Sterilising bottles - is it really necessary and how long for?

[NameChange30]

DH and I are debating this at the moment. The NHS and WHO advice is to sterilise bottles and other feeding equipment for a year. But in his country (EU, good healthcare) they say sterilising isn't necessary. I can see both sides of the argument but I'm leaning towards sterilising at the tiny newborn stage, just in case. But how long should we do it for? A year does seem excessive, I was thinking about 3 months...

If anyone could share experiences and/or advice (or even evidence/research on the subject) I'd appreciate it!

TIA

Cannot believe how badly some people have reacted to this post. Whether sterilising is easy or not wasn't the question. It's whether it's necessary or not. Some NHS advice is questionable & likely to be changed e.g. No runny eggs in pregnancy so there's no harm in questioning the current advice & digging a bit deeper into the evidence.
OP my understanding is that the bacteria that can grow on milk is far more harmful than other germs so that milk residue on bottles is more risky than chewing on a toy or a dummy that's fallen onto your carpet. However you can keep things clean without sterilising. I think sterilising is a belts and braces approach and less important as you'll be using breast milk. It might give you added peace of mind though. I don't know whether plastic bottles are more prone to harbouring bacteria than the bottles you're thinking of using. That might also be worth looking at.
It's interesting to hear how different the advice is in France.

Thank you Fartniss and Little.
I can see the logic in sterilising bottles and feeding equipment but not dummies and other things because milk (breast or formula) is more likely to harbour bacteria.
Fartniss I hope your DH manages to get into the habit of putting the lid back on, I think that would frustrate me too!

Congratulations! I have a 10month old DD who has been breast fed or given expressed milk in a sippy cup or glass from birth as she refused all bottles. I used the madela pump and storage system. I washed everything with hot soapy water straight after use and then once a week boiled it for 5minutes, 0-3 months, after that just the hot soapy water. DD has never had vomiting or diarrhoea. I had no idea this was such a controversial choice. I was never told by my midwife or health visitors that it was unacceptable or lazy not to sterilise with breast milk when discussing the topic. Good luck with whatever you choose!

I don't know why everyone is hating on this poor woman for asking a very valid question. In 2013 the American Association of Paediatricians said that sterilising was no longer necessary because in developed countries the water is safe and hot water and soap will kill bacteria just like when we wash our dishes. well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/ask-well-how-to-clean-baby-bottles/?_r=0
The NHS and WHO are very slow to update their guidelines and it can take years between new research being published and guidelines being updated. I know a lot of doctors and researchers who have said this to be the case.
The NHS also completely contradicts itself as it says that baby's immune system is not developed and sterilising is needed. But on the other hand the NHS says that multiple vaccines from 6 weeks are totally safe because baby's immune system is designed to cope with invading bacteria and pathogens.
So who to believe? No need to abuse the poor woman for asking a question!