Safe bottle feeding
If you bottle feed your baby, you need to make sure that the feeds are made up safely. Infant formula powders in their containers aren’t sterile, so they can sometimes contain bacteria that could make your baby ill if a bottle isn’t made up correctly.
Follow these simple steps to make sure that your baby’s feed is safe:
- Use boiled water that has been cooled to a temperature of 70ºC or above. Water at this temperature will kill any harmful bacteria that may be present.
- Remember to let the feed cool before you give it to your baby, to avoid the risks of scalding. You can do this by running the bottle under cold water. Always check the temperature of formula milk before feeding it to your baby.
- Make up a feed only as your baby needs it – the risks increase with time, as the bacteria can multiply even if the feed is kept in the fridge.
Preparation and hygiene
A baby’s immune system is not as strong or as well developed as an adult’s, so babies are much more likely to get ill or pick up an infection. Therefore, good hygiene is very important when making up a feed. Always wash your hands before preparing a feed and make sure that the surfaces the feed will be prepared on are kept clean.
Sterilise all equipment used to feed your baby
- Clean and sterilise bottles, teats and any other feeding equipment before each feed to reduce the chances of your baby falling sick or getting diarrhoea.
Use boiled drinking water from the tap to make up a feed
- Always use water that has been freshly boiled and cooled to a temperature of 70ºC or above.
- Do not use water that has been boiled more than once or left to stand for so long that it has cooled to less than 70ºC.
- Do not use artificially softened water.
Always follow the powdered milk manufacturer’s instructions – different brands use different amounts of water and powder
- Do not add more infant formula powder than the manufacturer says you need when making up a feed. This can make your baby constipated and may cause dehydration.
- Do not use less infant formula powder than the manufacturer says you need as it may not give your baby enough nourishment.
- Never warm up infant formula in a microwave as it can heat the feed unevenly and may burn your baby’s mouth.
- Do not add sugar or cereals to the feed in the bottle.
- Always throw away any leftover formula milk.
Read more about food safety and the best types of milk to give your baby.
Remember:
- Even though there are lots of ‘follow-on’ formula milks available for babies aged six months and older, you don’t need to switch to using these when your baby is six months old as infant formula milk is suitable for all babies under 12 months old. You can’t use your Healthy Start vouchers to buy follow-on formula milk.
- Keep feeding your baby breast milk or infant formula milk alongside a variety of solid foods until they are one year old.
For more information:
NHS Choices: Birth to five (England)
Safer bottlefeeding (Wales)
Birth to five (Northern Ireland)
