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?

Hey! I’m 6.5 weeks into my breastfeeding journey and I absolutely love it! People scared me before about how hard it would be (and of course for some people it is) but I absolutely love it. Do all the courses and research you can before hand. This video is a bit wierd but it’s brilliant for learning how to latch!

Best of luck :)

Thank you all for your super helpful replies! Sounds like I won't need it as a necessity in advance and would be better off ordering one of the need arises m. Thanks!

*if the need arises (gosh darn early mornings!)

You can get microwave sterilising bags which are reusable. I got a free onein a bounty pack. It was great for the small amount of sterilising I needed to do.

I’d leave it and see how you feel, tbh. I’m a couple of months into breastfeeding my second and it’s never even occurred to me to buy a pump and bottles. I just whack them on the boob. It is restrictive — I can’t leave baby for long at all until well into weaning — and it means doing all the night feeds but i’d honestly rather that than faff about with a pump and sterilising things. If you know you’ll want to get OH to do night feeds or take baby for a few hours while you have time to yourself early on then yes, plan for that and get yourself some kit. But otherwise wait and see how you feel.

We had a couple of mam self sterilising bottles for the odd occasion my two had formula.

@lisaandalan

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

BF babies never need water.

I breast fed two and didn’t have a steriliser. But I didn’t express either.

Not if you aren’t going to express which I never did.

I didn’t.

I did offer a bottle of formula occasionally ( not like he ever took it!), but just washed in hot soapy water and then rinsed with hot kettle water.

Midwife said hot soapy water is fine, and they don’t sterilise at the hospital either.

One of the many amazing properties of breast milk is that it destroys pathogens. Its a living organism.

Even if you express, hot soapy water and a rinse is all you need,

@Perpop

Best video I've ever seen about breastfeeding

@Perpop

Hey! I’m 6.5 weeks into my breastfeeding journey and I absolutely love it! People scared me before about how hard it would be (and of course for some people it is) but I absolutely love it. Do all the courses and research you can before hand. This video is a bit wierd but it’s brilliant for learning how to latch!

Best of luck :)

I used to watch this video every day when my DD was newborn! So helpful

What I learnt as a new mum is that everyone is out to try and advertise things to you, most of which you really don't need (some is useful/nice to have but not necessary). You don't need to buy anything to breastfeed at all.

@AvocadoOrange

What I learnt as a new mum is that everyone is out to try and advertise things to you, most of which you really don't need (some is useful/nice to have but not necessary). You don't need to buy anything to breastfeed at all.

Absolutely right, and I think the pressure to buy "stuff" has got worse since my now teen/adult children were babies. Yes, getting prepared for a new baby is exciting and it's nice to start getting things ready but we are told that so many things are "essential" and a lot of it is pointless, or at best slightly useful. When you boil it down to what a newborn baby actually needs there's not a lot. Given 24 hour supermarkets and overnight delivery from online stores is available in most places nowadays, there's even less need to stock up for every eventuality, unless you live somewhere really isolated of course. I'd hang fire if I were you OP. If breastfeeding goes according to plan you wont need to sterilise much if at all and if you switch to formula you can pick one up at the same time. If you only need to sterilise occasionally you can get the microwave bags a PP mentioned or just buy some Milton and use an empty ice cream tub or something. No point in having a bulky thing taking up space on your worktop if you don't need it.

When breastfeeding - Just get the mam bottles that self sterilise in the microwave and put through dishwasher after use. No need for steriliser equipment
After 6 months just hot soapy water no need to microwave

@star1459

When breastfeeding - Just get the mam bottles that self sterilise in the microwave and put through dishwasher after use. No need for steriliser equipment After 6 months just hot soapy water no need to microwave

My DD was back in hospital at 5 days old and I was expressing to bring my milk supply up. They told me then just to wash with soapy water, no need to sterilise for BM so you don't have to wait until 6 months at all. Of course if you want to its another thing but why faff if you don't have to? 🤷‍♀️

Only needed if you do use bottles in the early months before weaning. If you get the mam bottles they can be sterilised in microwave individually or as a batch. Easy to pick up at the supermarket if you need them at some point.

I used a bottle sometimes to give my baby sterilised water but I just used a milton in a washing up bowl.

Just buy milton cold water tablets to sterilise much cheaper and easier.

I only used to sterilise once a week if that, wash everything with hot soapy water for majority of the time. Once they start putting theit hands in their mouth, sterilisig seems a bit pointless imo 🤷🏼‍♀️

I BF DD (odd bottle of expressed and formula here and there) and the only steriliser we used, having been given a few different ones, was the Milton cold water bucket. Used it for my expressing stuff of course but also for the calpol syringes, spoons when we first started weaning, hard teething toys, that kind of thing. We used MAM bottles which you can sterilise in the microwave by themselves too.

Absolutely not no. If you have anything that requires sterilising you can boil it in a pan.

But breastfeeding doesn’t require any sterilising. If you are pumping you may want to sterilise the pump but otherwise no

Nope. For a start I wouldn't express unless you absolutely have to. It's more trouble than it's worth imo. But even if you do express, the pump and bottles don't need sterilising.

The only things I'd recommend buying in relation to breastfeeding are lanolin and some reusable breast pads.

@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 didn't for ages!!