FOOD PREP RULES

Keep it clean and protect your baby.

Hygiene is of the utmost importance when preparing your baby’s food. Your baby’s immune system is still developing, leaving him vulnerable to germs and illness. Nowhere is exposure to germs easier than through your baby’s digestive system. Recent studies by an international forum on home hygiene found that the kitchen often harbours more germs than the bathroom.

NEWBORN

If you are bottle-feeding, your baby’s bottles and teats will need to be sterilised. Sterilisation reduces the risk of your baby getting any bacterial, viral or parasitic infections.

Before sterilising, wash the bottles thoroughly in warm soapy water to get rid of any milk residue. Also run water through each teat, and ensure that there are no cracks in the teats or bottles where bacteria can settle.

An electric steam sterilising unit offers effective sterilisation and takes up to 12 minutes inclusive of cooling time. Depending on the unit and how long it remains sealed, bottles are kept sterile for up to 24 hours. The same goes for microwave steam sterilising, which takes five to eight minutes with cooling time. For cold water sterilising, use a specialised unit or a clean plastic bucket with a lid. Dissolve the sterilising liquid or tablet in the container of cold water.

Keep the bottles and teats submerged in the solution for 30 minutes.

Bottles can remain in the solution for 24 hours at the most. Before using the bottles, ensure they are rinsed off with recently boiled water.

Some babies are susceptible to thrush, and sterilising solutions can sometimes be the cause of it. Thrush in the mouth presents as white patches that look like milk.

Do not try to scrape it out of your baby’s mouth. Take your baby to a doctor. Milk spoils quite quickly, so don’t leave bottles lying around, and do not reuse old formula. Throw out any unfinished milk, as micro-organisms can contaminate it and make your baby quite ill.