IMHO and the opinion of microbiologists there is no need to sterilize

[RTKangaMummy]

As many of you already know

My DTs were born at 27 weeks and spent 3 months in NNU

We were told not to sterilize when we got home

We were told to wash everything in hot soapy water and leave out to air dry on kitchen roll

The hospital microbiologists advised that this was the best way to clean everything

And considering how ill DS was, in NNU, we followed this advice and he never had an upset tummy as a baby and was completley fine

So my advice to everyone is to not worry too much about it, wash it in HOT SOAPY WATER AND AIR DRY {washing up liquid}

This was in LONDON btw.

When I was preggers I planned to sterilize bottles, teats, nipple shields, dummies etc.

But now, I think, thank goodness that we listened to the microbiologists at the hospital. And didn't waste all the money and time on it.

DT2 {DS} was very very very ill in NNU ITU etc.

IMHO if he can come out of hospital and not have everything sterilized and not have a tummy bug or vomiting/diarahea, then why an earth should healthy normal babies be at such a risk of being ill?

If you give a baby a toy teddy it is not sterilized, now I know that won't have any milk on. But they will still put them in their mouths.

If you wrap teats in cling film which is not sterile, then why bother?

IMHO it is all a con by the makers of sterilizing units to put fear into everyone

Saint George worked for a microbiologist and she says the same thing and that he said that as long as you were extremely clean, babies would be fine. And that all this sterilization has caused problems in maternity hospitals

So set yourself free BUT be very clean and use very hot soapy water and air dry.

Also you should make sure all the milk bits come from all the little areas IYSWIM

What about parents who put their little finger into the babies mouth to sooth the baby

What about the ones who breastfeed they are not sterile, are they?

What about older brothers and sisters touching, coughing sneezing etc over the baby? {Although I do realise that is not milk related}

I AM NOT AGAINST ANYONE STERILIZING TO THEIR HEART'S CONTENT, IT IS JUST TO SAY THAT WE DIDN'T AND DS WAS VERY PREM AND HE WAS FINE

So if you want to give it up and feel that you must carry on then I am giving you an example of where it wasn't used and the outcome was fine.

BTW when DS came home he was with his corrected age 4 days old {not 3 months}

That was during a very hot summer too.

.

bumping for this thread

another bump for Thursday

Thank you RTKM for starting and bumping this thread. I too wish I'd seen it years ago.

I'm currently pregnant with No.4 and religiously sterilised all bottles with my other 3 children.

This thread has made very interesting reading. I think I may join many Mums on this thread and will be ditching the steriliser for this next LO

Friday bump

A quick thanks to originators and bumpers - hopefully I may be able to convince 'im indoors now.

It never made any sense to me, I am/was an artisan cheesemaker, granted we used a few tougher chemicals but the muslins went through the washing machine and any of the kit that was small enough went through the dishwasher.

We sent samples of anything and everything to be tested by the microbiologists on a weekly basis and got the all clear every time.

More importantly, boily boily hot hot water and air drying is the best way to keep your wine glasses 'shiny as new'

Great thread will not be sterilising for next dc due at the end of the year.
My friends in the US thought it was very funny that I did as did Dutch sil.

ooh, just seen this. DS is 6 mths and has one bottle a day and I was always worried (in a lentil weaving kind of way) about the amount of energy I spend on sterilising.

I know at 6mths I don't need to now anyway (although I still was), so will stop forthwith!

Everyone's discussing sterlising on my March post-natal thread - I've linked to this thread to show why I'm not sterlising a thing! (and luckily discovered this thread when I was 8 months pregnant, so haven't wasted any time with sterilising - phew!)

Thanks guys ~ bumpity bump

Do parents feel that they need an update from the microbiologists to check that their advice which was given first in 1995 and then again in 2005 is still correct today?

There is someone on MN saying that this thread is wrong as it is from 2005 and so I wanted to check that you guys were still happy to follow the advice inside this thread

HAPPY PARENTS = HAPPY BABY = HAPPY PARENTS

Woo Hoo!! I don't have a sterilizer I seem to have lost it about 2 babies ago. LOL!

Sounds fine to me

It's true!!

My local NICU, after doing lots of research, concluded that washing with:

• clean hands
• hot soapy water
• a good bottle brush to removed all milk etc
• and storing equipment DRY, in a clean container,

is just as good as sterilising (if not sometimes better).

Sterilising is only as good as the washing stage - unclean equipment will never be sterile.

So, if sterilising's not needed for very sick / preterm babies, can't see the point in healthy babies at home!

Sorry if this is a repetitive question but this thread is far too long to find the answer to.

Q: Is sterilising needed for expressing equipment and bottles used for ebm?

I gather you DO NOT need to sterilise for ff.

Thanks

Hello everyone

wash your hands then get some hot soapy water and clean the equipment throughly and then leave to air dry and then store in a sealed tuperware box

If there are flies about you can use one of those umbrella/net thingys that cover stuff in kitchen {from lakeland or simular}

bumpity bump

bumpity bump

thanks for bumping this. Wish I saw it an hour or so ago - just asked about it (sorry!). I did a little search first honest.

Without reading 100's of posts, if anyone's on here can I ask,..
if I've been sterilising up to now (pointlessly maybe!), and my baby's due for her jabs tomorrow (she's 5 months old, but late with the injections due to being ill) will it be better to wait until her immune system is not run down, before stopping? Not desperate to stop but starting to think it silly to do it when she's sucks on everything in sight.

Thanks for this. I dug this up the other day and read through it. Wondering about the current advice to not make up formula in advance, then why is it ok when leaving baby in a nursery for the day?

bump

i was when my GP told me not to bother to sterilize when DD1 was 6 mo. Stopped doing the occasional bottle but i was in such a habbit by then i couldnt stop. This time round i am at it again, steralizing the breast pump. Which in my opinion is daft but dh doesnt aggree. by the time i have put it together it is no longer sterile. Might stop doing it in secret .

i've also been told fine to dry expressing equipment and bottles with kitchen roll. been doing that since ds 6 weeks old and he's fine. i tend to re-wash just prior to use. is that unnecessary? also, i never use a bottle brush - just dishwasher. is that bad?

bump!

I did sterilise in the beginning but I stumbled across this thread which stopped me
I felt so mean (for some reason ) but realised how much easier it was not to bother. DS2 is now 10 months old and apart fromt he odd cold, so far, he's been fine. No tummy bugs at all.

OMG!! Big bump after our microwave broke tonight.

Cheers all!