Should boiled, cooled water for formula be kept in fridge....

[Clarabell78]

Or is it ok left on the side if the bottle is sealed and sterilized? If ok on side how long before I should throw away if unused? Thanks! :-)

The important thing is that you always add formula powder to water that is over 70 degrees. Because it will kill any bacteria in the powder.

There is no benefit in this country in boiling water only to let it cool right down.

When preparing formula, you are taking care to ensure you kill bacteria in the powder, not in the water.

the water should be hot to kill bacteria in the milk powder - the powder needs sterilising rather than the water itself

As the PP said, it's not the water you need to worry about, it's the powder. There is no benefit to making the water up in advance, you need to heat the milk itself to about 70 degrees and let it cool to kill bacteria.

I though you were supposed to add the milk powder to hot water. You can then rapidly cool, and store in the fridge for 12 hrs??

Surely adding powder to cold water defeats the point of boiling it???

x-posts!

You can keep it on side sealed for about 12 hrs. We leave it overnight.

So you can store the bottle made up into milk in the fridge? I thought that was a no no?

Make bottle with slightly cooled boiled water store made up bottle in fridge heat to serve I did with my DS no problem!!

The advice is that you should not keep pre made up bottles in the fridge for any length of time.

The water needs to be 70degrees or above in order to kill off any bugs in the milk.

So make the feed up with a recently boiled kettle, cool rapidly to appropriate temp and give the feed.

You can make batches of formula in advance and store in the fridge for up to 12 hours BUT as always the formula MUST be made with water that has just been boiled or left up to 30 mins, the water needs to be hot.... to kill bacteria in the powder.

You're not boiling it to sterilise the water.

Just spoke to midwife about this - she said to oil kettle, leave for 30 mins, put it in sterilised bottles, seal. Leave on side (specifically not fridge!) and add powder when needed. The boiling of kettle and leaving to cool is also what instructions on box say. Hth x

you shouldn't make feeds up in advance

That's poor advice Fairy as the bacteria is in the powder, not the water. The powder needs to be sterilised with hot water.

Fairy, your midwife is wrong.

She also went and checked with a colleague? I bloody hate all this shut advice from professionals, the other d a gp advised watering down formula and it was only mn that raised the alarm bells in my head!

IGNORE FAIRY'S MIDWIFE

Sorry for shouting but this topic makes me

It is fine to make up bottles in advance and rapid cool them, store them in fridge and reheat when needed. Ideally make them up with slightly cooled boiled water (still crucially above 70 degrees) fresh each time, but making them in advance within 24 hours is fine.

What is not fine is using cold water to mix with powder. You may as well mix it with water straight from the tap.

We have this topic like every week. If you don't understand how to make them up safely then buy a Tommee Tippee gadget that does it for you

nhs guide

from another nhs page

If it isn't possible to follow the advice above or if you need to transport a feed (for example, to a nursery), prepare the feed at home and cool it for at least one hour in the back of the fridge.

Take it out of the fridge just before you leave and carry it in a cool bag with an ice pack, and use it within four hours. If you do not have an ice pack, or access to a fridge, the made-up infant formula must be used within two hours.

• If made-up formula is stored in a fridge, use within 24 hours.
• If made-up formula is stored in a cool bag with an ice pack, use within four hours.
• If made-up formula is stored at room temperature, use within two hours.

The question wasn't about making up FORMULA though was it - it was about the water. I leave cooled water made up, so that in the night when she wakes for a feed I add they powder to half boiling water (in a thermos) - kill all the bacteria, then add half of the cooled boiled water so it is the perfect temp.
So to answer the OPs question - yes, you can leave WATER out on the side, but make sure you add the formula to, at least part, boiling water.

Oh sorry I didn't see the OP came back to ask another question.

Woopdedo - the OP may have asked about the water rather than the formula itself, but what we're saying is that there is absolutely no value to boiling the water and letting it cool in advance of adding the powder, so why do it at all?

World Health Organisation say it is ok to make bottles up in advance and this is seen as ok in most other countries.

NHS advice is very extreme and obviously best practice

This subject makes me very cross. How hard can it possibly be for HCPs to learn that it is the powder that needs to be 'sterilised' by the boiling water?

Our tap water is ok to drink straight from the tap but formula powder is not absolutely bug free. I'm not a HCP and I BF but I've got to grips with this. Grrrr.

Fairy, you should raise this with that midwife. It's dangerous advice.

Yes, Jim that's important.

Maybe a MN campaign would help?!