Breast microwaving milk

Nursing mothers who use a microwave to heat stored breast milk for their babies may be defeating their own good intentions, according to research conducted at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. The natural elements in breast milk that are believed to account for fewer cases of diarrhea and respiratory infections in breast-fed babies appear to be erased when stored breast milk is microwaved, said Dr. Richard Quan, who led the study during a fellowship at Stanford and now is a pediatric gastroenterologist at the Dallas campus of the University of Texas. In the study, breast milk samples from 22 mothers were mixed with bacteria, then the combination was frozen for two to seven days and heated in a microwave oven. Milk heated for 30 seconds on low power, just enough to thaw, had five times as much bacteria as did samples warmed conventionally, i. With heat, an egg changes from liquid to a more solid form.

When baby is hungry and human milk needs to be warmed quickly, many caregivers or parents are tempted to warm it in the microwave oven. This speeds the process so that the feeding can proceed more quickly. Milk can be thawed several ways. Slow, gentle thawing is best to protect and preserve the healthy qualities of the milk. One excellent way is to allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Learn how to warm up breast milk safely and effectively. Your job, social obligations, sleep schedules, and plenty of other things will inevitably get in the way. The solution? Pumped milk will stay good for 3 to 5 days in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer, although it may lose some nutritional and antioxidant properties.

Send out those baby announcements - your bundle of joy has finally arrived! You've completed your first nine months of the journey. Now, here's how you, grandparents, and caregivers can help keep baby's food safe from here on