If you are a full time worker, and you have a little child at home with the dad, you would understand the importance of preparing pumped breast milk for your little one. But before you give your child the breast milk to feed, it has to be reheated first.
Learning how to do this effectively, is very important with regards to your baby’s nutritional health. And you should know that the reheating of breast milk for your little one, is something that you may need to teach someone also.
What are the benefits of taking breastmilk?
There are many reasons why breastmilk is the best option for your baby. It is the most natural way of child feeding, so it is normal for it to have more nutritional advantages than the baby formulas around. Some of these advantages are;
Breastfeeding has few illness cases and it helps your little one fight various illnesses
The safest mode of feeding for your little one, is actually feeding them with breastmilk. There are may cases of babies contacting various infections through formulas. This is not the same with breastmilk. Breastfeeding also helps your baby’s body system to have a good immune jump start.
It makes the baby’s immune system get stronger to prevent various microorganisms from affecting the body badly. Due to the vitamins and antioxidants present, fighting diseases is easier.
It is very easy to digest
Digestion of breastmilk, is easier in comparison to other baby food. The proteins present in the breastmilk aids in it’s fast digestion so you do not have to worry about your little one having indigestion.
These advantages makes it better than external baby formula, so you should understand that giving your baby breastmilk, is a necessity and you should be well aware on how to reheat it, in order for you to avoid killing the ascorbic acid and other nutrients contained in the milk. This is very important if you are working always.
How Many Times Can You Reheat Breast Milk
Reheating baby breastmilk can only be done once. Even of your baby does not drink all the contents in one go, you can only drink this once. Reheating it after heating it once, can actually kill the nutrients present in the breastmilk.
If you reheat it more than once, you would just be feeding your baby without giving him or her the needed nutrients for survival, and this will affect your little one later on. Heating breastmilk at a very high temperature, can also kill the nutrients present within, so you should be careful while heating your baby’s breastmilk.
If your baby has eaten part of the heated pumped breastmilk, you should store it in the refrigerator rather than reheating it. If it is left to stay at room temperature for a long time, the breastmilk should be thrown away as microorganisms would start breeding at a very alarming rate. Giving your baby this food is not advised as it is unsafe.
How do you reheat breastmilk properly?
One thing you should understand when heating breastmilk, is that it shouldn’t get too hot. If it gets over hot, it can kill the nutrients present in the breastmilk. Some things you should take note of while reheat breastmilk are;
Using bottle warmers
There are various bottle warmers made for heating breastmilk. They can be set to various temperatures for even heating. The even heating process, prevents the baby food from having hot spots. If you have the money to buy this, you should absolutely do so, as it would benefit your little one in many ways.
Do not use the microwave
You should avoid using the microwave while reheating baby food. This can overheat the baby food and it would kill the vitamins present in the food. Using the microwave while reheating, also creates several hot spots which could burn your little child while feeding him or her. The burns can be very severe, and cause several complications.
Ensure that you do not thaw breast milk at room temperature
Leaving breast milk at room temperature would make it thaw and stay at an ideal temperature. But the disadvantage of doing this, is that it makes it easier for microorganisms to breed, thereby making the food very unsafe for consumption.
You can use a bowl of warm water to reheat your baby food
In absence of a bottle warmer, you could use a warm bowl of water instead. Using a bowl of warm water will help regulate the amount of heat the food gets and unlike the microwave, you actually avoid the risk of overheating the baby food.
When using this method, you should ensure that you use warm water instead of hot water. If the water is very hot, it could still kill the nutrients contained in the meal. You could use lukewarm water from a tap to reheat your baby’s food. This method makes it very easy to regulate the heat, just like the bottle warmer.
Avoid giving your little one overheated food.
Can I Reheat Breast Milk With Boiling Water On The Stove?
This is not advised. You should ensure that you do not try using this method to reheat your baby’s food. This could make the meal get very hot and cause several burns to your babys mouth. It could also be hazardous to you, as you might get burnt from the steam and you may even get hit water on your skin.
It may even result to the bottle melting too. This is a very danger thing to consider if you want to reheat your child’s food.
Can You Refrigerate Breast Milk After It’s Been Heated Up?
Yes it is possible to do this. If you heat up your breastmilk and your baby refuses to take it, you could save it up in the refrigerator for nothing more than 4 hours. If it goes past this period of time, you should discard it as it has become a breed house for microorganisms.
Do I Have To Heat Up Breast Milk?
You do not necessarily need to hear up your breastmilk. You could just simply serve them directly from your mammary glands. Heating breastmilk is usually done when the mother is not chanced to do nanny work.
How Long Can I Store Breast Milk In The Freezer?
You should ensure that you do not store breastmilk in freezers for more than six months. If you have a one month old child, he or she should be given breast milk pumped in one month. Storing your breastmilk for more than six months even if it is in a freezer, renders it useless as the various nutrients contained, would have turned stale.
Does Frozen Breast Milk Lose Nutrients?
Yes it actually does lose nutrients. You should understand that the best form of breastmilk, is one given to your child fresh.
Freezing of breastmilk usually causes a decrease in the level of antioxidants and this will reduce the nutritional value of the breastmilk. But even with the low nutrient levels, it does have more nutrients than many baby formula around.
In conclusion to this write-up, feeding your baby breastmilk is a very delicate part of child care that should be taken seriously. Take note of the do’s and don’ts as this will go a long way in aiding your child’s nutritional process.
Thanks for reading.
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