, as above, put a few drops on the wrist before breastfeeding.
Refrigerated milk, when taken out, will have a layer of opaque white fat on top. After warming up, mom remember to shake gently to dissolve the fat layer completely.
Thawed milk
With the help of state-of-the-art equipment, breastmilk can be used to express and curl the baby's milk. First, Mom moves the bottle or milk storage bag from the freezer to the cooler. When the milk dissolves, put the needed milk in a bottle and then warm it to 40 degrees C before feeding your baby.
Be careful not to shake thawed or naturally thawed milk bottles at room temperature or in boiling water, as this will cause sudden changes in milk temperature. As a result, the milk loses the natural properties of certain protective protein molecules (antibodies).
Take care not to re-freeze milk once it has melted, and do not microwave it.
Temperature of bottle-feeding baby formula with formula
Most formula cans have full instructions on how to use them, along with the temperature of the formula to be fed when mixed. Therefore, be sure to read the instructions carefully.
Because the composition of some types of milk contains a small amount of vitamins that are sensitive to temperature, if the temperature of breastmilk is not mixed correctly, these nutrients will be lost.
Most formulas require liquid to be mixed at a temperature of about 40-50 degrees Celsius (the instructions for use have been specified for each type of milk).
Absolutely do not use water, boiled water to cool or pure. The mistake many mothers make is to think pure or mineral water will be great because of pasteurization, but in reality this will change the nutrients in formula.
Notes mother to be careful when preparing baby milk
Wash hands thoroughly before preparing formula
Make sure the milk preparation area is clean
If the milk is pumped or bottle-fed, if it does not go away, feed the baby again within 1-2 hours. If it still remains, discard it, do not freeze it.
If it is thawed milk, do not return to the refrigerator when the baby is not feeding completely, it must be discarded.
Do not mix excess curd with freshly expressed milk.
Breast milk or formula milk is your baby's main source of food for at least the first 6 months of life. Therefore, mothers should ensure sufficient knowledge to know how to preserve them, or to have a diet to order more milk for their children.
See more:
The easy but effective way to treat blockages of breast milk - Great tip for breastfeeding women
Lack of milk for the baby - 6 signs that make a mother mistakenly think she is lacking milk
7 Rules for Breastmilk Storage - A Guide for Breastfeeding by Pinay Nanay