Do I need a bottle steriliser if I breast feed?

[Evianontoast]

Hello. I hope to breast feed but I have no idea about anything to do with feeding (I'm going to start researching soon) but will I need a bottle steriliser if I manage to breast feed?

Yes if you plan to express at all

Yes, you'll need to sterilise the pump and the bottles. Some good online articles about it, this has some info on storing milk: www.medela.com/breastfeeding/mums-journey/storing-and-thawing-breast-milk

Not before birth, for sure. You don't actually need to sterilise bottles for expressed milk, but you wouldn't need to get an electric steriliser, you could use the microwave sterilising pouches or buy the self sterilising bottles or do cold water sterilising in a bucket. All of which stuff you can buy after the birth once you figure things out a bit more.

Of course you need a sterilizer.

Don't go buying pumping kit now though, you'll be able to get it next day from Boots or Amazon etc if you decide you want it. No rush!

I'm going to go against the grain and say not necessarily, no. We bought one but i breastfed and it literally gathered dust. Not used once.

Depends. Neither of my kids would ever take a bottle so I've never had a real need. Maybe wait and see

I agree with others, it's so quick to order or pop out and buy one if you need one. Half the recommended baby essentials I bought didn't get much or any use

No, I wouldn't buy one yet. Sometimes you need to sterilise stuff when breastfeeding eg dummies if you're using them, or whatever. If you need to do that you can do cold water sterilising with Milton and a large container. Or you can get multiuse microwaveable steriliser bags which are handy for occasional sterilising.

If you end up needing to use bottles and formula then you can easily get a bottle steriliser then.

I never expressed (found it too much faff and was lockdown anyway so I wasn’t going anywhere). So I didn’t have a steriliser and never used a bottle- just went straight to cup at 6m. That’s probably quite unusual though and if you do want your baby to take bottles it’s probably better to get them used to them fairly early on.

If you exclusively feed and don't express then no, but if you want to be able to leave a bottle, then you should be sterilising for the first 6 months with breast milk, or any age with formula.

If it's very infrequent you could use sterilising fluid in any container, but a microwave steriliser isn't very expensive so I would get one anyway. I got a Tommy tippy hand pump, bottle & mini steriliser kit for about £15, which was fine for getting started with expressing. I used the steriliser for both children, even after I did upgrade to an electric pump.

I BF'd and never needed a steriliser. I did sterilise dummies in the microwave though (some dummies come with their own sterilising case)

Certainly not in advance, just see how you go. I EBF my DD and never had need to sterilise anything. Started using a cup at 6 months.

@Wotsitsits

Of course you need a sterilizer.

Don't go buying pumping kit now though, you'll be able to get it next day from Boots or Amazon etc if you decide you want it. No rush!

Why of course? I expressed a bit with DC1 so used and sterilised some bottles. Couldn't be arsed with DC2 so never bothered trying to get her to take a bottle and never used the steriliser.

If you are planning to bf and not intending to express (which I really wouldn't bother doing unless you have to) then you need neither bottles or steriliser.

Not worth buying in advance. If you’re only occasionally expressing then a Milton tab in a Tupperware is fine.

I was told by the lactation consultant that you don't need to sterilise bottles / other equipment used for breast milk - breast milk isn't sterile.

If you feed any formula at all you will need a steriliser, but as PP say, you can always buy with next day delivery if needed.

I mix fed DC1 because of issues breast feeding, so before DC2 was born I spent about £200 on breast pump, bottles, formula etc so I was ready in case of issues. DC2 latched on perfectly from birth and I've not used any of it.

Yes incase you express, you may also want to give the baby a drop of cool boiled water. X

I bottle fed but just wanted to say that cold water sterilising is very easy, just get a plastic storage box, we used one of these wham ones

www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/wham-storage-box-15l-x4

While sorting breakfast washing up would just give it a clean in soapy water, rinse and fill with cold water, pop in a sterilising tablet and clean bottles and leave them for the day. Once anything has been in there for 20 minutes it's sterilised.

Great for dummy's and teether rings/toys too.

You actually don't need to sterilise anything for use with breastmilk once baby is full term and healthy. It's easy to pick one up or order one if baby is early or you need to sterilise for a medical reason of baby's after birth, so no need to buy one ahead of time.

I got one after a couple of weeks as I started freezing breast milk immediately. I bought two small bottles and my partner defrosts breast milk when he has baby by himself. So I need the steriliser for that and for the haakaas that I use. I don't express with a pump, just use haakaas to catch the let down which is abundant.

The steriliser is fab even just for haakaas, a couple of bottles and dummies.

I suppose if you don't have an over supply of breast milk or fast let down then you might not need a steriliser. But I love freezing breast milk and seeing that supply there for my partner/mother/whomever to be able to take baby for a while for me, and the steriliser makes it a breeze to have sterile bottles etc always handy for that.

No you do not need a steriliser for breast milk.
If you decide to formula feed, buy it then.

The advice from the NHS is that no, if you express BM you do not need to sterilise the bottles. A wash in hot soapy water and air dry is fine.

I expressed for my baby in the NICU and as told that hot soapy water was fine with pump/bottles with breast milk.

I did get some milton tablets for a home that i used maybe once a week on the pump etc

No, you don't need to sterilise bottles or pumps etc that have contained breast milk. Just a hot soapy wash is fine because breast milk is sterile. You'd be wasting your time.

No, not unless you plan to pump or bottle feed before six months. I never used mine.